Brexit’s mistakes: EU citizens received letters to leave UK

The Home Office sent about 100 letters "in error" to EU citizens living in the UK, telling them they were liable for "detention".
The mistake emerged after a Finnish academic, who has the right to live in the UK, received one of the letters.
Eva Johanna Holmberg, a visiting academic fellow from the University of Helsinki at Queen Mary University of London, was told in the letter that she had a month to leave. She has lived in the UK with her British husband for most of the last decade.

The letter told the recipients that a decision had been taken to remove them from the UK under immigration laws.
And it warned them that they would be  "liable to be detained" for failing to provide evidence that they are entitled to be in the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said "the rights of EU nationals living in the UK remain unchanged". "A limited number of letters were issued in error and we have been urgently looking into why this happened," the spokesperson added.
Dr Holmberg had originally applied for a "qualified person certificate" before receiving the letter.
These registration certificates – for citizens from the European Economic Area or Swiss nationals – confirm the right to live in the UK for those who meet certain criteria.

The historian said the "absurd nonsense" had made her "even less likely" to trust politicians in the wake of Brexit. The government had previously told EU nationals they did not need to apply for residency because their status was not at risk.

After the mistake came to light, the Home Office called Holmberg to “apologise profusely”, she said.