London (by Rosita Pirulli)
Monique Hawkins, a Dutch woman, received a letter from the Home Office stating that she had to leave the UK: her application for permanent residency was rejected because the copy of her passport she sent was declared invalid.
“As you appear to have no alternative basis of stay in the United Kingdom you should now make arrangements to leave,” the letter said.
The woman declared she could not submit the original copy of her document, as she needed it to travel to Netherlands after her father’s death. She also added that before the submission, a solicitor signed the disapproved copy, in order to make it legally acceptable and in order to justify the temporary absence of the original copy.
After the rejection, the woman called the Home Office to sort the problem out, but the employees said they did not want to discuss her case personally.
Furthermore, her complaint was dismissed also because it was declared invalid according the guidelines of the Home Office.
Mrs Hawkins has lived in the UK for 24 years, she got a degree in Maths at Cambridge University and even though she married an Englishman, today she is facing this situation. Regarding the marriage between UK and EU citizens, her husband stated: “As a British citizen, I had the expectation that marrying someone from abroad would automatically give them the right to become a British citizen.”
This news has increased her fears born because of Brexit. What seemed to be a sign of hope turned into a nightmare.
On the other hand, the Hawkins’ case is not the only one, as others have been registered recently. Many of the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK have applied for permanent residency in order to guarantee their rights are respected after Brexit. The English press reported that many have received erroneous rejections because of paperwork issues.
In fact, the Hawkins’ case has now urged to set up a campaign group – representative of the EU citizens living in the UK – which is requiring a reform of the Home Office’s procedures for permanent residency. One of the answers is going back to the 1980s or 1990s, when the workers contacted the applicants if any problem was registered. This seems to be the first hypothetical solution to the rejection of the requests for residency. It is considered human and useful to get through immigrants’ applications quicker.
HOME OFFICE’s responsibilities:
– Securing the UK border and controlling immigration;
– Working on the problems caused by illegal drug use;
– Keeping the United Kingdom safe from the threat of terrorism;
– Considering applications to enter and stay in the UK;
– Issuing passports and visas;
– Fire prevention and rescue.