In yet another Home Office "u-turn" was reported last week in the Guardian with regard to the recently announced changes to the immigration rules. The Home Office has now decided to allow late applications for permanent residency with regard to the settled status that was made after the close of the June deadline for those applicants who relied on the "lack of awareness" of as a reasonable ground for their late application.

This second about-turn by the Home Office largely relates to EU citizens who have been domiciled in the UK for a lengthy period of time and did not recognise that they needed to apply. They are often taxpayers who have worked for some time in the UK and contributed to the economy.

As part of a clampdown aimed at reducing the level of foreign and EU citizens aiming to settle in the UK, the new rules were announced in August. Amongst the many other measures was the withdrawal of the "lack of awareness" excuse as a reasonable ground for failing to apply within the time frame. The withdrawal of this ground created consternation, particularly with those EU citizens who were caught by this change in the rules, in some cases creating financial devastation where businesses had been established.

The entire attempt by the Home Office to reduce net migration has been fraught with problems from the onset. The Independent Monitoring Authority's win in the High Court, in 2022 when the Authority claimed that it was wrong to remove the employment, residency and healthcare access from those EU citizens with pre-settled status who had neglected to apply to upgrade their settled status on eligibility. It was argued that employers, landlords and even banks may take the view that the situation was ambiguous and there was sufficient legal risk to justify the removal of such an individual's rights.

The 3million, a lobbying group on behalf of EU citizens, called for more explicit guidance to ensure that nobody is left behind due to a lack of clarity on this latest announcement. The group also stated that it believed that being in possession of an EEA permanent residence card should, in itself, be adequate evidence for believing the holder when they say did not recognise that they were required to apply again to live permanently in the UK, particularly as many individuals had lived in the UK for some time.

Kavina Munja, a lawyer in the immigration department, commented "The Home Office must be very sure that all relevant immigration personnel are comprehensively aware of the ramifications of the latest announcement and all its implications. Including individuals that man the points of entry to the UK as well as the "coal-face" workers in the Home Office." Kavina further pointed out "that they were credible accounts of confusing or misinformation accidentally emanating from both sources. EU citizens must similarly keep up with the immigration rules and not assume that long-term domicile conveys an automatic right to remain."

Giambrone & Partners' immigration lawyers still note that the timeline for some of the proposed wider changes to the financial rules has still not been clearly defined which leaves individuals and families in limbo. Giambrone & Partners highly experienced immigration lawyers have years of experience in assisting individuals and their families to navigate the immigration rules.

Kavina Munja has considerable experience related to immigration applications and has a comprehensive range of knowledge and expertise. She has successfully dealt with complex immigration appeals in the jurisdiction of England and Wales.

Kavina can assist clients with the preparation of applications, working closely with the authorities and ensuring that there are no errors or omissions that may impact the success of the application.

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