unsettling status

So there are now 2 million EU27 citizens who have applied for settled status in the UK, and those who don't have that status after the end of 2020 are being threatened with deportation.

What I find really unsettling about this, however, is that those who apply and get through don't get proof of settled status. Thus their status could be canceled at any time and they could still be deported (as I found out from this excellent report by Amelia Gentleman). If the settled status scheme really was about our right to stay, it would provide a document confirming that right. As it stands, it is a scheme to establish where we are and to enable the authorities to do to us whatever they fancy at any given time.

So right now I really don't think it is wise to rush and get in your application. There is still the whole of the next year left for that - if indeed all this madness calms down a bit and the UK remains a reasonably safe place to stay. But we should also prepare for Brexodus in case things don't work out.



One of the winning entries in a competition organised by LedByDonkeys.com for parodies of the government's "Get ready" campaign.