Alyn Smith: Here's how Tories are keeping the UK's EU citizens out in the cold

EU citizens arriving in the UK have to go through an application process in order to receive their all-important National Insurance number, allowing them to work and pay the correct amount in tax and National Insurance contributions.

None of us would be surprised to learn that the coronavirus pandemic has placed significant strain on government processes, including the issuance of these numbers. However, while delays during this difficult time would be an understandable inconvenience, the fact the Government has chosen to completely suspend applications for National Insurance numbers since March is absurd and, frankly, discriminatory to those coming here from the EU to work and live. This decision has left EU citizens in limbo for months now.

I have had several constituents contact me asking for help as they face increasing difficulties and uncertainty without a National Insurance number.

EU citizens looking for jobs during this period have struggled as many employers ask for a National Insurance number as part of job applications. While the Government has rightly stressed that people who have the right to work in the UK are able to start work without a National Insurance number, many employers are unaware of this fact. As a result, many in this position are rejected outright at the application stage, preventing them from gaining employment at a time when work is already hard to come by.

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This has forced some, particularly vulnerable people, into irregular work where they risk exploitation.

Having heard from those who have succeeded in getting a job, I can tell you that their position is still far from ideal. Without a National Insurance number, the Government has automatically placed many EU citizens on hugely punitive emergency tax codes, eating into their wages substantially. Job security is also not guaranteed, with many living in fear that their employer may make them redundant at any given time if they cannot provide a National Insurance number.

EU citizens who find themselves in this position have also faced significant trouble in opening a UK bank account. Many banks require a National Insurance number in order to create an account, leaving many without the means to receive payment of their wages or fully integrate with society.

I am aware of other troubling cases in which families have been unable to access financial support during the pandemic and have struggled to obtain their rightful immigration status as the process is made more complex and difficult without a National Insurance number.

As far as I can see, there is no valid reason for why this deeply concerning situation has been allowed to unfold.

The Department for Work and Pensions claims that an in-person interview at a Jobcentre is needed for the application process and Jobcentres are currently closed due to the pandemic.

Yet, I am aware that the same department has managed to continue processing applications for Universal Credit, which usually requires the same in-person interview at a Jobcentre. Interviews for this have been performed over the phone, with documents provided at a separate date. Why can this alternative process not also be used for National Insurance number applications?

I’ve pressed the Government on fixing this issue, asking for an update on the progress for a digital solution to the processing of National Insurance numbers. Despite being almost nine months into this pandemic, its response was simply that this is “still ongoing”.

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Recently, the Government has revealed that EU/EAA and Swiss nationals who have been granted settled or pre-settled status as part of their EU Settlement Scheme have been involved in the testing of alternative identify verification solutions, as their identity will have been verified, through this process, by the Home Office. While welcome, this response is still too little, too late.

This unacceptable situation is disproportionately affecting EU citizens, as UK residents turning 16 are still being issued with National Insurance numbers and non-EU applications made by those entering the UK on visas are still being processed. With Brexit looming, there are concerns that the Government is taking advantage of the pandemic to make it difficult for EU citizens who wish to stay.

Once Jobcentres finally reopen, though (and who knows when that might be), a massive backlog in applications for National Insurance numbers will be waiting.

In addition to adding to the already substantial delay EU citizens have faced, many worry that this backlog will result in their applications failing to be processed before the June 2021 deadline for the UK’s EU settlement scheme.

I’ve written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey, asking when National Insurance applications for EU citizens will reopen and how the Government plans to deal with the backlog of applications, such as those of EU workers, are processed before June.

The Government must ensure that people who live in the UK receive full and equal treatment, regardless of their nationality.