The British government has ruled that EU residents who were in the UK prior to Brexit and were not informed of the EU settled scheme can still apply later, as long as they had permanent residence cards.

According to The Guardian, the Home Office plans to undo an August regulation that barred EU nationals from requesting EU settled status if they had inadvertently missed the application deadline. Their permanent residency cards were rendered void by this ruling, even if it made their stay lawful.

The Home Office’s new decision recognizes ignorance as a legitimate explanation for applications for EU settled status that are submitted after the deadline.

As per the terms of the Brexit departure agreement, EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU before to Brexit were permitted to remain in their respective countries through the EU-UK Settlement Scheme.

Six million EU nationals living in the UK have to submit an application for status in order to be able to stay there lawfully. Even though the program ended in June 2021, applications that were submitted beyond the deadline may still be accepted provided there was a good cause for the delay.

But in August, the Home Office made the decision to no longer accept “lack of awareness” of the settlement plan as a valid justification for a delayed application. This ruling negatively impacted EU nationals residing in the UK by classifying their status as “irregular” residents and perhaps resulting in thousands of deportations.

One such instance involved the Italian tech investor Silvana, who learned that her permanent residency card was useless due to a Home Office regulation that was implemented in August while she was renewing her child’s European health insurance card. It was decided that ignorance of the EU settlement mechanism was insufficient justification for a delayed application.

The Home Office has released revised guidelines for caseworkers, indicating that late applications from individuals with permanent residency cards are now accepted as “reasonable grounds” for delays in applying to the scheme. This move comes in response to criticism from campaigners and EU nationals.

The case was taken to the high court, which decided in favor of EU nationals. They argued that it was unfair for the British government to take away the rights of pre-settled individuals who had forgotten to update their established status, including employment, residency, and healthcare.

Because of this, the Home Office has given pre-settled status holders a two-year extension, enabling them to apply for full settled status.