EUSS Advice and Support in London
Since March, our advice service has supported around 59 individuals with advice on the EU Settlement Scheme. Generally, most inquiries were in relation to permitted absences for pre-settled status users who wish to upgrade to settled status, and evidence requirements for settled status applications.
We have observed an increase of cases relating to technical difficulties viewing one’s digital status, as well as difficulties updating passport details online. You can find more information about updating personal information on your UKVI account on our Resource Hub.
Outreach
Our drop-in sessions, facilitated by our community partners Latin American House continue to thrive. Since March, we’ve assisted 7 individuals, among which many were experiencing technical difficulties accessing their digital status. Others sought advice on pre-settled to settled applications for children, how to update personal information on their UKVI account (particularly updating passport details) and general information on allowed absences for pre-settled status holders.
Community engagement
Besides our drop-in sessions, we have also engaged with several networks and forums across London Boroughs. In March, we attended a Supporting Migrants Network meeting, catered to organisations in Barking and Dagenham, and a BD Collective event to hear from facilitators on their work in the borough.
We have also attended the monitoring network, followed by a reception at the EU Delegation for International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, where we met different officials and community stakeholders.
In April we attended the Annual Roma Rights Forum, organised by the Roma Support Group on April 1st.
In May, we attended a Mass Lobby Workshop organised by the3million, followed by a Networking Event to celebrate Europe Day hearing from Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Isabell Poppelbaum and a panel discussion on identity, perceptions and aspirations for EU-UK.
On Saturday 10th May, we attended Black Europeans’ EU Minorities Summit, where we discussed with community stakeholders and other ethnic minority individuals ways of connecting with the EU Delegation, Embassies and advocate for their communities. The day was full of impactful conversations on political inclusion, disenfranchisement, the importance of language and the future of ethnic minority people in Europe.
Throughout the months, we have regularly attended meetings on the EUSS Alliance on several complex topics such as criminal convictions, long absences, vulnerabilities, and how we can best support individuals who are facing these issues. These are becoming more and more common, as cases are increasing in complexity.
On Tuesday, 20th May we joined the Supporting Migrants Network at the Tools for Change Workshop in Dagenham. Here, we used initiatives from the ReROOT project to explore ways of strengthening support for migrant residents in Barking and Dagenham, as individuals and as organisations. This workshop was particularly useful due to several organisations gathering and reflecting on the outreach methods they’re already implementing, reviewing them and assessing their efficiency in reaching the most vulnerable. Tamlyn Monson, from the ReROOT project, has summarised the day in this article.
On the same day we attended the Youth Mobility Debate following the EU-UK Summit, jointly organised by New Europeans UK, the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom and the British Youth Council. The debate and commentary on the future relations between the UK and the EU, and the discussion on future initiatives to be implemented to reflect the opportunities presented by Erasmus was insightful.
More recently on June 11th, we joined the Forum for Equality and Human Rights Southwark (FEHRS) in Walworth to learn more about organisations focused on increasing community engagements and offering support on various issues such as modern slavery, digital skills, immigration and more. Particularly, we all noticed a need to collaborate further and share resources in order to reach vulnerable communities in Southwark.
Lastly, on June 18th we delivered a presentation on Supporting People with Digital Immigration Status to the voluntary and charity sector (VCS) in Scotland, the session being convened by Seraphus. Here, we presented and discussed our Digital Immigration Toolkit, where we highlight good practice from the VCS as well as discuss our research findings and provide practical ways of supporting individuals amidst the shift to a digital immigration status. You can view our Digital Immigration Toolkit in our resource hub.
For EUSS inquiries, you can email us at help@neweuropeans.uk. If you are an organisation wishing to refer someone to our advice service, you can do so by filling out the following form.
For more information on our specific drop-in and information session dates, please visit our London page on our website!
Contact us for outreach work in London:
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
Denisa Strango on denisa.strango@neweuropeans.uk
If you work with someone who needs support with the EU Settlement Scheme please email: help@neweuropeans.uk
