Report recommends cut off date for new arrivals from EU
Report recommends cut off date for new arrivals from EU
A hardline report chaired by prominent Leave campaigner Gisela Stewart into the status of EU nationals in the UK has recommended a cut off date for new arrivals from the EU, likely to be April 2017, and a massive registration programme for existing EU residents. EU citizens arriving after the cut off date would be subject to the full force of UK immigration law on Brexit, presumably meaning they would become unlawfully resident on that date.
The report, which has been co-ordinated by organisation British Future, assumes a total end to EU free movement law in the UK, “hard Brexit”, departure from the European Economic Area and Single Market and expulsion on non qualifying EU residents and family members. Essentially, it proposes a UKIP future for the United Kingdom.
The report recommends that the Home Office simplify the application process for permanent residence. Applications would be compulsory and would involve cross checking against multiple government databases rather than reliance on documents propduces by the applicant. The method proposed looks to me fundamentally incompatible with EU law, and involves imposition of a good character test and an application for ILR rather than permanent residence. How this could occur while the UK remains a member of the EU and EU citizens therefore continue to enjoy free movement rights is unclear, but it does not look very well thought through.
The report at least proposes a five year “transition” for EU nationals who were qualified persons or had permanent residence at the cut off date. This would allow those people to bring their family members to the UK under the equivalent of EU rules, which are far more family-friendly than the extremely harsh UK immigration rules. Entry of parents and grandparents is basically banned under UK rules but remains feasible under EU rules, and under EU rules there is no real minimum earnings requirement for sponsoring a foreign spouse, unlike the £18,600 requirement under UK rules.
Those with permanent residence would have their status converted to “bespoke” Indefinte Leave to Remain (ILR) under the UK immigration rules. What “bespoke” means or how it would differ from “normal” ILR and be distinguished from it when it is called the same thing is not explained.
The report is not an official or Government report but was co-ordinated by British Future. How likely the recommendations are to find their way into UK Government policy is questionable. This is particularly so as the report in effect abandons tens or hundreds of thousands of existing residents of the United Kingdom who are currently lawfully present in the UK because of EU free movement laws.
The report focuses on “qualified persons”, meaning those who are working, self employed, self sufficient with comprenehsive health insurance or students with comprehensive health insurance. It does not address long term residents from the EU who are not qualified persons (for example the non-working EU national spouse of a British citizen who does not have comprehensive health insurance) nor does it address third country family members from outside the EU but who have or had a relationship with an EU national in the UK.
The report itself states that only 64% of EU nationals resident for over 5 years have qualified for permanent residence. If it is assumed that there are 2.8 million EU nationals in the UK, that means over 1 million have not qualified. Many therefore probably never will. The report assumes these people will be expelled at the end of a five year transition period, in what would be the biggest mass expulsion of population from this country since 1290, when Edward I infamously ordered the Jews of England into exile.
Given that no-one in their right mind was proposing removing qualified persons, one wonders what the point of the exercise was. The report dodges the very hard questions faced by Ministers and civil servants.
A hardline report chaired by prominent Leave campaigner Gisela Stewart into the status of EU nationals in the UK has recommended a cut off date for new arrivals from the EU, likely to be April 2017, and a massive registration programme for existing EU residents. EU citizens arriving after the cut off date would be subject to the full force of UK immigration law on Brexit, presumably meaning they would become unlawfully resident on that date.
The report, which has been co-ordinated by organisation British Future, assumes a total end to EU free movement law in the UK, “hard Brexit”, departure from the European Economic Area and Single Market and expulsion on non qualifying EU residents and family members. Essentially, it proposes a UKIP future for the United Kingdom.
The report recommends that the Home Office simplify the application process for permanent residence. Applications would be compulsory and would involve cross checking against multiple government databases rather than reliance on documents propduces by the applicant. The method proposed looks to me fundamentally incompatible with EU law, and involves imposition of a good character test and an application for ILR rather than permanent residence. How this could occur while the UK remains a member of the EU and EU citizens therefore continue to enjoy free movement rights is unclear, but it does not look very well thought through.
The report at least proposes a five year “transition” for EU nationals who were qualified persons or had permanent residence at the cut off date. This would allow those people to bring their family members to the UK under the equivalent of EU rules, which are far more family-friendly than the extremely harsh UK immigration rules. Entry of parents and grandparents is basically banned under UK rules but remains feasible under EU rules, and under EU rules there is no real minimum earnings requirement for sponsoring a foreign spouse, unlike the £18,600 requirement under UK rules.
Those with permanent residence would have their status converted to “bespoke” Indefinte Leave to Remain (ILR) under the UK immigration rules. What “bespoke” means or how it would differ from “normal” ILR and be distinguished from it when it is called the same thing is not explained.
The report is not an official or Government report but was co-ordinated by British Future. How likely the recommendations are to find their way into UK Government policy is questionable. This is particularly so as the report in effect abandons tens or hundreds of thousands of existing residents of the United Kingdom who are currently lawfully present in the UK because of EU free movement laws.
The report focuses on “qualified persons”, meaning those who are working, self employed, self sufficient with comprenehsive health insurance or students with comprehensive health insurance. It does not address long term residents from the EU who are not qualified persons (for example the non-working EU national spouse of a British citizen who does not have comprehensive health insurance) nor does it address third country family members from outside the EU but who have or had a relationship with an EU national in the UK.
The report itself states that only 64% of EU nationals resident for over 5 years have qualified for permanent residence. If it is assumed that there are 2.8 million EU nationals in the UK, that means over 1 million have not qualified. Many therefore probably never will. The report assumes these people will be expelled at the end of a five year transition period, in what would be the biggest mass expulsion of population from this country since 1290, when Edward I infamously ordered the Jews of England into exile.
Given that no-one in their right mind was proposing removing qualified persons, one wonders what the point of the exercise was. The report dodges the very hard questions faced by Ministers and civil servants.
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