Home Office accepts court defeat on EU citizens scheme

A High Court judgement that regulations affecting much than 2.5m EU citizens surviving successful the UK are unlawful volition not beryllium challenged by the government.

The Home Office has confirmed it volition not entreaty against the ruling, contempt antecedently indicating it would bash so.

Many EU citizens could person faced losing their close to residence if they did not further use for settled oregon pre-settled presumption wrong 5 years.

The lawsuit was brought by a watchdog for EU citizens' rights aft Brexit.

In December, Mr Justice Lane concluded that portion of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) acceptable up by the Home Office to settee EU citizens' migration presumption was based connected an incorrect mentation of the withdrawal statement betwixt the UK and the EU.

The Home Office said the judgement was present instrumentality and it was moving to instrumentality it connected a elemental and straightforward ground "as swiftly arsenic possible".

A spokesperson said: "Those with pre-settled presumption are encouraged to use for settled presumption arsenic soon arsenic they are eligible, truthful they tin get unafraid grounds of their close of imperishable residence successful the UK."

Since 2018, the Home Office has tally a two-stage process for EU citizens who wanted to stay successful the UK.

This EUSS was acceptable up due to the fact that the EU's state of question rule had meant galore radical from wrong the bloc had ne'er needed support to beryllium successful the UK.

The strategy gave them pre-settled presumption - a constricted close to unrecorded and enactment successful the UK which expires if they don't re-apply for afloat settled presumption aft 5 years.

But astatine a High Court proceeding successful London successful November, lawyers for the IMA said the colony strategy was incompatible with the Brexit withdrawal agreement, due to the fact that of its effect connected immoderate EU citizens and their household members, arsenic good arsenic those from countries successful the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association.

Robert Palmer KC told the tribunal millions of EU citizens surviving successful the UK risked losing their rights and being treated arsenic "illegal overstayers" arsenic a result.

He said astir 2.6 cardinal radical were affected - those surviving successful the UK earlier the extremity of the modulation play successful 2020 who were granted pre-settled status.

Under the Home Office's rules, those radical would suffer their close to lawfully unrecorded successful the UK unless they made a further exertion wrong 5 years.

Mr Palmer said they would beryllium "exposed to sizeable superior consequences affecting their close to live, enactment and entree societal information enactment and lodging successful the UK, and volition beryllium liable to detention and removal".

In his ruling, Mr Justice Lane said that, if the Home Office's mentation of the instrumentality was correct, "a precise ample fig of radical look the astir superior uncertainty", including imaginable deportation.

He concluded the Home Office had wrongly interpreted the law.

Campaign radical The3million, which represents EU citizens successful the UK, welcomed the government's determination not to prosecute an appeal, saying EU citizens had been "dealing with uncertainty agelong enough".

It called connected the location caput to unafraid EU citizens' residency rights, portion taking a "pragmatic approach, to safeguard the rights of susceptible people", including children, aged radical successful care, and victims of home abuse.