Almost 1,500 EU citizens face loss of rights as Home Office sued over stripping pre-settled status in UK

Court challenge over protections

The3million says the Home Office removed some or all rights from almost 1,500 people granted pre-settled status without the procedural protections required by the withdrawal agreement. The group is asking the court to review the policy.

Monique Hawkins, acting CEO of the3million, said the department denied people safeguards because it considered them clearly outside the agreement. She compared that reasoning to denying someone a trial because they were “clearly” guilty.

Court papers say the group had sought a change in policy since early 2025 but the Home Office did not change course. The papers describe the challenge as an effort to secure proper due process.

A case involving Italian citizenship

One person affected was a 33-year-old Brazilian Italian engineer who has lived in London since 2018. He was told he should not receive settled status, and that while he could remain in the UK, his Brazilian wife could not.

That decision was reversed in recent weeks after objections were raised. In October 2026, the Home Office accepted that evidence of Italian citizenship acquired through jure sanguinis would show a person was Italian from birth. Some people said they could not obtain an Italian passport because public institutions were in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, despite having an unbroken Italian family connection.

Questions about status decisions

The claim argues that the settlement scheme sometimes went beyond the withdrawal agreement’s minimum requirements. As a result, some people may not know whether they qualified under the agreement, domestic rules, a caseworker’s discretion or an erroneous grant. A Home Office spokesperson said the department could not comment while proceedings were ongoing.