A Polish man, Mateusz Kulik, who has lived in the UK since he was seven years old, has been granted a last-minute reprieve from deportation after UK immigration authorities halted his planned removal to Poland. Kulik, 27, faced deportation due to issues with his application for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), despite providing extensive documentation to prove his long-term residency in the country.
Kulik, who completed both primary and secondary education in Britain, works for a UK transport company, where he handles customs documents for goods exported to the EU. Despite his extensive ties to the UK, including his parents who have been approved under the EUSS, Kulik’s in-time application was rejected by the Home Office in January 2021. He wasn’t notified of the refusal until a year later, in 2022.
In response, Kulik requested an administrative review, which was not completed until last month. The review upheld the refusal, leaving Kulik’s immigration status in limbo. This uncertainty led to his detention at Heathrow Airport on September 18, after returning from a holiday in Thailand. Immigration officers held him for eight hours, citing his lack of confirmed EUSS status as grounds for his detention.
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“I was devastated to be held for eight hours in a room at Heathrow airport on my return from holiday,” Kulik told The Guardian. “I was searched and had my phone and wallet taken from me. I was asked why I was coming into the UK. I replied, ‘because I live here’. I speak better English than Polish.”
With the deportation scheduled for Monday, Kulik’s lawyer, Andrew Jordan, from the charity Settled, which supports EU citizens, quickly submitted a new application for EUSS and urged Home Office officials to delay the removal. While waiting for confirmation that the new application had been received, officials initially insisted that the deportation would proceed as planned. However, on Sunday afternoon, just a day before the scheduled flight, the Home Office emailed Jordan to confirm that the removal had been canceled.
Jordan expressed relief at the decision, stating, “We were deeply concerned that they would press ahead with his removal and not wait a few days for another department to issue the necessary certificate of application.” He added that the Home Office’s systems showed credible evidence that Kulik had been living in the UK since 2004, when he arrived as a seven-year-old.
Kulik now waits to see what will happen next with his immigration status. He expressed cautious optimism, saying, “Hearing this news I feel that a little bit of sun is shining through the clouds.”
A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the case but noted that it does not routinely discuss individual immigration matters.
Kulik’s case highlights ongoing challenges faced by long-term EU residents in the UK post-Brexit, particularly those with complex or delayed applications to the EUSS. Kulik’s parents, who also live in Ashford, Kent, and work as an NHS support worker and a delivery driver, respectively, have been approved under the scheme. However, Kulik’s lengthy battle with immigration authorities reflects wider concerns about the treatment of EU citizens struggling to secure their status following Britain’s exit from the European Union.
