The wife of an Italian resident in the UK has been ordered to leave the UK as a result of an error by the UK Home Office. A 33-year-old Italian-Brazilian engineer who has lived in London since 2018 has been told by the Home Office that his settled status was granted “in error,” throwing his and his wife’s future into doubt. Fabio, who works on energy and climate projects, provided proof of dual nationality, but officials now say his evidence of Italian citizenship before the December 2020 Brexit cut-off was insufficient. Although he can remain in the UK, the ruling means his Brazilian wife loses her right to stay as a qualifying family member, forcing the couple to halt plans for a family and a home.
At least 100 individuals have received similar notifications. The move has drawn strong criticism from legal experts. Professor Catherine Barnard of Cambridge University argued it may breach Article 13(4) of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, which prevents the imposition of limitations on residence rights for those with retained status. Monique Hawkins of the3million described it as a “cliff-edge loss of rights” without proper proportionality assessment. The Independent Monitoring Authority has also written to the Home Office over concerns of incompatibility with the agreement.
Solicitor Mala Savjani questioned the policy’s objective, noting the Home Office is making unverified assertions about complex EU nationality laws. The Home Office declined to comment on individual cases but insisted the actions are not a breach, arguing those granted status in error are not legitimate withdrawal agreement beneficiaries.