Fred Siriex, 47, who is best known for his role as the maitre d’ on the popular Channel 4 show First Dates, took to Twitter to say he had been asked to prove his residency despite living in the UK for 27 years. The French-born high-profile figure revealed he had been granted settled status but was asked to provide further proof about his status by mistake. In a furious Twitter post, Fred addressed the home secretary and the Home Office, where he wrote in view of his 110,000 followers: “@patel4witham @ukhomeoffice Just got a letter from [email protected] 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”.
Fred had in fact already been given indefinite leave to remain and did not need to apply for the settlement scheme.
He later tweeted: “Good news! @ukhomeoffice both called and emailed me. They apologised for the mistake. As a permanent resident with ILR there was no need to apply in the first place. Still I have been granted #settledstatus with immediate effect.”
However, the First Dates star described the immigration process as “deeply upsetting and unsettling”.
He took to the micro-blogging site and wrote: “As small as this may seem to some the whole thing was deeply upsetting and unsettling.
“I could not find proofs of residency last night and woke up at 4am to check @ukhomeoffice website. After all these years in the UK it is so wrong to make people feel like second class citizens.”
The First Dates star has since attributed his ordeal to Brexit.
He said: “How unnecessary and a total waste of time #settledstatus SO SO SO WRONG #brexitshambles.”
A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News: “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.”
Elsewhere, Fred is set to return to Channel 4 with First Dates Hotel 2019 tonight.
A potential 18 singletons are geared up to find their perfect match in the six-part series.
Manager Fred and his team of Cupids are on hand to manage this five star Hotel di Amore in Italy, catering to every whim and desire.
First Dates Hotel airs tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm.