Britain launches crackdown on post-Brexit rights of EU citizens. Brexit

UK ministers will begin removing post-Brexit residence rights from EU citizens who are no longer “permanently” resident in the country.

The initiative is legal under the 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement, but the decision to use travel data to partially determine absences has raised concerns following an HMRC failure in which almost 20,000 parents were denied child benefit due to inaccurate Home Office border data.

The Home Office said the action was aimed at targeting people who had received “pre-settled status” to live in the UK before Brexit, with this status applying to people who had lived in the UK for less than five years.

Authorities will start with those who are believed to have left the country more than five years ago and will put security measures in place, including considering the reasons for prolonged absence.

The Home Office said the action protected public services and was aimed at preventing illegal immigration by abuse of the system. “In line with the withdrawal agreement, status quo ante will be lifted only where it is proportionate to do so,” it says. Its statement on a government website.

The latest Home Office figures show that of the 6.2 million people who have applied for UK immigration status after Brexit, 1.4 million are still on pre-settlement status.

The Migration Observatory at Oxford University said it was difficult to say for sure how many of the 6.2 million people remained in the country, but a combination of census and other data suggests it could be between 3 million and 4 million.

Under the rules, people with established status can live outside the country for five consecutive years and still retain the right to remain in the UK under the 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement. People with pre-existing conditions may be absent for up to six months in any one year.

The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA), a statutory body for civil rights agreements, said it had “expressed concerns” to the Home Office about how the expulsions would be enforced. It states that “it is difficult to know how caseworkers will make individual decisions in practice”.

The3Million, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens in the UK, expressed concerns that “unsafe” decisions would be made based on travel data.

A letter to the Home Office cited a man who had applied to upgrade his pre-established status to permanent status who was questioned by the Home Office on the basis of “apparent inaccuracies” in his travel data.

“Travel data includes journeys that were booked but not taken,” the 3 million said, adding that the Home Office letter to the individual did not recognize incorrect travel data, even where “the inaccuracy is clearly and easily detectable”.

Their data included “two outbound journeys with no inbound journey between them” and journeys that were made on the same date but with different destinations.

Miranda Biddle, chief executive of the IMA, said: “We understand the anxiety, stress and uncertainty that this situation may cause for affected citizens.

“We are continuing to engage with the Home Office to seek assurances about the safeguards it is implementing and the robustness of its decision-making. The IMA will continue to closely monitor how it implements the new guidance.”

The National Audit Office is investigating HMRC’s use of Home Office data despite apparent flaws in their travel records.

An investigation by the Guardian and The Detail found that Home Office data does not always record the return journeys of holidaymakers and business people. It also included airline manifests that did not take into account no-shows, which is a regular occurrence on low-cost airlines making it difficult to cancel a booking.

The Home Office said it would start with those who have been out of the country the longest.

A spokesperson said: “We have clarified that if someone with pre-settled status has spent less than 30 months in the UK in the most recent 60-month period (ie less than five six-month absences), they will stop meeting the eligibility requirements and their status can be removed.

“The vast majority of pre-determined status holders are completely unaffected by this change and only those long-term absent from the UK will be asked to provide evidence of their ongoing eligibility.”