Thread by @monlouhawk

Why does @UKHomeOffice refuse to engage with us at @the3million about our concerns with settled status?

Why does it keep insisting how successful the scheme is, and almost dismiss as fake news the daily stories of people struggling with it? 1/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million Why does @UKHomeOffice go on the offensive against the EU, and talk about its shiny settled status scheme, ignoring all reported issues?

Is it that they are politicising us, treating us as bargaining chips, still see us just as numbers? 2/

https://twitter.com/BrandonLewis/status/1172574499897774081

@ukhomeoffice @the3million The @UKHomeOffice is very keen to throw around statistics and big numbers, but refuses to engage with the human side, or to listen to us about how the system should have been designed.

(This is not aimed at the EU Settlement Resolution Centre, only at @UKHomeOffice itself) 3/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million There have been 'user group meetings' but these have been largely one-way and certainly no input allowed on policy.

All along we've wanted registration instead of application, face-to-face instead of computer-says-no, and physical documents as proof of status. 4/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million In just the last two weeks, I've been asking everywhere I go how people have got on with applying to this scheme. This is what I found in my entirely personal non-scientific - but complete and honest - mini research project: 5/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million My hairdresser's Polish wife - no problems, automated checks went through first time. Very happy customer. 6/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million His brother-in-law however, not so happy. Endless struggles with several phones not reading ID chip and stress of having to send off passport and worrying about whether it will come back in time for their planned trip. Got status in the end but took a while. 7/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million My hairdresser's colleague, virtually in tears. She had to send in her passport (now returned to her). She's been working for years for the same employer, full HMRC record, couldn't understand why the system did not find her. It made her feel like she'd done something wrong. 8/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million She was offered pre-settled but luckily did not accept it. So she had to upload lots of documents to prove residence, and she's still waiting - longer than they said she'd have to wait. She tried ringing the other day, was held in a queue for over an hour. Still no answer. 9/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million Another colleague was Spanish-Brazillian, and I asked her if she had settled status. She looked at me surprised and said 'What's that? Do I need that?' I started explaining that yes, all EU citizens and their family had to. 'But', she said, 'we have immigration status!' 10/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million Turns out she has a Brazillian husband. Few years ago they went through the lengthy stressful process with @UKHomeOffice getting him ILR. Eventually it was sorted, to their huge relief. It simply didn't occur to her that they now need to prove their right to be here again! 11/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million The other night at a pub, a Dutch man. Asked him if he had settled status, and he said: yes! he was all sorted, he'd been really proactive and got Permanent Residence two years ago - was very pleased with himself. I struggled to convince him he needed a different status. 12/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million A Dutch lady, put in touch with me by a neighbour who said 'Monique knows about these matters', contacted me and said will you help me? I know I have to do something but I don't know what. I saw some adverts months ago but now nothing, and I don't know what I have to do. 13/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million So that's my little tally: 1 easy, 2 stressful, 2 who were convinced they didn't need to do anything, 1 who knew there was something she had to do but struggled to find out what exactly. None want any media attention - so Brandon Lewis will never know about them.
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@ukhomeoffice @the3million And there's something HUGE missing from the above - the people who won't know by the deadline that they have to apply. They will not have a legal status in law - @UKHomeOffice will see them as illegal.

Windrush on steroids.

(Windrush victims were legal but lacked proof). 15/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million There has NEVER been a scheme anywhere in the world that has reached 100% of its target audience. So there WILL be people who don't apply. Is this how we want to treat them, to turn them into illegal immigrants? Is that the country we've become? Really? 16/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million There is another way.

At @the3million we don't like to just criticise and complain. We offer constructive realistic solutions, we work with lawyers and have worked like crazy to argue our case for close to three years now. See below for some of our very concrete asks. 17/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million 1. Give everyone their status in law, and turn the scheme into a registration scheme to get *proof* of that status, instead of an application scheme to *get* the status. The Govt is wrong to say this would cause Windrush - see the3million.org.uk/automatic-righ… 18/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million 2. Give people an alternative choice to go to a local council office to get proof of status. Smartphones and digital status is not for everyone. It's cruel and alienating and computer-says-no for thousands and thousands. We've argued for face-to-face contact for ages. 19/

@ukhomeoffice @the3million 3. Give people physical proof of their status. Everyone is crying out for this. Just take a look at our arguments.

the3million.org.uk/physical-proof

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@ukhomeoffice @the3million 4. Let us all keep our voting rights! Don't treat us as bargaining chips all over again, only allowing *some* of us to vote for bins and potholes dependent on whether you've bargained with our country of origin. It's a democratic outrage.

the3million.org.uk/let-us-vote-ca…

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@ukhomeoffice @the3million While you are here: @the3million is a nonprofit organisation run by dedicated activists fighting for EU #citizensrights. We are holding the Govt to account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We take no breaks. Please support us here: the3million.allwelcome.org/en/donations/c… /end

Sorry I didn't mean ILR, I meant residence card.

Ps apologies, in part 11 I meant residence card, not ILR.