EU Settlement Scheme

Who it covers

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK by 31 December 2020, and their family members

Fee

Free

Settled status

After 5 years' continuous residence; pre-settled status is now converted automatically where the data allows

Late applications

Still accepted with reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is how the UK gave the roughly six million EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who were living here before the end of the Brexit transition period a status under UK law. Applications were free, the deadline was 30 June 2021, and more than 8 million were made. The scheme is still open for late applicants and for family members joining a person with status, and the main activity now is the move from pre-settled to settled status.

The two statuses

• Settled status is indefinite leave to remain. It is given to people with five years' continuous residence. It is lost only after five consecutive years outside the UK (four for Swiss citizens), more generous than the two years for ordinary ILR.
• Pre-settled status is limited leave given to people with under five years' residence at the time they applied. It was originally granted for five years and had to be upgraded by application. Since 2023 the Home Office has extended pre-settled status automatically before expiry (by two years, then five), and since 2024 it has been converting people to settled status automatically where its own records, chiefly tax and benefits data, show five years of residence. People it cannot confirm automatically are invited to apply.

Upgrading from pre-settled to settled

You qualify for settled status once you have five years' continuous residence beginning on or before 31 December 2020. Continuous residence here means not being away for more than six months in any 12-month period, with one absence of up to 12 months allowed for an important reason such as childbirth, serious illness, study or a posting abroad, and unlimited absences for COVID-related reasons during the pandemic period. If the Home Office has not converted you automatically, apply through the same online service and app; you will need your identity document and evidence of residence where the automated checks do not cover it, such as tenancy agreements, payslips or university letters.

Do this as soon as you qualify. Pre-settled status that is not upgraded or extended is a problem at the border and for employers, and the right-to-work and right-to-rent checks look at the status shown in your account.

Late applications

You can still apply if you were resident by 31 December 2020 and have reasonable grounds for missing the 2021 deadline. The guidance was tightened in 2023: you now have to show the reason, rather than being given the benefit of the doubt, but the list is broad: children whose parents did not apply for them, people in abusive relationships, people with serious health conditions, people who held permanent residence documents and did not realise they had to apply, and people who were simply unaware and can show why. Until a late application is decided, you have temporary protection of your rights.

Family members

Close family members of a person with EUSS status (a spouse or partner where the relationship existed by 31 December 2020, children, dependent parents and grandparents) can still apply to join them from abroad through the EUSS family permit, free of charge, and then apply for pre-settled status after arriving. Children born in the UK to a parent with settled status are British automatically; children born to a parent with pre-settled status need to apply to the scheme.

Proving your status

EUSS status has only ever been digital. You prove it with a share code from your UKVI account for work, renting and benefits, and at the border your passport is linked to your status. Keep your account's passport or ID card details current: an expired document that has not been updated is the commonest reason people are delayed at the border. There is no physical document and nobody can ask you for one.

Citizenship for EUSS holders

Settled status counts as ILR for naturalisation. The usual rules apply: 12 months with settled status (none if married to a British citizen), five years' residence, the absence limits, the Life in the UK test and B1 English. One extra point: the Home Office checks whether you held comprehensive sickness insurance during any period you were a student or self-sufficient before 2021; since 2021 the guidance says a lack of it will not normally cause refusal, but it is still asked about.