London:
Some British individuals living in the European Union are getting issues accessing advantages, services and jobs, Home Secretary Priti Patel complained Wednesday on the fifth anniversary of the historic Brexit vote.
In an write-up in The Daily Telegraph, Patel accused EU nations of treating British individuals unfairly, 5 years just after more than 51 % of Britons voted to leave the bloc following a campaign led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The home secretary stated that “there have been a number of reported instances of UK nationals in the EU being asked for residence documents they do not need to hold, being prevented from accessing benefits and services, and having trouble with their right to work.”
She also cited difficulties with travel to the EU, saying that some British nationals have “faced disruption on boarding and entry”.
She stressed it was “only right that the EU uphold their obligations on citizens’ rights, just as the UK has done for EU citizens in the UK.”
Meanwhile she boasted that the UK’s settlement scheme for EU citizens, which opened in March 2019, was “very generous.”
By contrast, quite a few EU nations have windows of a year or significantly less for their equivalent schemes for British nationals, she stated, and “France’s is currently open for less than nine months.”
She urged EU citizens to meet a June 30 deadline to apply for UK residency rights, but stated these who missed it on affordable grounds will nonetheless be in a position to apply.
Immigration Minister Kevin Foster stated Wednesday that such exceptions would contain children whose parents failed to apply for them or individuals who had a critical illness that prevented them applying.
He stated immigration officers will be in a position to concern 28-day notices to individuals they encounter who may well be eligible to apply, such as when conducting immigration raids.
Around 5.3 million EU citizens have applied for residency rights in the UK, according to government figures.
()