Here For Good, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

6 November 2024

[2024] EWHC 2817 (Admin)

High Court

A charity sued the government over new rules making it harder for EU citizens to apply late for settled status in the UK after Brexit. The court said the new rules are legal because there's a separate process for reviewing late applications, and a full appeal isn't needed; a court review is enough.

Key Facts

•Here For Good, a registered charity providing immigration advice, challenged Home Office changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) rules regarding late applications.
•The changes introduced a two-stage process: assessing reasons for delay and then eligibility, with no appeal for the first stage, only judicial review.
•The charity argued this breached the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), specifically Article 18(1)(r) regarding access to redress, and Article 21 on residence rights restrictions.
•They also claimed it violated Article 47 of the EU Charter on the right to an effective remedy.

Legal Principles

Interpretation of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, Article 31.

Article 18(1)(d) and (r) of the Withdrawal Agreement concerning deadlines and redress.

Withdrawal Agreement, Article 18(1)(d) and (r).

Article 21 of the Withdrawal Agreement regarding safeguards and residence rights restrictions.

Withdrawal Agreement, Article 21.

Article 47 of the EU Charter on the right to an effective remedy.

EU Charter, Article 47.

Adequacy of judicial review as a remedy.

CJEU case Banger C-89/17, and domestic case R(King) v Secretary of State for Justice [2016] AC 384.

Outcomes

Claim dismissed.

The court held that Article 18(1)(r) doesn't apply to the initial decision on whether to accept a late application; this is a preliminary assessment, not a decision on the application itself. Judicial review is deemed sufficient. The EU Charter also did not apply as no EU law was directly engaged.

Here For Good, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Key Facts

Legal Principles

Outcomes

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