Tens of thousands of EU citizens in the UK could lose their legal status next month because of an “arbitrary” deadline that will leave vulnerable people in an “intolerable situation”, MPs and peers have warned.
There is just over a month to go before the government’s deadline for the EU settlement scheme (EUSS) – which guarantees post-Brexit residency – closes on 30 June.
More than 50 parliamentarians from all parties and in both houses have written a joint-letter to Boris Johnson warning that EU citizens will be forced out of the country “overnight” unless the “cliff-edge” is removed.
They say that even if only 1 per cent of the estimated 4 million EU citizens are not able to apply on time, tens of thousands of people will be left vulnerable to detention and removal.
The Home Office’s outreach campaign has failed to reach sufficient numbers of EU citizens amidst a pandemic that has severely disrupted support services, the letter warns.
Neale Hanvey MP, who coordinated the cross-party letter, said: “Some of the most vulnerable EU citizens who chose to make the UK their home now face an utterly intolerable situation.
“One that the prime minister personally promised would not come to pass. That is why I led this cross-party letter to put pressure on the prime minister and his government to do the right thing…”
Research from the Migration Observatory at Oxford University indicated that vulnerable groups, such as elderly people, those with physical or mental disabilities or homeless people, are more likely to slip through the cracks.
Recent evidence from the Children’s Society also found that only 39 per cent of identified EU looked-after children and care leavers have submitted applications to the settlement scheme, and only 28 per cent have secured their status.