Letter To Braverman

 

With her ferocious fanatical reputation I thought to try and beard the lion in his (or her) den and I convinced the Federation of Poles in Great Britain to congratulate her on her appointment as Home Secretary and raise the issue of fairness in the current treatment of Poles and other EU citizens who were landed only with pre settled status. In the fulness of time they have to apply again for full settled status at the end of a 5 year period spent in the UK. I consulted the Polish Consulate and the East European Research Centre to ensure we had the facts right and had a 3 day struggle with the Federation Secretary Tadeusz Stenzel reassembling the wording of the text, as he kept complaining that the letter was too long and wordy.

Anyway here is the press release and the text of the letter. I bet she does not answer. Few will answer as long as the Federation fails to renew its outdated website.

                                                                       P R E S S   R E L E A S E

On Tuesday September 13th the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, based in London, sent a letter to the new Home Secretary, Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP concerning unresolved issues that were causing considerable distress to many Polish and other EU citizens resident in the UK. The letter was signed by the Secretary of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, Mr Tadeusz Stenzel, due to a temporary illness of the Federation President Dr Wlodzimierz Meir Jedrzejowicz

The Federation acknowledges that the introduction of the settled status scheme has been relatively successful despite the complications and doubts originally raised over its merits and practicality. We know from the March 2022 statistics that 5.7 million applications from EU citizens had been concluded, including 1.1 Polish citizens, and that of these last 76% had been granted settled status and 19% pre settled status. Despite passing the deadline of 30^th June 2021 for lodging applications, the Home Office has  continued to allow many unavoidably late applications being made, including at least 42,750 from Polish citizens. The process of application has been aided by the Home Office funding grants to charities, including the East European Advice Centre in London and Polish British Integration Centre in Bedford, providing support, interpretation, and translation services for vulnerable applicants. 

The Federation and the active support groups assisting in handling these cases are concerned that more than 200,000 Polish citizens find themselves in limbo with pre settled status. Many of them still face the difficult task of reapplying again for full settled status once their 5 year stay in this country is achieved. Often because of their personal circumstances they are unaware that they must reapply or lack the technical knowledge or language skills to make the application. While this matter remains unresolved they are often denied  the rights of UK residents to which they are entitled, such as employment, tented accommodation or even entry into the UK. This uncertainty over their status discourages them from making a proper application for settled status and could leave the Home Office with even more persons living here illegally. This unfortunate situation also affects other EU nationalities. as well as Poles.

In the attached letter the Federation has asked the Home Secretary to ease the problem with three issues. 

The first is to extend the deadline for grants to support groups who have played a vital role in assisting with applications and who are facing an increased workload in the next few years as the 5 year period for settled status applicants matures. Their current grants run out after 30th September 2022,

The second is to increase awareness by those with pre settled status of the need to apply afresh for settled status and to give them a warning of the individual deadline by which each of them must lodge the required application. 

The third is to supplement on request the electronic acknowledgement of both settled status and pre settled status with a valid printed document that will make their status more visible to the relevant landlord, employer, school board, border controls or airline staff.

The Federation of Poles in Great Britain CIO, which is an umbrella group representing the main Polish social and cultural organization in Great Britain since 1947, looks forward to a positive response from the new Home Secretary

Issued by Wiktor Moszczynski

Information Officer for the Federation of Poles in Great Britain. 

el 07786471833

www.zpwb.org.uk

13th September 2022

Rt. Hon. Suella Braverman KC MP, Home Secretary, Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

 

Dear Home Secretary,

We would like to congratulate you on your appointment as Home Secretary and trust that you will be able to look with fresh eyes at some of the challenges faced by the United Kingdom.

The settled status scheme has been in many ways a success. However, to conclude the settled status scheme successfully and to ensure that Polish and other EU citizens are not left without a clear immigration status in the United Kingdom, we feel three issues still need to be addressed.

The first issue is to extend beyond September 30th the current financial support for those organizations which are providing an invaluable service to vulnerable applicants with language or IT technical difficulties, in order to obtain the eventual settled status to which they are entitled by the Citizens’ Rights Agreement. Without the support organizations’ help many would have been unable to apply at all or would be at the mercy of rogue advice companies charging extortionate prices for their supposed services. As you are no doubt aware, the work of these support organizations will increase considerably in the next two years as many Polish and other EU citizens, who have received pre settled status, approach their likely deadline for having to make a new application for settled status.

The second issue is to make the pathway easier for applicants who have already been granted pre settled status but now need to obtain the permanent settled status to which many of them would have been entitled to in the first place, if only their documentation had been presented properly. So many are not aware that they have to apply afresh as their current status would not be extended automatically. It can be very difficult to obtain the relevant evidence covering a 5 year period for eligibility to stay. Ideally the Home Office could provide pre settled status holders with an automatic update warning them of their deadline to renew an application for settled status, like the warning on booster covid jabs issued by the NHS.

The third issue is the continued difficulties for Polish and other EU citizens with settled status in having their status recognized by employers, landlords, airline officials or UK border guards, due to a lack of printed documents confirming their status and their rights. The View and Prove platform is not understood by all, as the status details are “flashed” in front of them on a mobile phone.

We are sure that you would share our wish to have this difficult transitional post Brexit period for Polish and other EU citizens concluded positively, as it would also assist the Home Office in clarifying the legal status of all EU citizens remaining in this country. The last thing we would all want is to have disheartened EU citizens failing to apply for settled status in the proper way and statistically increasing the number of people living in the UK without proper immigration status.

The Federation of Poles in Great Britain is an umbrella group representing the main Polish social and cultural organization in Great Britain since 1947. Our members share with you an appreciation of the potential that first and second generation immigrants can bring to the economy and to the social and cultural fabric of this country. We look forward to your positive response to our proposals.

 

Yours sincerely