Key Facts

• Amendments aim to narrow the scope of the Secretary of State's powers in Clause 4.
• Amendment 21 restricts Henry VIII powers to one year from the Act being passed.
• Amendment 22 establishes guiding principles for regulations under subsection (1).
• Amendment 15 seeks to prevent detrimental effects on children of EEA and Swiss nationals.
• Regulations under clause 4 aim to ensure coherence in laws post-free movement.
• The power enables alignment of immigration treatment for EEA and non-EEA citizens from January 2021.
• Amendments tabled would limit the scope and lifespan of the regulations, which the Minister opposes as creating confusion and reviving elements of free movement.
• As of March 31, 2020, 261,880 under-18s were granted settled status through the EU settlement scheme and 150,940 pre-settled status.
• The Minister did not fully satisfy concerns about the scope of proposed powers.
• Stuart McDonald argues that these powers extend beyond what is necessary and may limit judicial oversight.
• Amendment 2 was pressed to a vote but received fewer votes than required, leading to its negation.
• The amendment is part of the Lift the Ban campaign led by Refugee Action.
• Over 200 organisations support the proposal, including Oxfam, British Red Cross, trade unions like NEU, Unison, and CBI members such as Ben & Jerry's.
• In a survey conducted in August and September 2018, 94% of respondents said they would like to work if given permission to do so.
• Asylum seekers receive less than £5 per day in allowances, and 52% have used food banks within the last year.
• Granting asylum seekers the right to work could benefit the UK economy with net gains of £42.4 million according to Refugee Action estimates.
• The amendment aims for six months as a timeframe compared to over a year required in the current system.
• Thousands of asylum seekers are unable to work due to delays in processing their claims.
• The number of people waiting more than six months for a decision has hit a record level, with 29,218 cases last year, up by 77% from the previous year.
• A service standard set by the Home Office would be a step towards addressing this issue.
• Asylum claims from EEA citizens are inadmissible due to the Spanish protocol of the Amsterdam treaty.
• EU member states can treat asylum claims by another EU citizen as automatically inadmissible unless exceptional circumstances apply.
• The required skill level for seeking permission to work is changing from RQF6 (graduate) to RQF3 (A-level).
• The MAC is reviewing the shortage occupation list under the new points-based system.
• Graham Stringer proposes Amendment 5 to narrow the scope of powers provided to the Secretary of State in Clause 4.
• Amendments 6, 9, and 8 are consequential on Amendment 5 to ensure all regulations made under Clause 4(1) use the affirmative procedure.
• The amendments aim to prevent immediate implementation of rules before MPs can scrutinise them.
• The amendments aim to ensure UK nationals can be joined by EU spouses and children without applying the financial thresholds for non-EEA nationals.
• New clause 34 is designed to protect EEA and Swiss nationals from being unable to remain in the UK as partners due to financial requirements during the pandemic.
• Section 89(1) of the Coronavirus Act 2020 sets out when the act expires.
• The family migration rules have separated tens of thousands of families.
• The financial threshold is £18,600 set by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
• The Children’s Commissioner's report from 2015 concluded that the rules have led to the separation of British children from parents.
• New clause 34 seeks an appropriate grace period for families affected by job cuts or furlough due to the coronavirus.
• The Home Office issued guidance in June stating that if someone met the minimum income requirement before March 2020 but their salary dropped on being furloughed, they could still apply as if earning 100% of their income.
• Migrants are more likely to be working in industries affected by the crisis and are at particular risk of losing or having diminished income.
• The transitional period will be nearly six years after the referendum.
• The minimum income requirement was introduced in 2012 to ensure consistency.
• The gross median earnings exceeded the minimum income requirement in every UK country and region in 2018.
• Rights and status of EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK will remain until 30 June 2021.
• Amendment 14 seeks to enable UK citizens returning from the EEA or Switzerland to bring back their close family members without conditions that could not have been imposed under EU law prior to Brexit.
• The amendment addresses cases like Sarah, a British national living in Germany with her German husband and children, who faces a dilemma about uprooting her family due to the £18,600 threshold for bringing her elderly mother back to the UK.
• The current threshold excludes almost half of the country from being able to be joined by their loved ones from overseas.
• The amendment would offer reassurance to the 1.2 million British nationals living in EU countries.
• Until March 2022, British citizens could form relationships or have a family with no or very few conditions attached when returning to the UK.
• Under new immigration rules, spouses and partners must meet a minimum income requirement of £18,600, which increases if there are children involved.
• Amendment 14 aims to provide lifetime rights for UK nationals to bring their close family members from EEA or Switzerland on EU free movement terms.
• The current policy allows until 29 March 2022 for bringing existing close family members back to the UK under EU law terms.
• Other family members have until the end of the transition period, December 31, 2020, to return with a qualifying UK national on EU free movement terms.
• The amendment would automatically confer rights under Article 18(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent provisions in other agreements.
• It aims to ensure that status is permanent for those residing before March 5, 2020.
• Despite praise for the success of the EU settlement scheme, concerns remain about people missing out due to non-application.
• More than 3.2 million applications have been concluded under the EU settlement scheme.
• The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021 for those resident by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.
• A declaratory system could result in issues similar to the Windrush scandal due to lack of clear evidence.
• The EU Settlement Scheme has received more than 3.5 million applications.
• The scheme provides digital proof of status for benefits and entitlements.
• Continuous residency for five years is required before being eligible for settled status under current law.