EUSS Advice and Support in Leicester
From January to June 2024 in Leicester, we have helped over 200 EU and non EU nationals, supporting them with their EU Settlement Scheme applications, and providing one off advice.
We are seeing the complexity of the cases is increasing. The majority of our service users are facing difficulties in providing evidence for 5 years continuous residence in the UK.
Some of our recent successes
A non EU national elderly lady came to the UK in 2019 as a Joining Family Member of her EU national daughter.
She lived with her daughter from her arrival in the UK, so she did not have any bills or other evidence until 2023, when she finally created her own bank account and moved into her own flat. Her medical records dating from her arrival to today, were not accepted as sufficient evidence of residency by the Home Office.
In order to support her we needed multiple appointments to find additional evidence for her application. But finally last month in June, the Home Office granted her Settled Status!
Another client – a 32 year old non-EU national lady came to UK in 2016 as a Joining Family Member of her EU national husband. She was granted Pre-Settled Status after her arrival. She got divorced and initially lived with her friends and family, and is currently homeless with a little child, living in a hotel provided by the local council. Proving residency was a challenge as she did not have household bills in her own name, although she opened a bank account in 2019.
The Home Office requested more evidence of residency so we had to see our client multiple times to explore what evidence was available for her to use in her application for Settled Status. Luckily, last month in June she was granted Settled Status after many phone calls to the Resolution Centre. She is very pleased with our work and service and now we will help her with all her children apply.
Outreach
In Leicester, we are building the capacity of the staff and volunteers of our partner organisations. So far, we have run 6 EUSS Info sessions, equipping staff and volunteers to be aware of the EU Settlement Scheme, so they can help their communities through the referral process and support them without having a legal background.
In June, we finished the OISC Level 1 (EUSS) accredited training, delivered by Seraphus. 7 participants from different local organisations in Leicester attended, and all of them are now qualified to support EU communities with Level 1 case work. This training was part of our work in building a sustainable legal support advice network in Leicester.
We are also receiving referrals through our wider networks, including British Red Cross, in Leicester.
EUSS Drop-in Sessions
We run regular weekly drop ins at Highfields and DeMonfort University and have organised community information session hosted by one of our partners, SOCOPA and online with our other partner Information Generale.
Other Events
We’ve really enjoyed the activities and networking opportunities at events organised by Zamzam Unlimited Possibilities and De Montford University.
EmpowerEU Awards: nominations open!
The EU Delegation to the UK recently launched the first ever edition of EmpowerEU Awards, recognising and celebrating the outstanding achievements and initiatives that positively impact EU citizens, local communities, and the youth in the UK.
Please complete the nomination form here. For more info visit this link, or email awards@empower-eu.uk
Contact us for outreach work in Leicester:
If you are a community group or organisation which would like to discuss working in partnership with us, or for us to run a session with your staff/ volunteers on the EU Settlement Scheme, please contact
Marinela Bojaxhiu on marinela.bojaxhiu@neweuropeans.uk
If you work with someone who needs support with the EU Settlement Scheme please email: help@neweuropeans.uk
