This page explains the eligibility requirements to apply for, and the rights obtained from, status with the EU Settlement Scheme.
This page is currently being updated and some of the information may not be correct. Please also refer to current UK Government webpages and EU Settlement Scheme guidance, for the most up to date information.
The EU Settlement Scheme is UK Immigration Permission which citizens of the European Economic Area (European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and Switzerland, and relevant family members, may be able to apply for to remain in the UK if already living here before 1 January 2021.
The EU Settlement Scheme can grant permission to remain in the UK for five years (Pre-Settled Status) or indefinitely (Settled Status).
For most applicants, the initial deadline to apply to the scheme was 30 June 2021 but for some others a later date may apply.
Making a late application: in some cases, late applications can be considered where there are 'reasonable grounds' for applying now instead of applying before the deadline or during the time following the deadline. Examples of Reasonable Grounds are listed on the Government website. You may require specialist immigration advice if you are planning to apply late to ensure you make a valid application. If the reasons for the late appliction are not accepted, the application will be rejected as invalid and there is no right of appeal or review against this type of rejection. The 3 Million Group and Settled both have information about making a late EUSS application.
Family members of EU, EEA and Swiss nationals who are not EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals themselves may also be eligible.
Irish citizens do not need to apply because the Common Travel Area agreements existed between the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland prior to the EU Directive. There is some specific information for Irish citizens on the UK government website.
Pre-Settled Status gives you permission to remain in the UK for a further 5 years from the date that you are granted this status.
While in the UK with Pre-Settled Status you can continue to study & work without restriction. You can also access any public funds you may be eligible for and use the National Health Service (NHS). You are free to travel in and out of the UK.
After obtaining Pre-Settled Status you can spend up to 2 years outside the UK without losing your status. However, absence from the UK can impact on your eligibility to later apply for Settled Status - see the section 'What happens if I spend some time outside the UK' for details.
Settled Status allows you to remain in the UK indefinitely. You can apply for Settled Status once you have reached five years continuous residence in the UK. You must apply before your five years on Pre-Settled status expires if you wish to remain in the UK. You do not have to wait until you have had Pre-Settled status for 5 years to apply for Settled Status if you will have reached 5 years residence in the UK before that.
For example, you may have moved to the UK in September 2019, but only applied for and granted pre-settled status in September 2020 (with pre settled status granted for 5 years until September 2025) - if you meet the criteria of five years continuous residence you can apply for settled status in September 2024.
While in the UK with Settled Status you can continue to study & work without restriction. You can also access any public funds you may be eligible for and use the National Health Service (NHS). You are free to travel in and out of the UK.
After obtaining Settled Status you can spend up to 5 years outside the UK without losing your status (or if you are a Swiss national or their family member you can spend up to 4 years outside the UK), you can choose to apply for British citizenship and any children born in the UK will automatically become British citizens.
The deadline for your first application to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021 but please refer to the section on this page "Late Applications to the EU Settlement Scheme".
The EU Settlement Scheme application, in almost all cases, is a short online application form and a requirement to prove your identity and nationality using an app.
The application asks you to prove your identity and nationality, confirm the type of application you are making (questions about whether you were in the UK by 31 December 2020 and if you were whether you were absent on that date).
At the end of the application, based on the information provided by you, you are informed if you are being considered for settled or pre-settled status. You can change that by providing additional evidence at the end of the application.
Settled Status: To be granted Settled Status you must complete the EU Settlement Scheme application and demonstrate that you havebeen resident in the UK for at least 5 continuous years. The continuous 5-year period can be any historical 5-year continuous period if you have not spent 5 years or longer outside the UK. Your residence in the UK must normally have started by 31 December 2020.
If you are under 21 and are applying with your parents, you may not need to have been resident in the UK for 5 continuous years to obtain Settled Status if your parent(s) have met the requirements.
You also need to meet specific rules in relation to periods of absence from the UK. Please see the section: 'What happens if I spend some time outside the UK' for more information about what types of absences are permitted.
Pre-Settled Status: To be granted Pre-Settled Status you must complete the EU Settlement Scheme application and demonstrate that you established residence in the UK by 31 December 2020, even if you are applying to the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) after that date.
For most applicants, the deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021 but please refer to the section on this page "Late Applications to the EU Settlement Scheme". It may be possible to make a late application depending on your circumstances if you have reasonable grounds.
There are some exceptions to this date including:
If you submitted a valid EU Settlement Scheme application by the deadline you keep your residence rights while the Home Office considers your application if your presence in the UK was in full compliance with EU free movement law.
