Commission ‘concern’ over UK’s immigration
detention of EU nationals
Brussels following ‘closely’ amid concern over
conditions and length of detention for EU nationals in Britain.
The U.K. Border Force is entitled to reject entry to
EU nationals if officials have reasonable grounds to suspect they intend to
work in the country but can’t produce a work visa |
BY CRISTINA
GALLARDO AND HANS VON DER BURCHARD
May 10,
2021 3:21 pm
LONDON —
The European Commission said Monday that the condition and length of detention
of some EU nationals in U.K. immigration removal centers is a “source for
concern.”
POLITICO
reported last week that about 30 EU citizens, including German, Greek, Italian,
Romanian and Spanish nationals, had been detained at the U.K. border and held
in these centers for up to seven days before being returned to their home
countries. This mirrors the treatment nationals from non-EU countries in the
same situation have long faced.
In a statement
Monday, a Commission spokesperson said this was a “consular issue” raised in
meetings last week between the EU Delegation in London, the Portuguese
presidency of the EU and member countries.
“This does
not seem to be a generalized trend as a small number of EU citizens are
concerned,” the spokesperson said. “Nevertheless, the EU Delegation is
following this case closely, in particular the conditions and the duration of
retention, which are a source of concern.”
On Friday,
the U.K. released a Spanish woman held in an immigration removal center near
London after four days in detention, but has not returned her Spanish passport.
The woman had been put in self-isolation after cases of COVID-19 were detected
in the wing of the center where she was being kept.
Following
Brexit, EU citizens are prevented from entering the U.K. for work purposes
without either a work visa or EU Settlement Scheme status, which guarantees the
residence rights of those who were living in Britain before it left the EU.
EU
nationals can enter Britain visa-free for tourism and stay for up to 180 days.
The U.K. Border Force is entitled to reject entry to EU nationals if officials
have reasonable grounds to suspect they intend to work in the country but can’t
produce a work visa. The officials cannot, however, ask EU citizens for their
residence status under the EU Settlement Scheme until the deadline for
applications closes on June 30.
The
Commission added that it “stands ready to support member states in so far as
possible.” The EU Delegation will share “all related information with the
[U.K.] Home Office,” the spokesperson added.
Asked for a
response Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman declined to
comment on individual cases and said he was not aware of any similar situations
faced by British nationals in the EU.
“Obviously,
we would expect everyone regardless of the residence status to be treated in
the correct manner, but I’m not going to get into individual circumstances,” he
added. “EU citizens are our friends and neighbors, we want them to remain in
the U.K. which is why we are taking such significant steps to provide this very
wide EU Settlement Scheme, which millions have taken up.”
.webp)
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