The government has been forced to deny it will make EU citizens travel up to 200 miles away to register to stay after Brexit . It comes after Twitter users expressed fury when the Home Office released alarming guidance on the new EU Settlement Scheme. The warning said anyone currently applying to stay in the UK must use an Android phone with 'near-field' contactless technology to scan their documents, because iPhones won't work. If applicants can't access an Android phone, they are being told to travel to one of 13 'document scanning' centres instead. Currently there is only one scanning centre in the whole of Scotland while the nearest one to Penzance is in Bath, 200 miles away. But today the Home Office insisted the guidance only applies to the test phase of the scheme - which is completely voluntary. A spokesman said that once the full rollout of the scheme begins, by 30 March this year, there will be other, easier, ways to apply. These are due to include a postal service to send … [Read more...] about UK insists EU citizens won’t have to register 200 miles away to stay post-Brexit
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EU citizens still welcome after Brexit
The United Kingdom's departure from the EU means an end to freedom of movement between the two, but the British government still wants EU citizens to know they are very welcome to come to Britain to visit, work and study. On Wednesday we set out what the new skills-based immigration system will mean for Europeans coming to the U.K. The U.K. may be leaving the EU, but we are determined that our shared values and enduring friendships with Europe will continue long into the future. Our shared history and commitment to democracy, prosperity and security will mean we continue to influence each other after Brexit. EU citizens have made magnificent contributions to our economy and society, just as British people have done in countries across Europe. We are not just reassessing the shape of our immigration system, we are also taking steps to modernize the processes that support it. One of the top priorities for the government has been securing their rights, regardless of the outcome of the … [Read more...] about EU citizens still welcome after Brexit
‘Help us save our voting rights after Brexit’ EU citizens urge Tower Hamlets Council
PUBLISHED: 21:24 22 November 2018 | UPDATED: 21:24 22 November 2018 Mike Brooke EU citizens call for right to vote in UK local elections after Brexit. Picture: Mike Brooke Mike Brooke A petition to press the government for the 41,000 EU citizens living in London’s East End to continue their voting rights in local elections after Brexit has been presented to Tower Hamlets Council. EU citizen Elsa Morganson in plea to Tower Hamlets Council to help them keep their voting rights after March 29. Picture: Mike BrookeElsa Morganson made an impassioned plea at last night’s council meeting urging the town hall to take up the challenge and campaign so they don’t lose their democratic rights after March 29.“We didn’t have a vote in the 2016 Referendum despite being the group most affected,” she told councillors.“Yet we’ll continue paying council tax after Brexit, so we should continue having a say in who runs our local … [Read more...] about ‘Help us save our voting rights after Brexit’ EU citizens urge Tower Hamlets Council
Ireland to remain open door to UK for EU citizens post-Brexit
Ireland will remain an open door to the UK for EU citizens after Brexit with no mandatory passport checks on those who travel to Britain via Dublin and Belfast, it has been confirmed. After Brexit, EU citizens not already settled in the UK will be subject to immigration rules but will be able to travel to Britain via Ireland and Northern Ireland uninhibited. This is because the withdrawal deal states the UK will respect Ireland’s continued membership of the EU and its freedom of movement rules while at the same time keeping the common travel area (CTA), which has allowed British and Irish citizens to move freely between each others’ countries since 1922. This means EU citizens, who after Brexit will be classified as third-country immigrants in the UK, will be able to travel to Dublin and on to Belfast and take a domestic flight or ferry to Britain without passport checks. The revelation came as tensions over the future of Northern Ireland intensified, with the Democratic … [Read more...] about Ireland to remain open door to UK for EU citizens post-Brexit
Brexit: EU citizens seek judicial review over access to Home Office records
Campaigners for the rights of EU citizens settled in the UK have started legal proceedings against the government over new laws that prevent them from accessing their Home Office records. An application for a judicial review of the Data Protection Act, which was passed into the statute books in May, was lodged in the high court in London on Friday. The legal challenge comes as the government launches its first live trial of a new registration system that will be mandatory for all EU citizens after Brexit. The live trial is taking place in Liverpool and the Home Office is hoping for 4,000 volunteers to go through the online application process for the new immigration category of “settled status”. The3million, a grassroots organisation representing EU citizens living in the UK, and Open Rights Group said they had no option but to seek a court intervention because the government refused to listen to their concerns. They are worried that if EU citizens legally in the country … [Read more...] about Brexit: EU citizens seek judicial review over access to Home Office records