Key facts
- The3million is asking the court to declare the grant in error policy unlawful under the withdrawal agreement or common law.
- The statement of claim says the Home Office removed rights without the appeal right and proportionality assessment the withdrawal agreement requires.
- The Home Office said it could not comment because proceedings were ongoing.
- Monique Hawkins, acting CEO of the3million, said the Home Office refused to change course despite advocacy efforts since early 2025.
- In 2022 high court judges ruled in favor of the Independent Monitoring Authority, backed by the3million, over conditions imposed on EU citizens reapplying for settled status.
The Home Office is being sued for alleged breach of the Brexit withdrawal agreement after stripping almost 1,500 EU citizens of their full rights to live in the UK. Campaign group the3million lodged papers at the high court on Friday, November 6, 2026, after cases emerged of EU citizens granted pre-settled status who were later told those decisions were an error.
According to the statement of claim, the Home Office removed all or some rights without the procedural protections the withdrawal agreement requires, including a right of appeal and an assessment of proportionality. Among those affected was a 33-year-old Brazilian Italian engineer in London since 2018 who was told his Brazilian wife could not stay, a decision reversed in recent weeks after objections. Another EU citizen, an NHS worker studying for a PhD in dentistry, said the notification turned her life upside down.
In October 2026 the Home Office accepted that evidence of Italian citizenship obtained through jure sanguinis would be treated as Italian from birth. It had previously told a number of Brazilian Italians their status was granted in error because they had not presented an Italian passport at application.
Monique Hawkins, acting CEO of the3million, said: "The Home Office is putting the cart before the horse. It denies people the safeguards the withdrawal agreement guarantees, a fair assessment and a right of appeal, because it says they are clearly not covered by the agreement." She said the jure sanguinis change showed the department could alter policy when errors were exposed, and that despite advocacy since early 2025 the Home Office refused to change course.
The group is asking the court to declare the grant in error policy unlawful and to excise the offending parts of the published policy. Lawyers have argued the UK's flexible approach to evidence when granting status compounded the current policy. A Home Office spokesperson said they could not comment as proceedings were ongoing.