Home Office stages U-turn on decision to reject London-born children of EU couple living in UK

The Home Office has performed a U-turn following its decision to refuse UK residency to two children who were born and raised in London.

Jan-Dinant Schreuder and Monica Obiols, who have lived in the UK all their adult lives, were left feeling “unsettled” earlier this month after the Government refused an application for their two children to be recognised as permanent residents.

But the Home Office has now reversed its decision and issued their children residency cards after Mr Schreuder spoke out of the anger and “general confusion” the initial refusal caused the family.

The couple, both 49, had decided to apply for permanent residency (PR) cards for themselves and their two children, aged 12 and 15, after the EU referendum last June.

While Mr Schreuder, from the Netherlands, was issued indefinite leave to remain and Spanish-born Ms Obiols was granted a PR card, the Home Office sent separate notices to the both children notifying them that their applications for PR had been refused.

They were told they must provide more evidence that the children lived permanently with their parents.

After receiving the residency cards last week, eight days after the initial rejection, Mr Schreuder told The Guardian: “The Home Office were very polite and apologetic. They called here first to get Monica, and I told them she wasn’t here.

“They said they would call her on her mobile. Then they phoned back to tell me that everything would be OK because they thought I would be alarmed, they acted like normal human beings. I am happy it’s all over and we don’t have to reapply.”

Mr Schreuder, a secondary school teacher, has lived in the UK since he was three years old, while Ms Obiols, a special needs teacher, has been living continuously in the UK since 1988. Both the children have Spanish passports, which under EU law means nothing more needs to be done after they were born to establish their right to remain in the UK.

Responding to the Government’s reviewed decision, Nicolas Hatton, co-founder of EU national campaign group The3Million, told The Independent: “I’m delighted that the children have rightfully been granted permanent residency, but it shouldn’t really have to involve the media for a normal family to get their paperwork.

“The Home Office should really look at having a family-wide process, so that it’s one family, one application. It’s absolutely ridiculous that different members of same family can have different residency status. We urge the Home Office to review their process.”

The refusal and subsequent U-turn comes as an EU legal service revealed that it has seen a marked rise in the number of EU nationals seeking advice on issues surrounding PR in the UK, as well as similar queries from UK citizens living in EU member states.