Examples of people who were not deemed to be here in full compliance of EU free movement law includes students who did not hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (an EHIC card or a private healthcare insurance policy), because this was a requirement for those exercising EU Treaty rights to live in the UK as a student.
However, in practice this is not likely to be an issue because the Home Office has confirmed that the EU Settlement Scheme does not check exercise of Treaty rights. So, in practice everyone who made a valid application by the deadline will keep their residence rights until a decision is made on their application. For example, continuing to be able to work, study, rent accommodation, etc.
A Certificate of Application is issued as soon as an application is valid in accordance with paragraph EU9 of the Immigration Rules for the EUSS in Appendix EU.
Along with your Certificate of Application you should also be able to log into the online and Prove service using your UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) account and generate a share code to prove these rights.
We would advise that you have a copy of your Certificate of Application and a status update from the view and prove service whenever entering the UK while you have a pending decision on your application.
If you applied late (after the deadline) for the EU Settlement Scheme, please see the section on rights in the UK – late applications pending decisions.
The deadline to make a first application to the EU Settlement Scheme was in most cases 30 June 2021, unless you are joining a family member or switching from some other immigration categories in the UK) in which case the deadlines may be different.
Once you hold Pre-Settled Status, you must apply for Settled Status or another category of immigration permission or leave the UK before your Pre-Settled Status expires.
If you have missed your application deadline, you may be able to make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme based on having reasonable grounds for failing to meet the deadline applicable to them. the 3 million have information about late applications for settled or pre-settled status.
Pages 32 to 50 of the EUSS Caseworker Guidance explain how late applications are dealt with, and gives examples of reasonable grounds for applying late, as well as certain categories of people who can apply after 30 June 2021.
It is important to outline any reasonable grounds clearly when making a late application and to provide evidence. You may want to obtain advice from an immigration specialist if you have not made an application to the EU Settlement Scheme by the relevant deadline and:
After obtaining Settled Status you can spend up to 5 years outside the UK without losing your status, except Swiss nationals who can spend up to 4 years outside the UK.
As a result of a Home Office change that came into effect on 21 May 2024, holders of pre-settled status will no longer lose their status because of residence abroad for two years. Instead, the period will be the same as for holders of settled status: five years normally, and four years for Swiss nationals and their family members. UKCISA has further information about this change.
However, it is important that you understand the implications of absences from the UK on any future application for settled status.
If you have absences from the UK which are less than 6 months in any 12-month period, you can still be considered as being continuously resident in the UK to qualify for settled status after 5 years.
UKVI guidance defines a month as “30 calendar days”, so 6 months would be 180 days, so the cumulative total of absences in any 12-month period must not exceed 180 days. You will not need to provide evidence of these absences.
The six-month cap is not limited to a single lengthy period outside the UK. It also applies to multiple trips totalling six months together. “In any 12-month period”, means the Home Office will not just be looking at travel during a calendar year. It instead considers a rolling period of 12 months which resets with every trip.
The “rolling” concept means that where there are multiple trips, there are multiple 12-month periods and each and every 12-month period must be monitored to make sure absences in “any 12-month period” do not amount to more 6 months. If you travel regularly you need to note your absences so you can monitor the number of days, you have been outside the UK.
The 3 million group have published an 'absence calculator' to help you to calculate your greatest total absence in any rolling 12-month period. You may wish to seek specialist advice if the calculator shows that you have exceeded 180 days absence in a 12-month period, and this is not an absence of up to 12 months for an important reason.
A single period of absence of more than 6 months but which does not exceed 12 months is permitted, where this is for an important reason, and will not break your continuous qualifying period of residence.
Important reasons include pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, study. Evidence to support an absence because of pregnancy, childbirth or serious illness might take the form of a letter or other records from a qualified medical professional or evidence to support an absence because of study might take the form of a letter or other records from the relevant educational establishment.
An absence of any length due to compulsory military service can be considered as continuous residence in the UK.
Absence from the UK due to remote study for up to 12 months due to Covid-19 does not break your continuous period of residence needed to qualify for Settled Status after five years. The EU Settlement Scheme guidance states on page 164 that the following situation is a permissible absence from the UK for an important reason for up to 12 months:
“Advised by their university that, due to COVID-19, their course was moved to remote learning and were advised or allowed to return to their home country to study remotely”
You can rely on any coronavirus related reason (including where you chose to leave or remain outside the UK because of the pandemic) as being an ‘important reason’ permitting an absence of up to 12 months.
