The decision is a blow to the system created by the Home Office in 2018, which established two levels of EU citizens already living in the UK to avoid the effects of the country leaving the EU, known as ‘Brexit’. .
London has agreed to grant “settled” status to those who can prove residence for more than five years, and “pre-settled” status to those with less than that period.
These, after five years, must receive definitive recognition under the British system.
Currently, at least 2.7 million people are part of this second group, according to the BBC, and the re-application deadline for around 200,000 people who took part in the first pilot scheme is August 2023. The government denies them final approval and they lose their legal rights.
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMA), created to oversee the rights of citizens of EU countries post-Brexit, challenged these requirements in court and the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in their favor.
The complainants accused the UK of breaking promises to the EU and warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be left in a precarious situation, unable to work, study or go to the doctor.
Despite the Home Office arguing that the government takes the rights of European “friends and neighbours” “very seriously”, Judge Peter Lane warned of “very serious” consequences if the current situation is not rectified.
Lane believes the system set up by the government goes beyond the “obligations” envisaged in the EU Withdrawal Agreement, which is why he plans to appeal the decision.
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