Family 'stressed' over UK removal threat

Jose Baptista and his family have been told they must leave the UK

A Portuguese man and his three children face being removed from the UK, despite an ongoing application for settled status.

Jose Baptista and his children, who live in Byker, Newcastle, have been sent removal orders by the Home Office, even though their applications for pre-settled status have not been decided yet.

Under post-Brexit rules, EU citizens have to apply to stay in the UK but still have the right to work, live and study while their immigration statuses are being decided.

The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

Mr Baptista, who works in a Newcastle restaurant, said he was "very stressed" about the removal notices.

Since Britain's departure from the European Union, EU citizens and their families living and working in the UK no longer have an automatic right to do so as freedom of movement has come to an end.

Instead, they have to apply for legal permission to remain under what is known as the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Changed guidance

The family, who have lived in the UK since July 2020, were given the orders at Edinburgh Airport after returning from holiday on 3 September.

Border Force officials held and questioned Mr Baptista about his immigration status.

Mr Baptista was held in part because the Home Office had changed its guidance in July to advise applicants not to travel while their settled status applications were still being decided.

Before July, the government had told applicants that, subject to "usual immigration customs and health checks", they could travel freely.

Chris Boyle, at North East Law Centre, is supporting Mr Baptista and his family and said applicants were not notified of this change.

"Even lawyers may not be aware of it because there are so many guidance documents," he said.

Threat 'hangs' over family

At the airport, Border Force said Mr Baptista did not have enough evidence to prove he had been living in the country before 31 December 2020, the cut-off date for applications the government had set.

Mr Baptista and his three children, for whom he had not yet made a pre-settled status application, were given three days to leave the country.

But Mr Boyle said airport staff had completely ignored the fact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and a judge had already accepted Mr Baptista was living in the country before the cut-off date.

They had done this when Mr Baptista had been forced to appeal an earlier application.

"How are they able to overrule that decision?" he said.

Mr Boyle said it would be particularly disruptive for Mr Baptista's children to leave.

"It is halfway through the school year," he said.

Settled status applications are now pending for the entire family.

The threat of deportation "hangs" over all of them, Mr Boyle said.