December 2021 – Supreme Court Decision on Right to Reside

The cases revolves around two Romanian nationals who came to the UK in 2014 and 2019 respectively. Each was granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and their subsequent claims for universal credit were refused on the grounds that Universal Credit Regulations precluded the right to reside in the form of pre-settled status from continuing to be considered sufficient for entitlement to benefit.

The High Court rejected a judicial review but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2020. The DWP then appealed to the Supreme Court.

The decision of the Supreme Court was stayed pending the outcome of a separate referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The CJEU ruled that the legislation barring claimants with pre-settled status from Universal Credit was not contrary to EU law but determined that national authorities empowered to grant social assistance are required to check that the refusal of that assistance does not infringe individual rights under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter), including the right to human dignity.

The CJEU concluded that an EU citizen can claim equal treatment in respect of social assistance only if his or her residence in the territory of that member state complies with the conditions of article 24 of Parliament and Council Directive.

As a result, the Supreme Court found that the primary issue in the appeal has been answered by the CJEU definitively in favour of the DWP and the appeal therefore succeeded.

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