First Dates star Fred Sirieix: I’ve been made to feel like a second-class citizen

First Dates star Fred Sirieix has condemned the government’s EU settlement scheme and said he was made to feel like a “second-class citizen”. 

He is the latest high-profile figure caught up in controversy around the scheme after being asked for extra proof he has lived in the UK for more than five years.

The 47-year-old, who was born in France and is the maitre d’ on the popular Channel 4 show, tweeted on Monday night to say he had been asked to prove his residency despite living in the UK for 27 years and having already provided the evidence needed.

In a furious Twitter post addressed to the home secretary and the Home Office, he wrote: “@patel4witham @ukhomeoffice Just got a letter from updates@apply-for-eu-settled-status.homeoffice.gov.uk apparently you need proof I have been in the UK for last 5 years.

“Is this a joke? I have lived here for 27 years continuously.”

Following his online comments, he was contacted by the Home Office and told there had been a “mistake”.

Mr Sirieix had, in fact, already been given indefinite leave to remain and did not need to apply for the settlement scheme.

He has since been granted settled status, but described the process as “deeply upsetting and unsettling”.

“After all these years in the UK it is so wrong to make people feel like second class citizens,” he said on Twitter.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have contacted Mr Sirieix about his application and he has now been granted settled status.

“Nobody has been granted pre-settled status without first being offered the opportunity to submit evidence that they qualify for settled status.

“EU Settlement Scheme statistics confirm that by the end of June not a single person had been refused.

“EU citizens are our friends, family and neighbours and we want them to stay.”

The government’s settlement scheme, which EU citizens living in the UK must apply to if they want to remain in the country after Brexit, has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks.

A number of people came forward to say they had struggled with the system after Polish chef Damian Wawrzyniak, who has cooked for the Royal Family and at the London Olympics, tweeted that he was not given permanent settled status despite living in the UK for 15 years.

Pre-settled status – which Mr Wawrzyniak was given – is usually reserved for those who have lived in the UK for less than five years.

He has since been given settled status and has set up a group to help others achieve their permanent residency.

A second high-profile chef, Richard Bertinet, also claimed to have been given pre-settled status – despite living in the UK for 31 years and having a British wife and children.

Mr Bertinet is now being helped by the Home Office to resolve his case, but told Sky News the government’s system is “shambolic”.

MPs and think tanks previously warned the scheme – which requires around 3.5 million EU citizens to register – could become the next Windrush scandal.

Children in care who need to apply for the scheme could be “overlooked” and find themselves undocumented, according to Labour MP Steve McCabe, Conservative Tim Loughton and the SNP’s Stuart C McDonald.

This would leave children with no legal status after the June 2020 deadline.

Between 28 August 2018 and 30 June 2019, a total of 107,110 children under the age of 16 applied to the EU settlement scheme.

The Children’s Society has said that hundreds of thousands of children may still need to apply for settled status or secure British citizenship.

(c) Sky News 2019: First Dates star Fred Sirieix: I’ve been made to feel like a second-class citizen