A CARE worker who came to the UK when she was an 11-month-old baby has lost her job as a consequence of Brexit rule changes.
The Spanish woman, 45, told The Guardian she had applied for EU settled status in order to remain in the UK after the deadline last month – but found her application is amongst 500,000 cases the Home Office is still to process.
The woman, who has not been named, claims she has called the department’s helpline more than 100 times in recent weeks but has been unable to get through to an adviser.
At the end of June her care home employers found she could not prove her right to work in the UK and asked her to demonstrate her status. She told the newspaper it was like the bosses “were accusing me of coming here on the back of a lorry”, and explained how she cried during a meeting with them.
READ MORE: Brexit: Almost 6000 EU nationals are in status backlog a year later
The 45-year-old faced difficulties in applying for settled status as she did not have a British or Spanish passport, making her ineligible for a digital application and instead having to send her birth certificate in a complex printed form.
“Because I’ve been in this country all my life, I didn’t think I would have any problems,” she explained. “My husband and two children are British.”
At the start of July she was fired, with her employers warning they faced a fine if she continued working for them.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said the woman’s experience was exactly what the UK Government had been warned about.
“And so it begins,” he wrote. “The blame for this lies fairly and squarely at the door of [Boris Johnson]. A woman who has been here since a baby denied her right to work. I hope this is fixed asap but this will be the first of many.”
Ahead of the settled status deadline last month, Europe minister Jenny Gilruth warned the system risked a second Windrush scandal.
“The Scottish Government does not accept that our EU citizens should have to sign up to any sort of scheme,” she said. “Indeed, Michael Gove, the Prime Minister and Priti Patel all gave assurances during the 2016 referendum that there would be ‘no change’ for EU residents here.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson leaving EU nationals 'in limbo', Ian Blackford warns
Scottish calls for an extension to the deadline went ignored despite the large number of applications in the Home Office backlog.
A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: “There have already been more than 5.1m grants of status under the hugely successful EU settlement scheme. Anyone who applied to the scheme by the 30 June deadline, but has not had a decision, has their rights protected until their application is decided. This is set out in law.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel