An Italian couple's bank accounts have been frozen overnight in the UK. Post-Brexit measures take effect – Observer

Italian restaurant owner Massimo and his British wife Dee are in for a horrifying awakening when they realize their bank accounts have been frozen overnight. All this happened because of the post-Brexit measures imposed by the United Kingdom, which invalidated the permanent residence cards of thousands of European Union citizens. to GuardianThe couple regrets, Even after 21 years of paying taxes in the British territory, it came under this measure.

Massimo and Dee first encountered this situation when a supplier alerted them that they had not been paid. The couple had moved to Belfast from Kent and, as part of the move, closed their English business account with Santander and opened a new account with a Northern Irish address.

However, after a while, access to the new account was blocked and Massimo also lost access to his personal account. “We had to close the doors of our business because we couldn't pay our suppliers and we opened the restaurant. “We were expanding the business and nobody at Santander was willing to discuss it with us”, Dee said.

The couple later realized that Massimo should have applied for permanent resident status in time, something he “never thought about”. “It's like being rejected by a country I've been in for over 20 years and I've done nothing wrong. It's horrible,” the man told The Guardian.

In order to access the account, the couple were forced to remove Massimo as a director of the business, and a few weeks later, the account was frozen. However, the man's personal account has been blocked, with Santander promising to “investigate the complaint”.

3 Million, a campaign group for EU citizens, said the decision by the British government was “shameful” as it made it harder for citizens such as the restaurant owner to obtain EU citizenship status.

“Since August, not knowing that you have to register in the settlement program, even if you have received a document confirming the right of residence, is not considered a reasonable reason for late registration,” said Andrea Dumitrach, interim executive director of the campaign group.