You and your family usually need to apply to continue living in the UK if you’re from any of the following:

• the EU (except Ireland)
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Norway
• Switzerland

In most cases you must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. To arrive on or after 1 January 2021, you may need to apply for a visa instead.

Depending on when you started living in the UK (and how long you have been living in the UK) you may apply for Pre Settled or Settled Status. The deadline to make this application was 30 June 2021. Your rights will be different depending on which status you get and when you started living in the UK. There is no fee for this application.

If you have been living in the UK before this date and have not made an application you will need to prove why your application has not been made on time. You should get help from a qualified immigration advisor with any application made after 1st July 2021 (known as late applications).

You will not be asked to choose which you are applying for. Which status you get depends on how long you’ve been living in the UK when you apply.

If you’re an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen and you started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you’ll need proof of:

• your identity
• your residence in the UK, unless you have a valid permanent residence document, or valid indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK

If you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you need a valid passport or valid national identity card. You also need to provide a digital photo of your face.

If you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you need to provide one of the following:

• a valid passport
• a valid biometric residence permit
• a valid biometric residence card

You also need to provide a digital photo of your face. If you do not already have a valid biometric residence card, you will also need to provide your fingerprints (this is not needed for children 5 or under).

If you do not have any of these you may be able to use other evidence in certain situations. Contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre if you do not have any of the listed documents.

If you’re applying for your child, you’ll need to prove their identity. You might also need to prove their residence in the UK.

You’ll usually get settled status if you’ve lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period (known as ‘continuous residence’).

Five years’ continuous residence means that you have been in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least 6 months in any 12 month period, for 5 years in a row. The exceptions are:

• one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting)
• compulsory military service of any length
• time you spent abroad as a Crown servant, or as the family member of a Crown servant
• time you spent abroad in the armed forces, or as the family member of someone in the armed forces

You may be considered to be resident in the UK on 31 December 2020 and may be eligible for settled status if you both:

• lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period in the past
• have not left the UK for more than 5 years in a row since then

You can stay in the UK as long as you like if you get settled status. You’ll also be able to apply for British citizenship if you’re eligible.

If you have settled status, you can spend up to 5 years in a row outside the UK without losing your status.

If you’re a Swiss citizen, you and your family members can spend up to 4 years in a row outside the UK without losing your settled status.

Pre-settled status

If you have not lived in the UK for 5 years in a row (known as ‘continuous residence’), you will usually receive pre-settled status. You must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 unless you are applying as the existing close family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who started living here by then. You can stay in the UK for a further 5 years from the date you get pre-settled status.

You can apply to switch to settled status as soon as you have had 5 years’ continuous residence. The 5 years is counted from the day you first arrived in the UK. You do not need to have held pre-settled status for 5 years to apply.

If you have pre-settled status, you can spend up to 2 years in a row outside the UK without losing your status. You will need to maintain your continuous residence if you want to qualify for settled status.

You may be able to get pre-settled status if you were living in the UK before 31 December 2020 but you were not here on that date. You must not have left the UK Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for more than 6 months in any 12 month period.

You may also be eligible if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, but you left the UK for one period of no more than 12 months for an important reason (for example childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting). Your previous residence in the UK will count towards your eligibility for pre-settled status.

Pre-Settled Status is granted for a 5-year period, irrespective of how long you have lived in the UK. Even if you have only been in the UK for 1 day.

You can apply to convert your pre-Settled Status to Settled Status as soon as you complete 5-years continuous residence in the UK. You do not need to wait until near to the expiry of your pre settled status if you achieve 5 years continuous residence before then.

To convert pre-Settled Status to Settled Status you will need to re-apply to the EUSS. The application process for Settled Status is very similar to the process you went through to apply for pre-Settled Status. You will need to confirm your identity, using the EU Exit: ID Document Check App, if possible, and complete the online application form.

Within the online application form you need to confirm that you have been residing in the UK continuously for 5 years or more, and you are now seeking Settled Status. You will also need to provide evidence of 5 years residence, if the automatic National Insurance Number checks do not confirm this for you.

If in your 5-years of qualifying residence you have not had any absences from the UK that exceed 6 months in a 12-month period, then you can self-declare in your application that you meet the conditions to be granted Settled Status. You may be asked for evidence of any time you have spent outside of the UK within your application.

If you spend a single period outside of the UK of more than 6 months, but less than 12 months during your 5-year residence period, you need to keep a record of that absence including the number of days that you were absent and the reason for your long absence. You also need to keep evidence of the reason why it was important to be away for so long because you need to show this within your application. For example, if it was due to a serious illness, you may need to submit the medical records as evidence that you were too ill to return to the UK sooner. 

If your application is refused after 30 June 2021, and you have not been granted either Pre-Settled or Settled Status, you will not be able to re-apply to the EUSS. The available options are appealing the decision to the independent Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal or asking the Home Office to review their decision. 

Which option is best for you depends on your circumstances at the time you receive the decision from the Home Office and what the Home Office have said in that decision. Challenging immigration decisions can be complex and you should get the advice of a qualified immigration advisor.

It is possible to lose pre-Settled Status or Settled Status in a number of ways. The status could be lost due to long absences from the UK. For pre-Settled Status, if you are outside of the UK for 2 years or more you automatically lose the status. For Settled Status, if you are outside of the UK for 5 years or more you automatically lose the status. 

EUSS status can also be lost on grounds of character or criminal offending. Pre-Settled Status can sometimes be lost you no longer meets the requirements of the status. So, it is possible for the Home Office to remove pre-Settled Status and Settled Status in some circumstances, but we do not expect this situation to arise very often. The situations where this can happen can be complex and you should seek legal advice from a lawyer to assist you. 

On 17 July 2023 the Home Office announced changes to the EU Settlement Scheme. Pre-settled status holders will have two years added to the date their status is due to end. This means that if a status was due to expire in 2024, it will now expire in 2026. If the Home Office can confirm that you have lived in the UK for the last five years, your status will change from pre-settled to settled status. If you haven't lived in the UK for the last five years you can apply for settled status as soon as you are eligible. The Home Office will always contact you if there are changes to your status.

You will be able to:

• work in the UK
• use the NHS for free, if you can at the moment
• enrol in education or study in the UK
• access public funds such as benefits and pensions, if you’re eligible for them
• travel in and out of the UK

You’ll have different rights if you get settled or pre-settled status because you’ve applied to join your EU, EEA or Swiss family member and you arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020. For example, you will not be able to bring your own family members under the EU Settlement Scheme.

After 30 June 2021 you will use your pre-Settled Status or Settled Status to evidence your rights to: 

• Stay in the UK for more than 6 months 
• Be employed and look for work 
• Apply for courses, study, obtain student financial support 
• Use the NHS
• Claim a state pension 
• Rent a home
• Open a bank account 
• Apply for a mortgage 
• Sign mobile, broadband and utility agreements 
• Apply for a driving licence 
• Make applications for social assistance 
• Travel to and from the UK 

You will be asked to show and share your pre-Settled Status and Settled Status from 1 July 2021 to exercise the above and many other rights in the UK. If you do not have lawful residence in the UK from 1 July 2021 onwards, you may be subject to immigration enforcement, which includes being forced to permanently leave the UK. 

For European citizens the pre-Settled Status or Settled Status is digital only – which means you will not get a physical ID card as proof of your status. So, it is important to know how to access your digital status and show others who may need to see it. For non-European family members, they will receive a physical proof of status unless they already hold a physical proof of their immigration status, in which case they can continue to rely on that evidence

When your application for pre-Settled Status or Settled Status is successful you will receive an email containing a letter explaining the grant of status, what your rights and entitlements are while holding the status and how to access, view and share that status. The letter is not proof of your status, but is an explanation of the status you received and how to use it. 

If you have an outstanding application under the EUSS, submitted by 30 June 2021, you will be able to use your Certificate of Application, which is issued automatically once a valid application has been made, as proof of that right, pending the outcome of the application. The COA takes the form of a letter, usually received to the email address you used in the application process and contains an individual reference number.

From 1 July 2021 you will be required to show your status to third parties (for example, employers). This will be your certificate of application if you have not yet received a decision or a code if you have a status.

You can share your status by logging into your digital status and choosing to ‘digitally share’ it.

To log into your digital status, you will need: 

• details of the identity document you used when you applied (your passport, national identity card, or biometric residence card or permit)
• your date of birth
• access to the mobile number or email address you used when you applied – you will be sent a code for logging in

A one-time access code will be generated and sent to your phone or email, enter the code to complete the log-in process. The code will expire after a short period and so you do not need to keep a record of it.

If you have any questions or problems, you should contact the Home Office EUSS Resolution Centre: 0300 123 7379.

From 1 July 2021, you will be required to share your digital status to any third party who is required to see it.

If you have any questions or problems, you should contact the Home Office EUSS Resolution Centre: 0300 123 7379.

Anyone with pre-Settled Status or Settled Status is free to study, work, be self-employed, and undertake any type of economic activity they wish to undertake inside the UK. This applies European citizens as well as non-European family members. It also applies to family members who join European citizens after 1 January 2021, so long as they have applied for and obtained pre-Settled Status or Settled Status. 

If you are convicted of a criminal offence after 31 December 2020, it is very important to seek legal advice because it may impact your pre-Settled Status or Settled Status

Visa Routes

You can use this link to find out more about the different types of visa that may be apply to your circumstances.

