The Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) protects the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) in the UK and Gibraltar.
We investigate areas we are concerned about based on:
- complaints reported to us by affected citizens
- monitoring how UK public bodies (such as government departments, local councils, the NHS, the police, and others) are protecting the rights of citizens
- where we see a need based on the information we gather through our work
We will particularly focus on areas that affect a large number of citizens or show an underlying problem with how citizens’ rights are being managed.
When we find an issue, we have the power to carry out an inquiry to investigate further and, if necessary, take legal action to fix it.
Although we cannot resolve the individual complaints reported to us, they are vital in helping us find wider problems so we can help protect others from experiencing the same issues.
Our responsibilities
We have 2 main duties:
- Monitoring how UK public bodies are protecting EU citizens’ rights
This means that we actively seek information that will help us to identify where things are going well and where things are not.
- Promoting the effective implementation of citizens’ rights
This means that we help citizens to understand their rights and we help public bodies to understand where things are going wrong so that they can put them right.