Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their enforcement of Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which permits member states to remove EU citizens after three months if they are not exercising a treaty right to freedom of movement; whether they plan to change their enforcement of that article; and whether they have made any estimate of the impact that a stricter enforcement of that article would have on the number of EU citizens in the UK.

Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union guarantees the free movement rights of workers. The conditions a worker, or any other EU citizen or their family member, must satisfy in order to enjoy their rights of entry and residence in a host member state are set out in the Free Movement Directive (2004/38/EC). If an EU citizen does not meet the requirements for residence as set out in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, the UK’s implementing legislation, then they will not have a right to reside in the UK, and may be liable to removal. Removal is considered on a case by case basis.