The UK’s points-based immigration system: information for EU citizens - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Windrush Scheme

If you moved to the UK before it joined the EU on 1 January 1973

You may have been given Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) automatically if you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who lived in the UK before 1973. If you were, you will not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to stay in the UK after June 2021.

If you do not have a document confirming your ILR status, you can either:

• apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to get settled or pre-settled status
• apply to the Windrush scheme to get proof of your ILR status

If you’re from Malta or Cyprus, you could also apply for British citizenship through the Windrush scheme.

Applications for either scheme are free of charge.

You can apply to join your EU, EEA or Swiss family member if they started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

Your EU, EEA or Swiss family member will usually need to apply as well.

If you’re from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK if you hold either a valid passport or identity card with a biometric chip.

If you’re not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK if you hold a relevant UK document, for example:

• a residence card
• a permanent residence card
• a derivative residence card

Otherwise, you will need to apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit to come to the UK. Once you’re in the UK you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

If you arrive in the UK on or after 1 April 2021, you must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme within 3 months of the date you arrive in the UK.

The EEA includes the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

You can apply if you’re the family member of an Irish citizen, even though they do not need to.

Your family relationship

You can apply if you’re in a relationship with an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen as their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner. The relationship must have started by 31 December 2020 and must still exist.

You can also apply if you’re related to an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, their spouse, or their civil partner if you’re their:

• child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
• dependent child over the age of 21

You can also apply as a dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent if you have a relevant document to prove your relationship.

You can apply as another type of dependent relative if both of the following apply:

• you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• you have a relevant document to prove your relationship

You may also be able to apply if:

• you’re the family member of a British citizen and you lived outside the UK in an EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) together
• you’re the family member of a British citizen who also has EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship and who lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK
• you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or the child’s primary carer

If you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland

You can apply if you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland, even though they do not need to.

Follow the same process as family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens.

If your family member is a British citizen (‘Surinder Singh’ applications)

You may be eligible if you lived outside the UK in an EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) with your family member.

You must have lived with them in an EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) before 1 January 2021, and be:

• their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner
• under 21 years old, and are their child or grandchild
• 21 years or older, and are their dependent child or grandchild
• their dependent parent or grandparent

You can apply as another type of dependent relative if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

The country that you lived in together must have been your main residence. Your British family member must also have been working, studying or self-sufficient in the country while there.

You cannot use the online service to apply if this is how you qualify for the scheme.

Contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre online to find out how to apply.

If you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK

You may be able to apply if you used to have a family member who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020. This is called a ‘retained right of residence’.

If you’re eligible because you have retained rights of residence, you can apply using the online service.

If you’re in education in the UK

You can apply if you’re in education and were resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 and one of the following is true:

• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died
• one of your parents is the spouse or civil partner of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died
• one of your parents was previously the spouse or civil partner of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died

If you qualify through any of these circumstances, your parent is also eligible, providing they have custody of you.

If your family member has died

You can also apply if your family member has died, and you lived continuously in the UK as their family member for at least one year immediately before their death.

If you or a member of your family was previously married or in a civil partnership

You can apply if your marriage or civil partnership to an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen ended with a divorce, annulment or dissolution, and you lived in the UK when it ended.

One of the following must also apply:

• the marriage or civil partnership lasted for at least 3 years and you’d both been living in the UK for at least one year during that time
• you have custody of the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen’s child
• you have been given right of access in the UK to the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen’s child - the child must be under 18
• you or another family member was the victim of domestic abuse in the marriage or civil partnership

You can also apply if a family member had an eligible marriage or civil partnership and you lived in the UK when it ended. You must be their:

• child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
• dependent child over the age of 21
• dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
• other dependent relative

If you are a victim of domestic abuse or violence

You can apply if your family relationship with an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen has broken down permanently because of domestic abuse or violence.

You can apply if you are or were their:

• husband, wife or civil partner
• long-term partner
• child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
• dependent child over the age of 21
• dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
• other dependent relative

If you’re the ‘primary carer’ of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

You may be able to apply if you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020. Any dependent children you have may also be able to apply.

To be someone’s primary carer, you must be both:

• responsible for their day to day care, including making decisions about their education, health, and finances
• a family member or their legal guardian

You can share these responsibilities with someone else.

You cannot use the online service to apply if this is how you qualify for the scheme.

Contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre online to find out how to apply.

If you’re the primary carer of an adult

You can apply if you’re the primary carer of a dependent adult who is a British citizen and you were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020.

If you’re the primary carer of a child

You can apply if you’re the primary carer of a British child, or an EU, EEA or Swiss child who is financially independent and you were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020.

