Administrative Ct decides EU Settlement Scheme challenge about appeal rights

The Administrative Court (Dove J) has dismissed a claim brought by Here for Good, challenging a failure by the Secretary of State for the Home Department (“SSHD”) to introduce a right of appeal in respect of decisions refusing to accept reasonable grounds for the making of a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme: R (Here for Good) v SSHD [2024] EWHC 2187 (Admin).

In summary, the Court decided that: (a) Article 18 of the Withdrawal Agreement did not provide for a right of appeal in respect of a decision that there were not reasonable grounds for a late application; (b) Article 21 also did not apply to the pre-application consideration of whether there are reasonable grounds for a late application; and (c) the Charter of Fundamental Rights was not engaged, and did not require a right of appeal to be granted in any event.

The decision is available here.

Tim Buley KC, leading Eva Doerr, represented Here for Good, instructed by Mala Savjani at Wilson LLP and Julia Smyth, leading Yaaser Vanderman, represented the Secretary of State instructed by the Government Legal Department.