THE Home Office has dropped a legal battle over a Brexit rule requiring EU citizens to reapply for the right to stay in Britain after it was found unlawful by the High Court. 

The unusual move by the department not to pursue an appeal against the ruling was welcomed by rights groups today.

The case concerns a rule in the government’s EU settlement scheme that allows European nationals to remain in Britain after Brexit.

Under the scheme, EU nationals living in Britain for less than five years can only apply for temporary “pre-settled status” and were told they had to reapply again later or risk losing their residency rights. 

The High Court said in December that this part of the scheme was unlawful as it “purports to abrogate the right of permanent residence.”

Losing these rights could prevent a person accessing housing, work and benefits and even put them at risk of deportation. 

The judge ruled that under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, it was not permitted to revoke someone’s residency rights on the basis that they had failed to apply to upgrade from pre-settled status to settled status. 

Following the ruling, the Home Office indicated that it would challenge the decision, but it has now backtracked, announcing on Wednesday that after “careful consideration” it would not be pursuing an appeal. 

The Independent Monitoring Authority, which brought the case, welcomed the Home Office’s decision, and said it was in discussions with the government over the necessary changes to the scheme. 

The 3million campaign group, which represents EU national living in Britain, also welcomed the “uncommon” decision by the Home Office, adding that the judgement had “averted a ticking time bomb” for EU residents.