Italian Woman Faces Deportation from UK Despite 'Permanent Residency' Card

An Italian woman in the UK with "permanent residency" is at risk of removal after failing to apply for the post-Brexit EU settlement scheme.

Despite living in the UK for 14 years and holding a residency card, she was not aware of the Home Office's 2019 rule change requiring EU citizens to apply for the new scheme.

Her residency card became invalid when her daughter's European health insurance application was denied. She received incorrect official advice before being directed to apply for the EU settlement scheme, which still accepted late applications on reasonable grounds until an August 9 government policy change.

The woman, an environmental technology investor with a degree from Imperial College London and a Ph.D. candidate at UCL, previously sought permanent residency as a step towards citizenship but reconsidered due to the cost.

With a British husband and a dual-nationality child, she believed she was secure until she realized the severity of her situation. She accuses the government and uninformed lawyers of providing false information and exploiting EU citizens. She suggests the Home Office should have directed people to helpful resources, like Inca for Italians in Britain.

Campaigners have raised concerns that many EU citizens in the UK could be affected by unawareness of the new rules. The3million campaign's acting head criticized the Home Office for making it harder for EU citizens to access their rights, calling it an "authoritarian policy."

The Home Office maintains that it was always clear that permanent residency documents would expire after June 30, 2021, and that it continues to accept and consider late applications with reasonable grounds.