Nine out of 10 appeals challenging Home Office over EU settlement scheme successful, figures show

Figures come as online system for EU nationals to access proof of settled status temporarily fails

Data obtained through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by the Public Law Project (PLP) show 90 per cent of initial decisions on applications to the EU Settlement Scheme were overturned on appeal (AFP)

Nine out of 10 appeals made by EU nationals challenging Home Office decisions about their right to remain in the UK after Brexit have been successful, new figures reveal.

Data obtained through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by the Public Law Project (PLP) show 90 per cent of initial decisions on applications to the EU Settlement Scheme were overturned once the applicant requested an administrative review at a cost of £80.

The figures show out of a total of 325 settled status decisions reviewed up until 12 September this year – less than six months after the scheme was launched – 291 have been overturned, with just 34 being upheld.

There is no breakdown of how decisions were overturned, but they will have included grants of pre-settled status – which gives the applicants immigration status for five years before they will have to re-apply – being changed to settled status, as well as refused applications being granted.

The findings have prompted fresh concerns about the system, which is designed to register all EU citizens living in the UK before Brexit.

Campaigners have questioned how many people who have not got the means to appeal their decisions have been granted the wrong form of status.

It comes as further concern was prompted about the scheme when the online system enabling EU nationals to access proof of their settled status was reportedly not working for a period of time on Tuesday evening.

Campaign group the3million tweeted on Wednesday morning to say the service was not working for at least 30 minutes, between around 11:45pm and 12:12 am, and said it highlighted why the government should grant EU nationals a physical document of proof.

When approached for comment, a Home Officer spokesperson said the service was unavailable for 30 minutes overnight due to "routine maintenance".

Commenting on the FoI data, Alice Welsh, a PLP research fellow, and Dr Joe Tomlinson, research director, said this success rate was “drastically higher” than other Home Office administrative reviews, which were recorded in 2015/16 as 8 per cent, falling to 3.4 per cent in 2016/17.​

Immigration barrister Colin Yeo said the figures were “Very concerning” regarding the quality of unchallenged negative decisions, adding: “In how many cases are officials getting it wrong, but the applicant is wrongly accepting that decision?”

The administrative review system under the Home Office’s settlement scheme allows an individual to submit further evidence, which will then be considered alongside their original application.

A refund is provided if the review is successful but not if the decision is overturned on the basis of new evidence submitted.

A Home Office spokesperson said the majority of overturned decisions were not caseworker error but where an applicant provides new information, and that the overall number of administrative reviews was low compared to the number of people who had been granted status.