You can also apply if you’re the primary carer of an EU, EEA or Swiss child who:

• is in education in the UK
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has worked in the UK when the child has lived in the UK
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has lived in the UK when the child has been in education
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has stopped working in the UK, or left the UK

What you’ll need to apply

You’ll need to provide proof of your relationship to your EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member - for example, a birth, marriage or civil partnership certificate, or a residence card. You can usually scan and submit this through the online application form.

If you apply before your family member, you’ll also need to provide evidence of their identity and residence.

You must also provide a certified English translation of any document that is not in English.

You do not need to provide any evidence of your relationship if you have a valid ‘UK permanent residence document’.

If you’re from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you do not have a biometric residence card, you’ll be asked to make an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point to provide your biometric information (your fingerprints and a photo, or only a photo for children under 5) when you apply.

When you need to provide more evidence

In some cases, you’ll also need to provide the same documents as you would for a residence card application.

Check which documents you’d provide for a residence card application if:

• your family member is a British citizen and you lived together in an EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) before 1 January 2021 - known as a ‘Surinder Singh’ application
• your family member is both a British citizen and an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, and lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK - known as a ‘retained rights of residence’ application
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or their primary carer

When to apply

The deadline for most applications was 30 June 2021.

You’ll probably get a decision more quickly if you apply at the same time or after your family member applies.

Your family member will be given an application number when they apply. You can use this to ‘link’ your application to theirs, so that your applications are considered together.

If you’re the family member of a Swiss citizen

You can also join your spouse or civil partner in the UK until 31 December 2025 if both of the following apply:

• your relationship with them began between 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2025
• you’re still in the relationship when you apply to join

If you’re the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has died

You might be eligible for settled status before you’ve been living in the UK for 5 years.

Your family member must have been working or self-employed in the UK at the time of their death. They must have been resident in the UK by 31 December 2020.

You must also have been living with them just before their death and either:

• they lived continuously in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for at least 2 years immediately before their death
• their death was the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease

If you’re overseas and a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in the UK

If you’re not living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you’ll still be able to apply if all of the following are true:

• your family member was living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• your relationship began by 31 December 2020 (unless you are a child born or adopted after that date)
• you remain a close family member when you apply, for example a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, a dependent child or grandchild, or a dependent parent or grandparent.

As children are direct descendants, they can also join a parent after the application deadline of 30 June 2021.

If the parent has Settled Status, the application can be made when the child is still abroad, but evidence of the child’s identity and the relationship to the parent must be provided.

For parents with pre-Settled Status, the main barrier to completing the EUSS application before the children come to the UK is that a requirement of the application process is that they must have a qualifying period of residence in the UK less than 5 years for pre-settled status. Therefore, as they have not had a period of residence in the UK, they would not qualify for the EUSS before they came to the UK.

If the parent has pre-Settled Status, they can apply for the child’ status based on their residence in the UK and submit evidence that proves that the child was in the UK in the last 6 months, by submitting appropriate supporting documents such as a EU passport/ID, birth certificate,  parent’s pre-settled status reference number, and one of the documents below:

• letter from a school,
• letter from a GP
• a flight ticket and a boarding card

You may be able to use other documents as proof of residence please visit the HO website and contact the Resolution Centre if you have any problems or questions.

If the child is not an EU/EEA citizen they can still join their parents if they have pre-Settled or Settled Status, but please contact Settled for further advice.

Joining a Family Member in the UK

If you are planning to join in the U.K. your EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member who has (pre-) settled status.

Close family members that meet the following criteria can join EU/EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK anytime.

• Spouse & Civil partner, the relationship must have existed on 31 December 2020 (or 31/12/2025 for family members of a Swiss citizen) and at the time that they enter the UK
• Durable partner, with proof of cohabitation for at least 2 years by 31 December 2020
• Children under 21, (dependency is assumed)
• Children over 21, with proof of dependency
• Dependent parents, with proof of dependency for application submitted after 1 July 2021, or for applications submitted before that date but the sponsor is under the age of 18 (or was on 31 December 2020)

The applicant will be asked to upload evidence of the relationship. This evidence can be scans or photos of documents. The Home Office can require to submit the original document where it has reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the copy relied upon.

For further information regarding the type of documents that must be provided: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-evidence-of-relationship-to-an-eu-citizen#unmarried-partner

The applicant has to apply from abroad and either…

A:

Apply directly for pre-settled status using the EU EXIT: ID Check App + biometric ID (EU/EEA/Swiss)

Or…

B:

Apply first for EUSS Family Permit (mainly non-EU/EEA/Swiss) and apply for PSS when they arrive in the UK. If people arrive in the UK on or after 1 April 2021, they must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme within 3 months of the date they arrive in the UK.

For guidance refer to:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-evidence-of-relationship-to-an-eu-citizen#unmarried-partner