The ministers are accused of violating their commitment to ensure the rights of thousands of British nationals who have settled in the European Union and married foreigners after Brexit.
British activist Europe (BiE) has written to Foreign Minister Wendy Morton and Immigration Minister Kevin Foster about the “heartbreak” and “pain” of the Home Office issues faced by British citizens with regard to their right to return to the UK.
Before Brexit, all EU nationals-including Britons-were free to move from one member state to another with their families, no matter where they came from.
But after Brexit, non-British spouses of British citizens—including Germans, French and Spanish—need Apply for pre-settlement status Before March 29 next year. However, they are only eligible if they obtain a new EU family permit from the Ministry of the Interior.
BiE stated that it is aware of multiple cases in which spouses of British people living in the European Union were denied family permits for non-UK spouses or partners under the “Surinder Singh route”, or their applications faced “significant problems”.
It told Morton that these examples “are exactly what we know British citizens and their families will face after losing EU rights, and why we are asking for a grace period.”
“During the passage of the immigration bill, your ministerial colleagues Kevin Foster and Baroness Trafford assured other MPs and peers that these families…the future is safe. Obviously, this is not the case.” Said in the letter.
BiE calls on the government to extend the deadline for applications beyond March 29, 2022, because the British people have the opportunity to exercise their rights and delays.
A heavily pregnant British woman living in Barcelona said that after her husband was denied permission, she could not go home to visit her father who had recently suffered a brain injury. Olivia Hughes said her Moroccan husband Abdul, a legal Spanish resident, was denied permission due to paperwork and is now facing a potential appeal that may force her to enter the first court.
Elementary school teacher Hughes said she was shocked and distressed by her government’s “severe treatment” and “lack of sympathy.”
“You have to apply for and submit a large number of documents on the government website, but it is not clear what form of evidence you need to provide in order for them to accept it,” she said. “They could have asked for additional paperwork, but they refused. The appeal may take months or a year, and then we will miss the deadline for pre-resolving the status.”
She has written to Peter Kyle, a member of Hove, asking him to deal with her case.
“Sadly, it is creating problems between us. It is really hard to accept not being able to come back with my husband when an emergency occurs. We need to move together because I am seven months pregnant and don’t want to risk being alone. It’s simply annoying. Heartbroken,” she said.
“We are not fake. This has really caused my family to fall apart, and it currently has an extremely negative impact on my father’s health and my own mental health.”
Hughes said that the Home Office could treat British nationals like EU nationals, only to give them an opportunity to provide supplementary evidence instead of forcing them into lengthy court proceedings-which may ultimately mean that they have no time to go home. NS.
BiE Chairman Fiona Godfrey said that Olivia’s case is a typical British person’s post-Brexit nightmare simply because they fell in love with a non-British national.
Another woman, Jenny Gruner, who lives in Spain, is now worried that her application to return home with her German husband Christian may be overtime or fail due to delays from the Ministry of the Interior.
“If we cannot obtain this family permit on time, I know we will never be able to return to the UK as a family because I will never be able to afford the spouse visa fee-£8,000,” she said.
Gruner, from Hackney, east London, said: “I want to move to Kent to be closer to my sister. My little boy is three years old and we need to choose a school before December. This is too unfair. The deadline for applications after Brexit is very tight.”
Another woman who has been married to a British man for six years and owns her own business and unsecured houses in the Czech Republic said that they had applied for a permit from the Ministry of the Interior in January but were told they must wait two weeks. They are still waiting. “Our EU friends can stay in the UK with their non-EU spouses, but I didn’t even have permission to enter the country, which shocked us,” she said.
The Home Office stated: “British citizens returning to the UK with their family members from the European Union should apply for a family permit under the EU Settlement Scheme.
“Each case will be considered as soon as possible and will be heard according to its specific circumstances.”
