IMMIGRATION lawyers are taking the Home Office to court over its decision to exclude some extended family members of EU citizens from joining their relatives living in the UK.

The Brexit transition period ended in December and since then Priti Patel and her Home Office have faced a torrent of criticism over its treatment of Europeans, some of whom had been detained and held in immigration removal centres.

They also lost a legal battle earlier this year over their use of European citizens’ data.

The Politico website said the issue had contributed to “tense relations” between London and Brussels since the UK left the EU.

It said the legal challenge focuses on the Home Office’s treatment of extended family members, such as siblings, cousins, nephews and nieces of Europeans already settled in the UK.

Campaigners have claimed that refusing to let them join their families is a breach of the UK-EU divorce settlement.

According to the Withdrawal Agreement, extended family members who are “dependents or members of the household” of an EU citizen living in the UK retain their right to reside in Britain.

They had to apply for a permit, known as an EEA Family Permit, by December 31, last year and arrive by the end of June 2021.

Politico said it had seen several letters sent by the Home Office telling people who say they have relatives here that they cannot come to the UK, despite applying in plenty of time.

“In each of the 10 letters, the family members’ applications were initially rejected by the Home Office but later successfully appealed.”

However, the Home Office then wrote to the applicants telling them that although their appeal was successful, they would still be unable to come because the deadline for the process had passed.

In one case cited by Politico, an applicant – described as “A” applied to join her brother, who has supported her financially since 2006, on July 28, last year, months before the deadline.

The Home Office refused her application on December 17.

After she appealed, the decision was reversed on June 22 — eight days before the EEA family permit route closed.

More paperwork was still required before A could travel to the UK, but the next correspondence she received was a July 21 letter from the Home Office to say her permit could not be used as the route had now closed.

Luke Piper, head of policy and advocacy at the 3million campaign group, said: “These people applied in good faith expecting to come here.

“They won their cases, they've been stranded abroad and they should be allowed to come here.

“The Withdrawal Agreement is pretty clear. It does feel to me like people are being messed about."

Glasgow immigration lawyer Usman Aslam told The National the Home Office's action was unacceptable.

“It will be interesting to see the outcome of the challenges that have been brought,” he said. “Whilst there is authority around how facts and evidence is dealt with at the date of a hearing, the fact remains that some of, if not all were made prior to the deadline.

“This will be having a devastating impact on families. I hope that there will be a positive outcome for those family members.

“We must remember, these people add so much value to our economy, and particularly in Scotland, where there is a huge gap in various employment sectors.”

A Home Office spokesperson said the EU Settlement Scheme had been an “overwhelming success”, and added: “We have taken a flexible and pragmatic approach with applications and will continue to do so.”