January 15th, 2025
AGM: Election of officers
Manuella Perteghella was voted in as Chair of the APPG, by the other parliamentarians present, she then oversaw the election of other officers to the APPG:
Baroness Goudie (Labour), Lord Balfe (Conservatives) and James Asser (Labour).
Parliamentarians who attended: Manuela Perteghella MP, Martin Wrigley MP, James Asser MP, Lord Rennard, Baroness Hamwee, Lord German, and Baroness Pidgeon.
APPG meeting on Postal Vote Scandal – presentation of survey, which found tens of thousands of Britons abroad were denied their vote at the last General Election
The survey was carried out jointly by New Europeans UK, Unlock Democracy and the British Overseas Voters Forum, and the report lists recommendations for how the system needs to be changed in the future to ensure that all who are eligible to vote are in fact able to do so.
Meeting summary: APPG launches with talk on postal vote scandal
Speakers:
Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy, presented the findings of a joint survey on how the postal system performed and recommendations for changes.
Mike Tuffrey, trustee of British Overseas Voters Forum, shared members’ experiences of voting from overseas and ideas for how to enhance citizens’ rights.
Sue Wilson MBE, Chair of Bremain in Spain, and Clarissa Killwick, co-founder of Beyond Brexit – UK Citizens in Italy, spoke about the experiences of voters in Spain and Italy.
Dr Ruvi Ziegler, Chair of New Europeans UK, made the case for overseas constituencies.
March 25th, 2025
Parliamentary briefing on risks to vulnerable EU citizens of losing their status
Please see attached report from the meeting
A report from a related parliamentary meeting can be found here: Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens could be left undocumented
Parliamentarians who attended: MP Manuela Perteghella and Baroness Smith of Newnham
Speakers
Anna Yassin, Migrant Services and Advocacy Manager, Glass Door
Chris Benn, Legal and Policy Manager, Seraphus
Fiona Costello, EU Migrant Worker Project and Cambridge University
Andrew Jordan, Senior Immigration Advisor, Settled
The meeting heard that despite the best intentions of the Home Office to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK, as outlined in the Withdrawal Agreement, the system developed since 2018 is proving unfit for purpose for a significant minority of EU citizens. Universally, no immigration application can ever be 100% effective and no digitised system is without drawbacks. The ability to digitize and the ability for users to access the new technologies can vary dramatically from country to country, meaning that while the direction of travel is consistent, the speed of change is not, the meeting heard.
As the UK’s roll out of the post Brexit settlement scheme involves millions of EU citizens, those for whom ongoing support is needed may number 100s of thousands- .
APPG heard from a panel of 4 experts about:
EU citizens still facing difficulties in securing their status
Particular challenges they face
How will they be affected if they are unable to achieve settled status?
Measures needed to mitigate the risks faced by vulnerable EU citizens?
July 2nd, 2025
Securing better representation for Britons abroad
At the meeting, MPs heard what the UK can learn from how Italy connects its government with its communities worldwide.
Elena Remigi, founder of the In Limbo project, addressed the meeting about the work of the Comites and General Council for Italian abroad (CGIE). Committees are directly elected by Italian nationals living abroad in a particular territory. They act as a link between Italian communities and diplomatic consular missions. CGIE is a national advisory body to the Italian government and Parliament on matters concerning Italians worldwide.
David Sapiro, Chair of Liberal Democrats in Europe, and Michael Aidan of Labour International also addressed the meeting, as well as groups representing Britons abroad.
In the second part of the meeting we gave an update on the New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy campaign for overseas constituencies, including the launch of postcard campaign calling on MPs to support our proposal for overseas constituencies
Oct 21st, 2025
APPG on Home Office oversight
Meeting was chaired by Baroness Goudie
The meeting was focused on how Home Office processes and policies are developed and how the department is held to account for its actions.
The meeting heard that despite the best intentions of the Home Office to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK, as outlined in the Withdrawal Agreement, the system developed since 2018 is proving unfit for purpose for a significant minority of EU citizens.
Universally, no immigration application can ever be 100% effective and no digitised system is without drawbacks. The ability to digitize and the ability for users to access the new technologies can vary dramatically from country to country, meaning that while the direction of travel is consistent, the speed of change is not, the meeting heard.
As the UK’s roll out of the post Brexit settlement scheme involves millions of EU citizens, those for whom ongoing support is needed may number 100s of thousands- .
APPG heard from a panel of 4 experts about:
EU citizens still facing difficulties in securing their status
Particular challenges they face
How will they be affected if they are unable to achieve settled status?
Measures needed to mitigate the risks faced by vulnerable EU citizens?
Speakers
Anna Yassin, Migrant Services and Advocacy Manager, Glass Door
Chris Benn, Legal and Policy Manager, Seraphus
Fiona Costello, EU Migrant Worker Project and Cambridg
Please see the attached report following the meeting.