Board Chair, Sir Ashley Fox outlined the IMA’s duties to monitor the application of citizens’ rights and promote their effective application before providing examples of some recent issues.

The EU Delegation also heard from operational and legal teams about the IMA’s complaints handling process and current areas of work.

IMA Board Chair Sir Ashley Fox said:

“I was pleased to meet with Ambassador Vale de Almeida and members of the EU Delegation to outline the important work that the IMA has undertaken to date. This has included using our powers to ensure EU citizens continue to receive access to housing, social security and healthcare as they did before Brexit and to clarify their rights. We look forward to continued engagement with the EU Delegation as we carry out our duty to uphold the rights of citizens.”

Ambassador Vale de Almeida said:

“We value the work the IMA is doing to protect the rights of our citizens as enshrined by the Withdrawal Agreement. Despite the good cooperation with the British authorities, we are still picking up many challenges on the ground for our citizens. Our further cooperation will remain of utmost importance.”

For more information about the EU Delegation to the UK, visit their website.

Citizens who feel their rights are not being upheld are also encouraged to report a complaint to the IMA via its portal.

The organisation, which was established at 11pm on 31 December 2020 to monitor public bodies in the UK and Gibraltar to ensure they are upholding citizens’ rights, has resolved several issues where their rights under the Withdrawal and Separation Agreements were at risk of being breached.

Some of this work has included:

• Issuing judicial review proceedings against the Home Office, as the IMA considers that citizens who fail to apply for Settled Status before the expiry of their Pre-Settled Status automatically lose their rights, is unlawful. In taking legal action the IMA hopes to provide clarity for the 2.485 million citizens with Pre-Settled Status.
• Reaching an agreement with HMRC to resolve delays experienced by EU citizens when obtaining National Insurance documentation. This followed a number of complaints from European citizens experiencing problems accessing social security in their home countries who relied on a Statement of National Insurance Contributions from HMRC when applying for benefits.
• Receiving confirmation from the Home Office that EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permits can be granted to dependent relatives who are extended family members of EU or EEA EFTA citizens who applied for an EEA family permit before 31 December 2020 and would have been granted this, including on appeal, had the route not closed on 30th June 2021.
• Working with the Department for Education to amend legislation which could have excluded some EU and EEA EFTA families living and working in England from receiving up to 30 hours of free childcare.
• Calling on the Home Office to clarify the rights of EU citizens applying late to the EUSS and reminding public bodies of their duty to uphold the rights of late applicants or those who might be awaiting the results of their EUSS applications. The IMA also advised all UK universities and colleges to ensure they were aware of the latest guidance for students who had applied to the EUSS.
• Ensuring EU and EEA EFTA citizens with Pre-Settled and Settled Status continue to receive local authority housing support by Newham Council and Pembrokeshire County Council.
• Launching the #YourRights campaign on Instagram, Facebook and European-language podcasts and radio stations to increase understanding of EU and EEA EFTA citizens’ rights in the UK and Gibraltar after Brexit.
• Recommending changes to the process for EU and EEA EFTA citizens to apply for UK-issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) after the system became overwhelmed earlier this year. This followed several complaints from EU citizens who were experiencing delays and uncertainty in obtaining the cards.

The IMA also published its first Annual Plan setting out its objectives earlier this year.

The IMA encourages citizens and their family members who believe their rights are not being upheld to make them aware of this through their online portal.

Dr Kathryn Chamberlain, IMA Chief Executive said:

“During our first year in operation we have demonstrated that we are prepared to take action where there is evidence of a systemic breach of EU and EEA EFTA citizens’ rights.

“While the IMA does carry out work based on its own initiative, we rely on having sufficient information to support the action we take. This is why it is crucial that eligible citizens who feel their rights aren’t being upheld report this to us via our complaints portal.

“Over the course of the coming years, it remains my hope that most issues can be resolved swiftly by working effectively with public bodies. We will continue to raise awareness of our work so that EU and EEA EFTA citizens and their family members can exercise their rights as they did before the UK left the EU.”

The #YourRights campaign launches today (7 October 2021) via Instagram and Facebook advertising as well as on European-language podcasts and radio stations and aims to promote awareness of the IMA’s role, address misconceptions about rights and increase knowledge of where to go to complain about a potential rights breach.

EU citizens should have broadly the same rights as before Brexit, if they were resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 and if they register with the EU Settlement Scheme. These rights include the right to live, work and continue to have their qualifications recognised as well as the right to equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

The IMA will also use its other social media channels, including Twitter and LinkedIn to communicate campaign messages to influential organisations including advocacy groups and European institutions.

Messaging will feature and seek to address some of the findings from the IMA’s first survey of almost 3,000 EU citizens in the UK. This demonstrated that almost half of those asked were not aware of their rights as contained in the Withdrawal Agreement and 87% had not heard about the IMA or its work.

