Pre-Settled Status: Automatic Upgrade to Settled Status — April 2026 Changes Explained

Will I be upgraded automatically?

If you hold pre-settled status and the Home Office can find at least 30 months of UK tax or benefit records in your most recent 60-month period, you may be upgraded to settled status without submitting an application. From 9 April 2026, this is the test the automated system uses. If you qualify, your digital status changes in your UKVI account and you receive an email.

The automated process does not review everyone at the same time. The Home Office looks at people as their pre-settled status approaches expiry — not everyone who has reached five years of residence. If your status has several years left to run, you may not be considered for some time even if you already qualify. In that case, applying for settled status yourself is the more reliable route: it is free and straightforward for most people.

What changed on 9 April 2026

The Home Office introduced automated conversion to settled status in January 2025, using HMRC and DWP records to identify pre-settled status holders who appeared to have completed five years of continuous residence. By the end of 2025, around 87,000 people had been upgraded this way.

The earlier automated check was modelled on the traditional absence rules — broadly, no more than six months outside the UK in any 12-month period across a five-year qualifying period. Many people with otherwise sufficient residence fell outside it because of gaps in employment records, time out of paid work, or long periods abroad for family or health reasons.

From 9 April 2026, the system uses 30 months of HMRC tax or DWP benefit records in the most recent 60 months instead. This mirrors the alternative residence test already available to pre-settled status holders who apply themselves, and which the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance sets out: any 30 months within the most recent 60-month period. Our EU Settled Status guide explains both residence tests in full.

How the automated upgrade works

The Home Office checks the National Insurance number recorded in each pre-settled status holder’s UKVI account against HMRC and DWP data. If it finds 30 or more months of relevant activity in the last 60 months, and standard suitability checks are passed, settled status is granted and the holder is told by email.

There is no physical document. Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme is digital only, and you prove it with a share code from the view and prove your immigration status service — exactly as before. Make sure your eVisa is linked to the passport you travel on; our eVisa border checks guide explains why this matters at boarding.

If the system cannot confirm eligibility — for example, because of gaps in tax or benefit data — pre-settled status is extended rather than removed. You can then apply yourself whenever you are ready.

Who may not be upgraded automatically

The automated process covers EEA and Swiss citizens who were living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and have enough tax or benefit records. Several groups are not included and need to apply themselves:

Based on Home Office guidance, including the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance.

Non-EEA family members who want to bring a partner or relative to the UK outside the scheme should read our family visas guide.

How the October 2026 rule changes fit in

New EU Settlement Scheme rules came into force on 8 October 2026 under Statement of Changes HC 584. They do not change the automatic upgrade, but they affect several of the groups above:

• Joining family members: if you entered without an EU Settlement Scheme family permit and an earlier application did not lead to status, leaving and re-entering the UK no longer restarts the three-month deadline.
• Pre-settled status removal: a small number of people who no longer meet the requirements can keep their status where removing it would be disproportionate. Read how pre-settled status can be cancelled.
• Children in education: following the Ayoola ruling, carers of a child completing their education in the UK can obtain or keep pre-settled status.
• Expired BRPs: from 9 December 2026, non-EEA family members can no longer apply using an expired biometric residence permit.

The full detail is in our report on the EU Settlement Scheme changes for October 2026, and in the Home Office’s explanatory memorandum to HC 584.

Why applying sooner is better

Pre-settled status gives you the same day-to-day rights as settled status — the right to work, rent, use the NHS and access services. The differences are permanence and the path to citizenship. Pre-settled status is time-limited; settled status is permanent and is the step you need before applying for British citizenship, usually after holding it for 12 months.

The Home Office has also begun reviewing and, in some cases, removing pre-settled status from people who have clearly stopped living in the UK — a reminder that pre-settled status carries conditions that settled status does not. If you have been in the UK for five years, or can show 30 months of UK tax or benefit records in your last 60 months, applying now costs nothing.

Keep your UKVI details current

All EU Settlement Scheme notifications, including automatic upgrade confirmations, go to the email address and phone number on your UKVI account. If they are out of date, you may miss the email. Use the update your UKVI account details service to change them, and to link a new passport to your status before you travel.

What to do now

• Check your status in your UKVI account and note when your pre-settled status expires.
• Count your time in the UK: if you have 30 months of tax or benefit records in the last 60, or five years of continuous residence, apply for settled status now.
• Update your contact details and passport so you do not miss an upgrade email or fail a boarding check.
• Joining family members and non-EEA family members: do not wait for an automatic upgrade — read our EU Settled Status guide and apply yourself.
• Romanian and other EU nationals planning a move now: the scheme is closed to new arrivals without a qualifying family member, so see our guide to moving to the UK from Romania and the visas and immigration hub for current routes.

The April 2026 change made the automatic upgrade far more inclusive, but it still works on the Home Office’s timetable, not yours. Most people who already qualify will get settled status sooner by applying themselves, at no cost.

If your case is less straightforward — you are a joining family member, a non-EEA family member, you have long periods abroad, or you rely on a child’s education — check the October 2026 rules before you apply and take advice from a regulated immigration adviser. The EU Settlement Scheme Resolution Centre (0300 123 7379) can help with questions about your account or status.