IMA Welcomes Amendments to Proposed Immigration Legislation

The Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) has welcomed amendments to the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill which were tabled in the UK Parliament yesterday (Monday 10 March). If agreed, the amendments will help to clarify the rights of citizens under the Withdrawal and Separation Agreements.

The IMA has been raising concerns with the UK Government that it is not clear for those with status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) whether they have rights under the Agreements.

The proposed amendments are intended to address those concerns, ensuring that all EU and EEA EFTA citizens, and their family members, with EUSS status are treated the same in UK law.

After Brexit, EU and EEA EFTA citizens and their family members needed to apply to the EUSS to continue to live in the UK.

EUSS status gives citizens rights, including the right to live and work in the UK, and access to services such as healthcare and some benefits.

Not everyone who has EUSS status will have rights under the Agreements. To be eligible for rights under the Agreements, a citizen must have been residing in the UK in accordance with EU free movement rules, for example being a worker, when those rules ceased applying in the UK at the end of December 2020.

To simplify the way in which applications to the EUSS were determined, there was no need to meet these EU free movement rules to be eligible for status.

This means that there are people who have status under the EUSS who may not be entitled to rights under the Agreements. This is a complex area but there is a lack of clarity as to who has rights under the Agreements and who does not.

Our current understanding is that most citizens have not been directly impacted as the UK Government has taken steps to ensure that those with EUSS status are treated equally. Exceptions to this are in the context of some very specific circumstances which have arisen because of court judgments.

But the IMA had concerns, which we have been speaking to the UK Government about. The concern is that there could be potential instances where it would matter whether a citizen with EUSS status does have rights under the Agreements or not.

In these situations, citizens who are within the true cohort might need to re-prove they were residing in the UK in accordance with EU free movement rules at the end of 2020.

As time goes by it may become more and more difficult for citizens to find the relevant evidence, such as payslips, to prove they met the free movement rules at the end of 2020. We do not know what implications this could have in the future for these citizens or future generations of citizens.

If the UK Parliament agrees the amendments, it will provide clarity and equality of access to rights for all citizens.

Chief Executive of the IMA Miranda Biddle said, “We recognised that there could be potential for citizens to have to reprove their rights, which we did not think was correct and could cause unnecessary anxiety and stress for anyone who might find themselves in this situation now or in future generations.

“We have therefore been liaising with the UK Government and European Commission about how this issue could be addressed in the most practical way possible.

“We’re pleased that proposed legislation has been brought forward to make sure that both groups of citizens, regardless of whether they were living here under EU rules at the end of 2020, are treated the same way.

“We hope this will mean greater clarity for citizens about the source of their rights and prevent the need for anyone to have to reprove those rights.”

Anyone facing difficulties accessing their rights is encouraged to contact the IMA for support. More information on the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens and their family members who have applied to the EUSS can be found on the IMA’s website.

Note to Editors:

The provisions do not apply to citizens with EUSS status via either the Zambrano (primary carer of a British citizen) or Surinder Singh (a family member of a qualifying British citizen) routes.