EU Settlement Scheme – Pre-Settled and Settled Status applying from in the UK

If you’re in the UK and you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021. You can also apply if you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland. If you are not a EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, but you are the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, then you may also apply. If your application is successful, you’ll get either settled or pre-settled status.The EEA includes the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

You may be able to stay in the UK without applying – for example, if you’re an Irish citizen or already have indefinite leave to remain.

Who Should Apply

The following people should apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021:

  • EU, EEA or Swiss citizens
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizens who are the family member of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens; such family members include the following:
    • their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner
    • child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
    • dependent child over the age of 21
    • dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
    • dependent relative
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizens who used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK (but you’ve separated, they’ve died or the family relationship has broken down)
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizens who are the family members of a British citizen and lived outside the UK in an EEA country together
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizens who are the family members 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
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizens who are the primary carers of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen in the UK
  • Non-EU, Non-EEA or Non-Swiss citizen child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or the child’s primary carer

Deadline to Apply

You, the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, must have started living in the UK before 31 December 2020.The deadline for applying is 30 June 2021. Which status you get may depend on when you apply. You’ll be given either:

  • 1 – Settled Status

You’ll usually get settled status if you’ve:

  • Started living in the UK by 31 December 2020
  • Lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period (known as ‘continuous residence’)

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

  • 2 – Pre-Settled Status

If you do not have 5 years’ continuous residence when you apply, you’ll usually get pre-settled status. You must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. You can stay in the UK for a further 5 years from the date you get pre-settled status. You can then apply to change this to settled status once you’ve got 5 years’ continuous residence. You must do this before your pre-settled status expires.

Which status you get depends on how long you’ve been living in the UK when you apply. Your rights will be different depending on which status you get.

Your Rights With Settled or Pre-Settled Status

As a person with Settled or Pre-Settled Status, you’ll be able to:

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

If You Want to Spend Time Outside the UK

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.

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.

If You Have Children After Applying

If you get settled status, any children born in the UK while you’re living here will automatically be British citizens.

If you get pre-settled status, any children born in the UK will be automatically eligible for pre-settled status. They will only be a British citizen if they qualify for it through their other parent.

If You Want to Bring Family Members to the UK

If you’re a citizen of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you’ll be able to bring close family members to the UK after 31 December 2020 if both of the following apply:

  • your relationship with them began before 31 December 2020
  • you are still in the relationship when they apply to join you

If you’re a Swiss citizen, you’ll also be able to bring your spouse or civil partner to 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 are still in the relationship when they apply to join you

If your family member is from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK if they hold either a valid passport or identity card with a biometric chip.

If your family member is not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK. They must hold a relevant UK document, for example:

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

Otherwise, they will need to apply for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit to come to the UK. Once they’re in the UK they can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

If your family member joins you on or after 1 April 2021, they must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme within 3 months of the date they arrived in the UK. For example if they arrived on 15 June 2021, they must apply by 15 September 2021.
If you cannot bring your family member under the EU Settlement Scheme, they may still be able to come here in a different way, for example on a family visa.

EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit Applying from Outside the UK

You may be able to get a permit to come to the UK if you’re the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or a ‘person of Northern Ireland’.
The EEA includes the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The family of some British citizens can also get a permit.
You must be outside the UK to apply.

What family permits are for

A family permit makes it easier to travel with your family member to the UK or to join them there.

It lets you come to the UK for up to 6 months. You can work and study, and come and go as many times as you want.

Without one, you might not get a boarding pass or may be refused entry into the UK.
You can stay longer in the UK if you’re eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme.

EU Settlement Scheme family permit

You can apply for the EU Settlement Scheme family permit if you’re the close family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

You can also apply:

  • if you’ve lived in the EU, EEA or Switzerland with an eligible family member who’s a British citizen
  • if you have the right to stay in the UK as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has died, left the UK, is no longer your spouse or civil partner or with whom the family relationship has broken down – this is called ‘retained right of residence’

You can apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit to come to the UK if all of the following are true:

  • you’re the eligible family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or a ‘person of Northern Ireland’
  • your family relationship began by 31 December 2020
  • your family member was living in the UK by 31 December 2020
  • your family member is in the UK already or traveling with you to the UK within 6 months of your application

The EEA includes the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Children who were born or adopted after 31 December 2020 may also be eligible, if they’re the child of either:

  • an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
  • an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen’s spouse or civil partner

Eligible family members

You can join your:

  • spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner
  • child or grandchild aged under 21
  • dependent child or grandchild of any age
  • dependent parent or grandparent

This includes family members who were adopted under an adoption order that’s recognised in UK law.

Swiss spouses and civil partners

If you’re married to or in a civil partnership with an eligible Swiss citizen, the rules are different.

You’ll still be eligible if:

  • you got engaged or formed your partnership after 31 December 2020
  • you’re still together when you apply

How long you can stay

EEA family permits are usually valid for 6 months. However, they will not be valid after 30 June 2021, even if there is time left on the permit.
An EUSS family permit is valid for 6 months, unless:

  • you plan to arrive in the UK on or after 1 April 2021
  • your application is approved more than three months ahead of your planned arrival date

In this case, it’s valid for 4 months from your planned arrival date.

Staying in the UK after your family permit expires

If your eligible family member was living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living here after your family permit runs out.

If they came to the UK on or after 1 January 2021, you’ll usually need to apply for a visa to live, work or study.

Makka Solicitors provides comprehensive immigration advice on EU Settlement Scheme applications. Please refer to our Fees page for full details of all of our fees for immigration applications.