A campaign group has filed a High Court challenge to a Home Office policy under which people granted UK immigration status after Brexit can later be told that their status was awarded in error.
The group the3million says it lodged judicial review proceedings on Friday 6 November 2026. It argues that the policy can deprive people of rights without the direct appeal and other protections required by the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union.
The government rejects the suggestion that its procedures breach the agreement. The court has not yet ruled on the new legal challenge.
What do the 1,473 cases represent?
In a written parliamentary answer on 24 September 2026, Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint said that 1,473 individuals had been notified that their pre-settled status was granted in error, from the launch of the EU Settlement Scheme in 2018 to 30 June 2026.
The figure comes from manual management records and may be revised. Crucially, it does not establish that 1,473 people have already lost permission to live in the UK. The Home Office said it did not hold reportable figures showing how many had already reached their status expiry date or were at risk of doing so.
The cases can involve EU citizens and eligible family members, some of whom are not themselves EU nationals.
How can a previously granted status expire?
The EU Settlement Scheme was set up following Brexit to allow eligible EU, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens and their family members to secure UK immigration status. Pre-settled status generally provides limited permission to remain, while settled status provides indefinite leave.
According to the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA), the Home Office can reconsider the original grant when a pre-settled status holder applies for settled status or when a family member applies to join them.
If officials decide the original grant was erroneous and are not satisfied by further evidence, they may notify the individual that pre-settled status will not be extended and will expire on its existing date. The person can also be told that they cannot sponsor a family member’s application under the scheme.
The distinction matters because a notification allowing status to expire does not itself carry the same direct appeal rights as a formal refusal or curtailment decision. That is central to the dispute.
What the3million is challenging
The3million argues that letting status run out, rather than making a directly appealable decision to withdraw rights, bypasses legal safeguards. It says an assessment of proportionality and a meaningful chance to challenge the Home Office’s view should be required in affected cases.
The group also disputes some of the underlying findings of error. Its legal campaign update confirms that the judicial review was lodged on 6 November. Filing proceedings does not mean the claim has succeeded: the court must determine whether it can proceed and ultimately decide the legal questions.
What has the Home Office said?
In Parliament, the government said individuals are given an opportunity to provide evidence that they qualify. Their current status is not cancelled by that review, although pre-settled status identified as granted in error will not be extended beyond its existing expiry date.
The Home Office says a person who disagrees can submit another EU Settlement Scheme application. If the application is made before existing pre-settled status expires, that status continues while the new application, and any appeal against refusal, is outstanding. A refusal can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
Ministers say these arrangements comply with the Withdrawal Agreement. The Home Office’s published caseworker guidance sets out the approach, including separate rules for applications made after expiry.
What does the independent watchdog say?
The IMA, the statutory body monitoring the UK’s compliance with post-Brexit citizens’ rights agreements, has raised concerns that the policy may be incompatible with the Withdrawal Agreement. It has also highlighted the lack of a clear and direct right of appeal against a decision to let pre-settled status expire.
The watchdog says the policy has existed since 2023, although the Home Office first published caseworker guidance on it in November 2025. The IMA has asked the department to clarify the types of mistakes being identified and says discretionary decisions properly taken when the original application was approved should not simply be revisited.
Italian citizenship cases prompted a review
One set of disputed cases involves people born outside the EU, including in Brazil, who later obtained evidence confirming that they had held Italian citizenship from birth under the jure sanguinis principle.
According to the3million’s account, some were granted pre-settled status but subsequently told they had not been eligible at the relevant Brexit cut-off date.
In October 2026, the Home Office accepted that appropriate evidence of Italian citizenship acquired by descent could demonstrate citizenship from birth, and it began reviewing related decisions. That development does not resolve the wider legal dispute or show that every disputed grant was correct.
Has the Home Office lost a similar case before?
In December 2022, the High Court ruled in favour of the IMA in a separate challenge concerning the automatic loss of rights where eligible pre-settled status holders failed to make a further application. The judgment led to changes including automatic extensions.
That case did not establish that every person ever granted status must retain it regardless of eligibility. The present proceedings address a different question: what legal process and protections are required when the Home Office says its original grant was mistaken.
What happens next?
The immediate next stage is for the court to consider the judicial review claim. No ruling on the lawfulness of the contested policy had been announced as of 7 November 2026.
People who receive a notice saying their EU Settlement Scheme status was granted in error should not assume that they have already lost all rights. However, deadlines and their precise immigration circumstances matter. They can consult the3million’s information page and seek advice from a regulated immigration adviser or solicitor.
Sources
- the3million: High Court judicial review update, 7 November 2026
- UK Parliament: Home Office response, 24 September 2026
- Independent Monitoring Authority: policy statement
- Home Office: EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance, updated 15 October 2026
- the3million: information on status granted in error
- Independent Monitoring Authority: December 2022 High Court ruling