Examples of the campaign’s content include: “1 in 3 EU citizens in the UK don’t realise they have the right to be treated equally. Did you? If you think you’ve been treated unfairly, report it to the IMA today. We are here to protect #YourRights.”

The first phase of the campaign will run until November, after which it will be reviewed and adapted for further stages.

Chief Executive of the IMA, Dr Kathryn Chamberlain said:

“The IMA has an important role to play not only in monitoring how UK public bodies are protecting EU citizens’ rights, but also in promoting awareness of them and helping organisations to understand where issues need to be addressed.

“This campaign will complement the existing engagement work the IMA is undertaking with embassies, support groups and public bodies to improve knowledge of rights and our role. Taken together, I hope our efforts will result in better understanding by individuals and organisations to ensure EU citizens can continue to live their lives as they did before.”

The IMA exists to uphold the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens who were living in the UK and Gibraltar before 31 December 2020 under the Withdrawal and Separation Agreements.

Third parties including individuals as well as advocacy and support groups will be able to report a complaint via the IMA’s portal on behalf of citizens when their consent has been received. The policy is designed to help those who may use individuals or organisations to support them in their daily activities and caters for people who would prefer someone else to communicate for them, particularly if they struggle with the use of English.

The new policy comes as the IMA releases an operational update about the nature of existing complaints. This revealed that the IMA has received over 120 complaints from citizens of 24 European nations.

In terms of the rights associated with these complaints:

• 50% are about the right to enter, remain and access employment;
• 29% are concerned with the right to access social security, housing and healthcare;
• 17% relate to the right to equal treatment; and
• 4% are about the right to mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

The IMA encourages any citizen experiencing difficulties in exercising their rights to make the organisation aware of this through the complaints portal.

Although the IMA cannot resolve individual issues, complaints and other intelligence received enable the organisation to gain a broader picture of the issues faced by citizens and address systemic issues. This type of information has recently contributed towards work to resolve problems with EU citizens obtaining European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) and a pre-inquiry investigation into the EU Settlement Scheme.

Pam Everett, IMA Director of Operations said:

“The IMA recognises that some European citizens require assistance when interacting with public bodies and carrying out day-to-day tasks in the UK and Gibraltar.

“Our updated complaints policy reflects this situation, while ensuring citizens’ have their voices heard and recognising the important work that support organisations carry out. This will enable us to continue to receive crucial information about issues faced by citizens which informs our actions.”

The IMA will monitor UK public bodies to make sure they are upholding the rights of citizens. It will review complaints and has powers to launch inquiries and take legal action.

Citizens will have broadly the same rights as before Brexit, if they were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 and if they register with the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021. The Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and EU broadly covers four areas:

• Residency – The right to live in the UK and Gibraltar.
• Workers and self-employed – The right to work in the UK, including self-employed people, and frontier workers who live in the EU but work in the UK.
• Recognition of professional qualifications – The right for specified EU professionals, such as doctors, nurses and architects, to be recognised in the UK, if they have registered their qualifications by 31 December 2020.
• Social Security – The right to access housing, healthcare, education, benefits and other state services.

The right to equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of nationality apply to all these rights. Reciprocal arrangements are in place for UK citizens resident in EU and EEA EFTA countries.

The IMA will work closely with governments and parliaments in the UK and Gibraltar, as well as with advocacy groups, charities and regulatory bodies to reach as many citizens as possible and inform them of its role. Citizens’ complaints and intelligence received from representatives will play a crucial role in shining a light on the issues that most affect people’s daily lives.

Sir Ashley Fox, Chairman of the IMA said:

“People from the EU should have confidence to get on with their lives – safeguards are in place to protect them. The IMA provides an extra level of assurance, on top of existing tribunal and ombudsman services, to expose and challenge patterns of discrimination. I’m proud we’re doing our bit to uphold the UK’s commitments to its citizens from the EU.”

Dr Kathryn Chamberlain, IMA Interim CEO said:

“Implementing rights won’t always be straightforward. Even well-meaning organisations may make mistakes or interpret law differently – that’s why a monitoring authority, independent of government, is essential.

“It’s my hope that most issues can be resolved quickly through working with public bodies. We will, however, use our legal powers whenever necessary to ensure the rights of citizens affected by the Withdrawal Agreement are being upheld.”

The IMA exists to tackle systemic issues, practices and behaviours that cause widespread or persistent infringements of rights, for the benefit of the whole EU community in the UK. This includes people who come from the 27 EU Member States as well as the EEA EFTA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Citizens’ complaints and intelligence received from representatives will play a crucial role in shining a light on the issues that most affect people’s daily lives. Inquiry reports will be published and annual reports made to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Justice.

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford estimates that there are around 3.6 million EU-born migrants living in the UK, making up 5.5% of the UK population. Poland is the top country of birth among those from the EU, followed by Romania and Ireland. ONS figures reveal the UK local authority areas with the highest numbers of EU nationals include London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.