The UK Home Office has informed 1,473 people that the pre‑settled status they received under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) was granted in error. The figure, disclosed in a written parliamentary answer on 24 September 2026, covers applications made from the scheme’s launch in 2018 up to 30 June 2026. Among those affected are individuals who hold Italian citizenship by descent, whose nationality was recognised by Italy only after the 31 December 2020 eligibility cut‑off for the scheme.
What the “granted in error” notice means
- The notice does not cancel the existing pre‑settled status; it remains valid until its scheduled expiry.
- The Home Office will not extend the status, meaning holders lose the automatic right to sponsor family members under the EUSS.
- Holders retain the right to work and may apply for any other visa route while the status is still in force.
- Once the status expires without a new grant, the holder becomes unlawful in the UK.
Settled‑status holders can also receive a similar notice, but the minister’s answer only provided numbers for pre‑settled status.
Practical impact on affected individuals
- An NHS worker who received a notice fears loss of employment and housing rights.
- An Italian engineer in London, who holds settled status, may lose the right for his wife to join him.
- The Home Office conducts the checks when a pre‑settled holder applies to upgrade to settled status or when a relative applies to join a settled sponsor.
- No appeal is available against the notice itself, but holders can submit a fresh EUSS application before expiry and appeal any refusal.
Legal challenge
- The advocacy group the3million, aware of at least 50 cases, sent a pre‑action letter to the Home Office on 28 August 2026, initiating a potential judicial review.
- The Home Office has until 2 October 2026 to respond.
- The3million argues that withdrawing rights already held constitutes a “decision in substance” that should be subject to a proportionality assessment and a right of appeal.
- The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) has warned that the policy may breach Articles 13(4) and 21 of the Withdrawal Agreement. The Home Office’s caseworker guidance on the practice dates from 11 November 2025, though the policy itself has been in place since 2023.
Italian citizenship by descent and the “error”
- Some affected individuals are Brazilian or other nationals who also hold Italian citizenship by birth. Home Office caseworkers dated their Italian nationality from the day Italy formally documented it, which in many cases occurred after the 31 December 2020 cut‑off.
- In one judicial review the Home Office withdrew its “granted in error” finding after the claimant proved that receiving a physical Italian passport post‑Brexit did not mark the start of her Italian citizenship.
- Italian law (jure sanguinis) grants citizenship automatically at birth to a child of an Italian parent; recognition by the Italian state merely certifies an existing status. Consequently, the Withdrawal Agreement, which defines a Union citizen as a national of a member state, should recognise Italian nationality from birth, not from the date of Italian administrative recognition.
Proving citizenship when recognition is delayed
- Until Italy completes the recognition procedure, a descendant’s citizenship may not be recorded in any Italian register, leaving the individual without documentary proof.
- The Home Office may legitimately request proof at the time of the EUSS application.
- Once recognition is granted, it is treated as evidence covering the entire period since birth.
- Lawyers advising the3million recommend that affected Italians submit a fresh settled‑status application supported by an expert report on Italian law.
Recent changes to Italian citizenship by descent
- Law 74/2025 (effective 27 March 2025) states that anyone born abroad who holds another citizenship is deemed never to have acquired Italian nationality, except for those who applied for recognition before that date and two narrow cases linked to a parent or grandparent.
- Italy’s Constitutional Court upheld the reform in March 2026, and in July 2026 the Court referred its compatibility with EU law to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- The individuals involved in the UK cases obtained Italian recognition before the March 2025 cut‑off, so the reform does not affect them, but it highlights the growing importance of the timing of citizenship recognition.
Source article: www.imidaily.com
