HCLC News

On 13 June 2022, the Home Office announced the outcome of its review of the EUSS Zambrano route, following the January 2022 Court of Appeal hearing. Unfortunately, they have announced that they will not be removing restrictions prohibiting those with other forms of leave from applying for EU Settled Status.

 

Although Ms Akinsanya was successful overall in the Court of Appeal, the Home Office were successful on one ground, regarding their interpretation of EU law. Their interpretation is that a person does not qualify for a Zambrano right to reside if they have another form of leave to remain and this interpretation was found to be correct by the Court of Appeal. In their announcement of 13 June 2022, the Home Office stated that the Appendix EU exclusion of Zambrano carers with other forms of leave from applying to the EU Settlement Scheme is justified, because this exclusion correctly reflects EU law.

 

The Home Office have stated that they will now make decisions on outstanding EUSS Zambrano applications that have been on hold, pending the outcome of their review. They have also provided a 6 week extension, until 25 July 2022, for individuals, who have not yet submitted an application, to submit one if they are eligible.

 

Those individuals who did not have another form of leave on the 31 December 2020, or during the period they would be relying on for their EUSS Zambrano application (the period of time prior to 31 December 2020 during which they were a Zambrano carer), can potentially qualify under the EUSS Zambrano route. The Home Office has now removed the guidance which previously prohibited Zambrano carers who do not have another form of leave but could potentially have applied for another form of leave, from applying to the EU Settlement Scheme.

 

If you have already made an application and are awaiting a decision, you may receive a decision soon.

 

If you have already applied under EUSS Zambrano:

 

Your existing application is likely to be refused if:

 

• You had limited leave in another category (except under Appendix EU) already by 31 December 2020; or
• You didn’t have limited leave in another category by 31 December 2020, but you have been granted limited leave since that date and then went on to make an EUSS Zambrano application while you had limited leave (unless you had accrued 5 years continuous residence as a Zambrano carer before being granted leave); or
• You did not have limited leave on 31 December 2020, and you have not had limited leave since then, however, you did have limited leave during the period you are relying on for your EUSS Zambrano application

 

 

Subject to meeting other criteria, your existing application may be successful if:

 

• You are a Zambrano carer (and you were a Zambrano carer before 31 December 2020), and you did not have another form of leave to remain on 31 December 2020 or since that date, nor during the period you are relying on for your EUSS Zambrano application
• You did not have limited leave by 31 December 2020 and you have since applied and been granted limited leave, but, you accrued 5 years as a Zambrano carer before being granted another form of leave

 

If you have not yet submitted an EUSS application, you may be eligible to obtain status under Zambrano EUSS if:

 

• You have never had limited leave and have made an application to the EUSS; or
• You have had limited leave in the past, but you did not have limited leave on 31 December 2020 and you have not had it since; or
• You did not have limited leave on 31 December 2020 and you were granted limited leave since that date, but, had already accrued 5 years continuous residence in the UK as a Zambrano carer before being granted another form of leave

 

If you have not yet made an application and you think you may be eligible you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.

 

If your application is refused:

 

If your application is refused, there are options available to challenge a refusal. These include administrative review and appeal. It is important to seek legal advice regarding which of these options is best suited to your case and also to assist you in understanding whether a challenge has a chance of success. 

 

• an application for administrative review is an internal review conducted by the Home Office. Such an application costs £80 and must be made within 28 days of receiving the decision
• an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) costs £140 and must be made within 14 days of receiving the decision. Information about how to appeal will be included in your decision letter. If you choose to apply for administrative review first and that is unsuccessful, you can still make an appeal within 14 days of the administrative review refusal

If you are unable to get legal advice before the above deadlines to challenge a refusal, you should consider making an application for administrative review or lodging an appeal ‘in time’ to protect your position while you continue to try to get legal advice.

 

Late applications

 

The Home Office have extended the deadline for applications until 25 July 2022 for those who are eligible and have not yet applied. You can still apply after the 25 July, however, you will need to provide ‘reasonable grounds’ as to why your application was not submitted before the deadline. This means you will need to provide a reason/reasons for your application being late. The Home Office will then decide whether they will allow your late application based on the reasons you have provided.

 

Next steps for the Akinsanya case

 

Ms Akinsanya’s legal team are considering the next steps but we intend to challenge the recent Home Office decision to maintain the Zambrano EUSS rules as they are.

 

We have requested that the suspension on decision making on EUSS Zambrano applications continues until our challenge to the recent decision can be heard by the High Court. However, we do not know at this point if the Home Office will agree to this.

 

Any updates regarding the above can be found on our website and on Twitter.

 

Doughty Street Seminar – EUSS Zambrano

 

Doughty Street Chambers will host a seminar on 8 July 2022 to discuss this recent decision of 13 June 2022 and its implications for applicants. Please find more details about the seminar here: https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/event/new-eu-settlement-scheme-rules-zambrano-carers https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/event/new-eu-settlement-scheme-rules-zambrano-carers