Policy paper

Response to the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements report: 'An Inquiry by the Independent Monitoring Authority into Certificates of Application'

Published 5 September 2023

The Home Office response to the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements report:

‘An Inquiry by the Independent Monitoring Authority into Certificates of Application’

June 2021 to June 2022

The Home Office thanks the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (the IMA) for their report into the issuing of certificates of application (CoAs)^{[footnote 1]} under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

We welcome this report on the Home Office’s approach to issuing CoAs under the EUSS and the compliance of that approach with our obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement (the Agreements).

The EUSS has been a great success in enabling EU, EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, and their family members, to obtain the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK. This is demonstrated by the total number of applications received which, as at 30 June 2023, was 7,400,720, of which 7,246,400 had been concluded. Taking account of repeat applications, of the 7.4 million applications made, an estimated 6.2 million people had applied to the scheme, of which 5.6 million people had obtained a grant of status, as at 30 June 2023. The 7.4 million applications received by that date were considerably more than the numbers estimated at the start of the scheme and than have been received by those EU Member States also operating a constitutive scheme.

We have also provided significant support for those applicants who need it. More than 490,000 vulnerable people have been supported to apply to the EUSS by our network of grant-funded organisations across the UK. Funding for that network – now £32 million in total since 2019 - will continue until March 2025.

The EUSS application process, including the issuing of CoAs, was designed from the outset to be as customer-focused, easy and straightforward as possible and to align with the wider immigration system’s ‘digital by default’ approach. Accordingly, the process incorporates the option for applicants with a relevant ‘chipped’ identity document of verifying their identity remotely, via the ground-breaking ‘EU Exit: ID Document Check’ app. As recognised by the IMA in their report, this has enabled the vast majority of EUSS applications to be validated, and a CoA issued, on an automated basis.

In a small minority of applications made via the app, there is a need for manual intervention by a caseworker.^{[footnote 2]} The EUSS also receives a relatively small proportion of ‘paper’ applications, where the applicant cannot use the online application process, which also require manual validation by a caseworker. The three IMA inquiry recommendations concern the relatively small proportion of EUSS applications that require manual intervention by a caseworker.

The IMA inquiry recommendations focused on two specific periods: June 2021 and June 2022. 30 June 2021 was the deadline for applications to the EUSS by those resident in the UK by the end of the transition period and this was a time of unprecedentedly high levels of EUSS applications, which required some exceptional measures to be taken to deal with the exceptionally high demand. However, looking forward, there is no further such main deadline under the scheme. The data provided over the duration of the inquiry demonstrates the continuing progress made in reducing the number of cases without a CoA.

More than four years on from the opening of the EUSS and more than two years since the main application deadline of 30 June 2021, the Home Office has made some appropriate changes to the EUSS, consistent with the Agreements, to maintain the integrity and effective operation of the scheme, in particular in dealing with spurious applications. On 17 July 2023, we announced changes to the Immigration Rules for the EUSS, including making the requirement to demonstrate ‘reasonable grounds’^{[footnote 3]} for the delay in applying a validity requirement for late applications. The consideration of whether there are reasonable grounds for a late EUSS application was implemented on 9 August 2023. The reasonable grounds assessment is now undertaken before accepting a late application as valid and issuing a CoA. As this change was announced in July 2023, it was not considered as part of the IMA inquiry, but it is necessarily part of the context in which we have considered the IMA’s recommendations.

For the reasons set out below, the Home Office has accepted one, and not accepted two, of the three recommendations contained in the report.

Recommendation 1

That the Home Office should extract meaningful data from their systems. The collection of this data would be for the purposes of monitoring and responding to the time that it is taking to review and validate applications, and to better manage the system of issuing CoAs.

Accepted

The Home Office accepts this recommendation.

We make use of daily management information that breaks down the total number of cases at each stage of the three-stage consideration process for EUSS applications (validity, suitability and eligibility) and further breaks down the number of cases into different sub-cohorts^{[footnote 4]} at the validity stage. This allows us to monitor the volume of applications at the validity stage and how long they have been outstanding; resources are flexed accordingly to ensure efficient and timely progress. Through this overview, we have been able to monitor the reduction in the number of applications at the validity stage following the spike in applications received in June 2021.

The Home Office will consider whether enabling further extraction of meaningful data from systems would enhance the ability to monitor and manage the process for issuing CoAs (or rejecting applications which do not meet the validity requirements). The functionality for collecting additional data relevant to the timeliness of issuing CoAs is not currently available. As set out above, we are already able to monitor applications awaiting validation and the value of obtaining more granular data will need to be considered in light of other border and immigration system priorities and the diminishing number of EUSS applications awaiting a CoA.

The Home Office will explore the feasibility of additional data collection regarding the timeliness of issuing CoAs in the context of the new validity process. However, this will require scoping and development work before we can confirm whether the relevant data can be collected and monitored.

Recommendation 2

That the Home Office should adopt a service standard where CoAs are issued within 5 working days from the time which the application, or any required further information, is received.

Not accepted

The Home Office does not accept this recommendation.

We accept that a CoA should be issued as soon as possible to those who make a valid application to the EUSS. As mentioned above, during the periods that the IMA inquiry focused on, a CoA was issued automatically in the vast majority of applications, via the online process. The Home Office also accepts that, where a manual intervention by a caseworker is necessary to validate an application, a CoA should still be issued as expeditiously as possible.

However, as noted above, from 9 August 2023 we have introduced changes to the EUSS application process which require a late applicant to have demonstrated they have reasonable grounds for their delay in applying to the scheme before the application is accepted as valid and a CoA is issued. As part of these changes to the process, the Home Office intends to triage cases where all relevant supporting evidence of reasonable grounds has been provided, in order to assist with expeditious issuing of a CoA.

At the present time, the operational impact of this significant change in process has yet to be fully established. Given this, the Home Office does not consider it appropriate to adopt a formal service standard for issuing CoAs within 5 working days.

As the impact of the introduction of the reasonable grounds assessment at the validity stage is better understood, we will continue to closely monitor data relating to our performance in validating applications and issuing CoAs.

Recommendation 3

That the Home Office should monitor performance against that target.

Not accepted

The Home Office does not accept this recommendation.

In line with the response to Recommendation 2, we are unable to commit to a 5 working day service standard for issuing CoAs and therefore to monitor performance against it.

The Home Office will continue to monitor closely the total number of applications at the validity stage of the EUSS process and manage resources accordingly, to ensure efficient and timely progress in issuing a CoA where a valid application has been made. In line with the response to Recommendation 1, we have committed to reviewing and exploring the feasibility of additional data collection regarding the issuing of CoAs. We will use this data, where available, to help us better monitor the timeliness of issuing CoAs.

Conclusion

Consistent with our commitment to continuing to improve the service provided to customers, the Home Office welcomes the scrutiny the IMA has given to this aspect of the EUSS and the report’s findings and recommendations.

1. Applicants who have made a valid application to the EUSS are issued with a CoA, in paper or digital form, which can be relied on to evidence their rights in the UK while their application to the EUSS is considered. ↩

2. For example, where there is a need to check a facial match because the app’s facial recognition software finds that the ‘selfie’ uploaded to the app does not match the image in the chip in the document. ↩

3. The deadline for most people to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021, but eligible applicants may still be able to apply if they have a later deadline to do so or they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for their delay in applying. ↩

4. For example, cases awaiting verification, the receipt of identity documents or the response to a reminder letter, and cases escalated for rejection, including where the applicant has failed to submit the necessary identity or biometric evidence despite being requested to do so. ↩