There is explained in the EU Settlement Scheme Guidance (page 164)
“This means that such a person can rely on any COVID-19 related reason (including where they chose to leave or remain outside the UK because of the pandemic) as being an ‘important reason’ permitting an absence of up to 12 months.”
It would be useful to retain evidence of your remote studies during this period. This could be, for example, the emails you have received from the Principal at Queen Mary confirming students can study remotely at this time or screenshots from the UK government web pages, or your own country’s government web pages (in English), confirming travel restrictions.
You can also request a Student Status Letter for EUSS purposes by contacting the Student Enquiry Centre which can confirm the period of remote study at Queen Mary University of London from March 2020 until the end of the academic year 2020/21 (for most courses).
If you have been absent for an ‘important reason’ – whether because of coronavirus or for another important reason – but your absence has exceeded 12 months, you have exceeded the permitted absence.
However, UKVI has introduced a coronavirus concession, meaning that you can still maintain your continuous residence for the purposes of eligibility for Settled Status, where you can evidence that this extended absence is because coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months and for a period thereafter.
The EU Settlement Scheme Guidance outlines on pages 165-166 the type of situation where a Covid-19 related reason may be accepted in relation to absences of longer than 12 months, as well as evidence required.
This means that where, after an absence of 12 months for an ‘important reason’, coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months, you will be treated as not having broken your continuous qualifying period of residence.
The period of absence exceeding 12 months will not be counted towards your continuous qualifying period of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme. Your continuous qualifying period will be paused from the point your absence reached 12 months and will resume from the point you return to the UK.
Where you hold pre-settled status, and this is now due to expire before you can complete the continuous qualifying period of residence required for you to be eligible for settled status, you will be able to apply for a further grant of pre-settled status.
You could have multiple absences of less than 6 months, if your absences total less than 6 months in any 12-month period.
You can only have a single period of absence of up to 12 months for an ‘important reason’.
Where you have a second period of absence exceeding 6 months in any 12-month period for an ‘important reason’, you have exceeded the absence permitted.
However, the EU Settlement Scheme Guidance allows you to rely on any coronavirus related reason (including where you chose to leave or remain outside the UK because of the pandemic) as the basis for requiring a second period of absence of up to 12 months for an ‘important reason’.
For example, you may have been absent from the UK for a period of up to 12 months due to a study abroad year (an accepted “important reason”) and then subsequently, you had a second absence from the UK for a period of up to 12 months due to coronavirus imposed remote study. In this case, you should be able to maintain your continuous residence in the UK even though you have had two absences
In these circumstances, you will be treated as not having broken your continuous qualifying period of residence.
However only up to the first 6 months of the second period of absence will be counted towards your continuous qualifying period of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme, where the period counted means you have not been absent for more than 6 months in any 12-month period.
Your continuous qualifying period will be paused from that point and will resume from the point you return to the UK.
You may be able to apply to join or stay with your EU/EEA/Swiss national family member if they have been granted Pre-settled or Settled Status in the UK, or they are eligible to apply because they were resident before 31 December 2020.
Relevant family members who are either European nationals or of a non-European nationality currently outside the UK can apply for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit to come to the UK and join their EU/EEA/Swiss family members. Your family relationship must normally have begun before 31 December 2020.
Once you have arrived in the UK, you can apply for the EU Settlement Scheme.
Relevant non-European family members who were resident before 31 December 2020 should normally apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021.
Please see the information on the UK government website which explains which family relationships are eligible, and how to apply, and what the deadlines are.
If you have questions about the information on this page, you can contact a Welfare Adviser.
The United Kingdom Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has detailed information on the EU Settlement scheme and other issues relating to EU, EEA & Swiss nationals, as well as a free student information line
The UK Government website has a section for EU, EEA & Swiss nationals which contains information on the EU Settlement Scheme, the Application form, policy guidance, immigration rules and other essential information.
If you have questions about your EU Settlement Scheme application, you can contact the Home Office EU Settlement Resolution Centre by phone or online.
The gov.uk website lists organisations who can advise 'vulnerable people' on their applications. This includes some Local Authorities so you could try contacting yours to see if they are advising European nationals.
Settled is an independent specialist information and advice service for European Citizens and family members living in the UK. They can be contacted through their website, by email or by telephone.
The AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) is an advice centre which specialises in European rights. You can email them for written legal advice which they take around 2-3 weeks to provide.
The Citizens Advice Bureau has branches across the UK and provides free independent advice on a range of legal matters including immigration related issues.
The Immigration Law Practioners’ Association is an umbrella body for immigration solicitors and advisers many of which specialise in EU rights.