Home Office’s deportation letters blunder
ABOUT 100 letters have been sent wrongly to EU citizens threatening them with detention or deportation.
An investigation has been launched into the Home Office blunder, which emerged after a leading Finnish academic, who can legally live in the UK under freedom of movement rules, received the correspondence.
Dr Eva Holmberg, who moved to the UK last August with her British husband, was told she had a month to leave the country – or face being booted out.
The historian, who works at London’s Queen Mary University, had applied for a Qualified Person certificate for ‘peace of mind’ in the wake of Brexit. Even though there is no requirement to apply, the registration documents – for citizens from the European Economic Area – confirm a person’s right to live and work in the UK if they have resided here for less than five years.
It led to Dr Holmberg being mistakenly told by the Home Office that a decision had been taken to remove her under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. It said she had ‘failed to provide evidence’ of her right to be in the UK.
The academic, who moved to the UK last August, said it made her feel like a common criminal. She said: ‘How can an EU national be deported? There is free movement of people. It has spiralled into a nightmare – all for a piece of paper I don’t even need.’
After lodging an appeal through her lawyers, Dr Holmberg was contacted by Home Office officials who said it was a mistake.
A spokesman said the letter was one of ‘around 100’ wrongly issued and added: ‘We are absolutely clear that the rights of EU nationals living in the UK remain unchanged.’
Critics said the error would fuel further concern among the 3.2million EU citizens living in Britain after the Brexit vote led to uncertainty over their status. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey said: ‘EU nationals who have made their lives here are already facing huge uncertainty. It is appalling that some are now being officially threatened with deportation.’