The Home Office is beginning a major enforcement drive that could see some EU citizens lose their post-Brexit right to live in the UK if they are no longer considered to be “continuously” resident in the country.
The move, which is permitted under the 2020 Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, will focus on individuals granted “pre-settled status” who are believed to have spent extended periods outside the UK. However, the use of travel data to determine absences has already sparked concerns over accuracy and fairness.
Under the EU Settlement Scheme, EU nationals who had lived in the UK for fewer than five years were granted pre-settled status, allowing them to remain temporarily before qualifying for settled status.
The Home Office says it will begin by reviewing cases where individuals are believed to have left the UK for more than five years, while also applying safeguards to consider legitimate reasons for long absences.
A spokesperson said the policy is designed to protect public services and prevent misuse of immigration rights. They added that any removal of status would only take place where it is considered proportionate and in line with legal requirements.
Government figures show that around 6.2 million people applied for status under the EU Settlement Scheme following Brexit. Of these, approximately 1.4 million remain on pre-settled status.
Research from the Migration Observatory at Oxford University suggests that between 3 million and 4 million of those applicants may still be living in the UK, though exact numbers remain uncertain.
Under current rules, those with settled status can spend up to five continuous years outside the UK without losing their right to return. Pre-settled status holders, however, are limited to absences of no more than six months in any 12-month period.
The planned use of travel records to enforce residency rules has raised concerns among oversight bodies and campaigners.
The Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA), which oversees post-Brexit citizens’ rights, said it had raised concerns with the Home Office about how decisions would be made in practice.
Campaign group The3million has also warned that relying on travel data could lead to incorrect decisions, citing evidence that Home Office records may include errors such as unrecorded return journeys, cancelled bookings, or duplicate travel entries.
The group said some individuals have already been challenged over discrepancies in their data, including cases involving missing return journeys or conflicting travel dates.
Questions over the reliability of government travel data have previously been raised in other departments, with the National Audit Office also examining the use of Home Office records by HMRC following earlier errors affecting benefit payments.
Investigations have suggested that airline manifest data may not always account for missed flights or booking inaccuracies, raising further concerns about how such data is interpreted in immigration decisions.
The Home Office said the enforcement process will prioritise individuals with the longest absences from the UK.
A spokesperson said: “If an individual with pre-settled status has spent less than 30 months in the UK within a 60-month period, they may no longer meet the eligibility requirements and could have their status removed.”
They added that the majority of pre-settled status holders will not be affected and that only those with significant absences will be required to provide evidence of continued residence.