The Home Office has published a news article to announce, as expected, that EU citizens with criminal records could be barred from entering the UK from 2021.

https://bit.ly/2FO9zB1 

This does not apply to EU citizens protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, such as those with status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

However, if such a person commits crimes from 1 January 2021, in the UK or overseas, their EUSS status could be revoked.

The wording of this article is informative, if it’s intended to be written as such, as it indicates two categories of protected persons:

1. EU citizens protected by the WA, and
2. Those with status under the EU Settlement Scheme [even if they are not protected by the WA]

This would indicate that EU citizens who are not exercising free movement rights as of 31/12/20 AND who do not already have EUSS status in place, are NOT protected by the EU law standards for deportation and removal.

Even if it relates to conduct that took place before the end of the transition period.

In these cases, the Home Office can issue a deportation decision under the UK threshold of “conducive to the public good” which is significantly lower than the EU law threshold.

This goes against all political guarantees that have been made about how pre / post transition period conduct will be assessed. As the citizens this will affect are not protected by the WA, that makes mounting a legal challenge against this approach significantly more difficult.