By Emma McClelland - 31 July 2021
Because of Brexit, EU nationals were required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to retain their right to live and work in the UK. This applied to families who have lived here for decades, as well as their children, but the process - pitched as straightforward - often became a tangled web of bureaucracy, as this case study shows.
A love of adventure
Iryna* grew up in a small village in Western Ukraine. On her first day of school she met Andriy, a boy two years older than her who would, one day, become her husband. “It was love at first sight,” she recalls, with a smile.
After finishing school, Iryna went on to study midwifery in the town of Chortkiv, where she got her first job. Her adventurous spirit then took her to Russia where she worked for a while before embarking on a tour across Europe. Here, she fell in love again - this time with the city of London.
Starting a new life
Iryna and Andriy arrived in London in 2011, and soon learnt that they were expecting their first child. Andriy obtained dual Romanian/Ukrainian nationality and the couple applied for residence cards; a requirement of the old EEA Regulations. Iryna paid a ‘private adviser’ over £1,000 of her hard-earned money to help her with the application.
At the time, the pair weren’t married. They tied the knot officially in 2018, the same year the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) began. By then, they had two children and realised they would have to apply to the scheme - for the whole family.
Finding the right support
Under the EUSS, people like Iryna, who are non-EEA family members, had to exchange their old residence card for a new one. A private adviser offered to do this for Iryna for £180. For her children’s EUSS applications, they requested a significant fee of £600 each! Luckily, a friend had told Andriy about the Work Rights Centre and Iryna quickly got in touch.
Exchanging Iryna’s old residence card and making her EUSS application were straightforward but, unfortunately, the children’s EUSS applications were not. At the time, neither child had any I.D. The easiest way to apply for status was to get them Romanian passports on the basis of Andriy’s Romanian nationality, thus allowing them to apply as EU nationals. This should have been relatively simple, but a surprising challenge was about to present itself.
Spell check
Because of a change in Ukranian legislation in 2005, the way people’s names were spelled in the Latin alphabet changed! Iryna had both her old and new passports; the latter featured the new spelling of her name and a letter explaining that she was the same person. But, when they applied for the children’s passports, they were asked why her name was different on the children’s birth certificates. This discrepancy, although explainable, was blocking the way forward.
Iryna contacted the birth certificate registry office to ask if they could change the spelling of her name, but they couldn’t. It seemed that nobody could help her obtain Romanian passports for her children and the 30 June deadline was rapidly approaching. She knew that obtaining passports, even Ukranian ones, would take them too close to the deadline for them to apply online. Instead, they would have to apply on paper.
With our help, the couple ordered, completed and returned the paper applications for their children and the family now await the decision - one of thousands still to be made by the Home Office as it works through a significant backlog.
Giving back to the community
When she thinks about how close they came to paying £1,200 for a private adviser to complete the children’s applications - when this support was available for free - Iryna feels justifiable anger. “It’s robbery,” she exclaims, “and it makes fun of people who want to live and work here the same as everybody else”.
Despite this close call, Iryna and Andriy feel hopeful for the future. It was a difficult journey but I’m happy to have found the Work Rights Centre because you really helped us,” she explains. “If everything works out with the children then we’re going to get a mortgage like everyone else. We really like it in England. And just like the government supports the people here, we want to do the same. We plan to give back to our community.”
Reflecting on this case, Andrei Savitski, the service provider who helped Iryna, commented: “There’s a whole market of consultants who make a business of securing people's right to reside. Without questioning their professionalism, it is regrettable that people should have to pay these sums for something that should be their right. In a kinder world, this type of help would be available to all.”
*All names have been changed to protect our beneficiaries' anonymity
Our service providers continue to support EU nationals with EUSS queries and concerns, including those whose status is pending. To stay up to date with our work, sign up to our newsletter, or support us with a donation.
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