Thread by @SimonFRCox

Home Office plan for EU citz resident at Brexit is radical - in a good way. Largest one-off grant of indefinite leave in UK immigration history.

My analysis in a thread 1/

Plan was issued 21 Jun - I’ve just got around to reading it. Full text is here > gov.uk/government/pub… 2/

Scheme isn’t final yet - though it looks almost finished.

Of course, if UK & EU27 can’t reach an exit deal it may be never be implemented... But let’s look at it. 3/

Eligible are EU citz resident in UK when it starts - or by 31 Dec 2020. So maybe 3 million people.

PLUS their family members, of any nationality. 4/

Anyone resident for 5 years gets indefinite leave to remain (ILR): less than that get 5 years limited leave to remain. These are the same kinds of permission non-EU citz get. 5/

Scheme is much more relaxed than EU law in one crucial way > it depends ONLY on residence - not economic activity or self-sufficiency 6/

Applicants will need to show they reside in UK, but NOT work history or self-sufficiency (with the need for sickness insurance). 6/

So EU citz who haven’t worked - whether because they were raising children, or caring for adults, or any other reason - will still qualify. 7/

So will family member of EU citz:
- spouses / civil partners & children under 21 automatically.
- older children & grandparents etc if they can show financial dependence on EU cit or partner. 8/

Scheme applies to family of Irish citz & dual British-EU27 nationals. That’s a huge boon - because UK immigration law discriminates vs families of Brit citz. 9/

Applications cost £65. People who only get 5 years limited leave will be able to upgrade to ILR once they’ve completed 5 year’s residence. 10/

ILR and limited leave will give holders right to work and to receive benefits on same basis as Brit cits. 11/

For millions these rules will be easy to meet. Just proof of 5 years residence - with breaks no longer than 6 months in each year. And for those who can’t prove that, they’ll get limited leave. /12

Two groups are targetted for exclusion. First, serious criminals - but it seems this will be the same kinds of conduct that allow for expulsion under EU law. 13/

2nd targetted group - ppl previously expelled or marked for expulsion for “abuse”. Last year High Court ruled Home Office had abused this idea to wrongly expel homeless EU citz. So care needs to be taken there. 14/

But overall this is a welcome & impressive change for HO’s more common anti-migrant, unrealistic, legalistic approach 15/

It shows that pragmatic & human-centred immigration polices *are* possible in UK. 16/

In 2000s several hundred thousand asylum-seeker families who had waited years for decisions were granted ILR. It was a wise move & worked well until it’s tail-end was spoiled by reactionary HO officials. 17/

This scheme is similar, but simpler and on a much grander scale. Implementation may face resistance from some HO staff. But if Brexit does happen, this looks set to be Home Office staff’s largest ever positive immigration move. 18/18