UK offers EU citizens legal right of appeal

EU CITIZENS are to be granted a statutory right of appeal if their application to stay in the UK after Brexit is rejected, the Government has announced.

The right to appeal to the UK courts is among a set of tweaks to Britain’s proposals on EU citizens’ rights presented to the European Commission in a bid to break the deadlock in Brexit talks ahead of formal negotiations in Brussels later this week.

But representatives of the estimated three million EU citizens living in the UK said the revised proposals left them in the position of “bargaining chips”, as they are dependent on a withdrawal agreement being reached, with no guaranteed right to remain if talks break down without a deal.

The new proposals fall short of offering the European Court of Justice jurisdiction over citizens’ postBrexit rights that the EU is seeking.

In a technical note passed to the European Commission, the UK Government said EU citizens and their families will have the right to appeal to UK courts against a decision to refuse or revoke their “settled status” in Britain, and to remain in the country until the process is concluded.

The note also set out measures to streamline the process of applying for settled status, which is available to EU nationals with five years’ residence in the UK.

Caseworkers will be given the flexibility to exercise “discretion” in applicants’ favour to avoid them being turned down over minor technicalities.