What is the EU Settlement Scheme?
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is the UK government's legal framework that allows EU, EEA and Swiss citizens — and their eligible family members — to protect their right to continue living in the UK after Brexit. It grants one of two statuses: settled status (permanent) or pre-settled status (time-limited), depending on how long the applicant had been living in the UK at the time of applying. The scheme is free to use and all proof of status is digital.
Free movement between the UK and EU ended on 31 December 2020. Anyone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland who was already living in the UK by that date needed to apply to the scheme to protect their rights — including their right to work, rent property, access NHS healthcare, and claim benefits. Without a valid certificate of application or granted status, those rights are not protected.
Settled status vs pre-settled status — the key difference
Settled status and pre-settled status are not the same thing. The status you receive depends on how long you had been living in the UK when you applied.
| Feature | Settled Status | Pre-Settled Status |
|---|---|---|
| Residence required | 5 years continuous | Less than 5 years |
| Time limit | None — permanent | 5 years (extendable) |
| Right to work | Yes | Yes |
| Right to rent | Yes | Yes |
| Access to NHS | Yes | Yes |
| Access to public funds | Yes (subject to eligibility) | Limited |
| Time outside UK before losing status | Up to 5 consecutive years | Up to 5 consecutive years |
| Path to British citizenship | Yes — after 12 months | Not until upgraded |
| Equivalent to ILR | Yes | No |
Important: Both statuses give you the same day-to-day rights in the UK. The critical difference is permanence. Pre-settled status must be upgraded to settled status once you qualify — it does not automatically become settled status just because time has passed, although an automatic conversion process is now in place (covered below).
Who is eligible to apply?
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who were living in the UK by 31 December 2020 are eligible to apply, as are their eligible family members — including non-EU family members. Citizens of EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland all qualify under the scheme.
Family members who can apply include spouses and civil partners, dependent children and grandchildren, dependent parents and grandparents, and in some cases extended family members such as siblings or unmarried partners. Non-EU family members of eligible EU citizens may apply even if they arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020, provided their EU family member was living in the UK by that date and the family relationship existed at the time.
There is also a separate eligibility category for family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland — a British or Irish citizen, or someone with another form of leave to remain, who was born in Northern Ireland and has a qualifying family member who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020.
Cannot apply: British citizens cannot apply to the EUSS. Irish citizens living in the UK are generally not required to apply, though they may choose to do so to obtain digital proof of their status.
The July 2025 residence rule change
The most significant recent update to the scheme affects how continuous residence is assessed for pre-settled status holders applying to upgrade to settled status. Under the previous rule, applicants could not be absent from the UK for more than six months in any single 12-month period during their five-year qualifying period, with limited exceptions.
Since July 2025, a new alternative test applies. Pre-settled status holders can now qualify for settled status by demonstrating at least 30 months of actual residence in the UK during the most recent 60-month period — regardless of how those months are distributed. This is a significantly more flexible test and benefits anyone who had a longer absence for work, family or health reasons.
Two routes to qualify from July 2025 (pre-settled holders only): Either the traditional continuous five-year residence test (no more than 6 months absent in any 12-month period), or the new 30-months-in-60 test. You only need to satisfy one of the two. The new test does not apply to first-time EUSS applicants who never held any status under the scheme.
Automatic conversion from pre-settled to settled status
From January 2025 the Home Office began automatically converting eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without requiring them to make a new application. By the end of December 2025, more than 86,670 people had received an automatic upgrade.
The process works as follows: the Home Office uses government-held data — primarily HMRC tax records, DWP benefit records and border crossing data — to verify that a pre-settled status holder has met the five-year residence requirement and passes suitability checks. If eligibility is confirmed, settled status is granted and the holder is notified by email. If the system cannot verify eligibility automatically, the holder is informed and must apply manually.
Automatic conversion is not guaranteed. The Home Office checks only those approaching the expiry of their pre-settled status — not everyone who has reached five years. If you qualify now but your pre-settled status does not expire for several years, you will not be automatically assessed yet. The safest approach is to apply for settled status manually as soon as you meet the five-year residence requirement, rather than waiting for automatic conversion.
Pre-settled status extensions
If your pre-settled status is nearing its expiry date and you have not yet qualified for settled status — or have not yet been automatically converted — the Home Office will automatically extend your pre-settled status by five years. You will be notified by email when this happens. This extension is not the same as settled status and does not change your rights.
Since June 2024, employers and landlords are no longer shown expiry dates when they check a pre-settled status holder's share code. This means there is no longer a risk of your pre-settled status expiring visibly during an employment or tenancy check. However, the underlying obligation to maintain residence and eventually qualify for settled status remains.
What settled status gives you
Settled status is the permanent form of leave under the EUSS and is equivalent to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). It gives you the unrestricted right to live and work in the UK with no time limit, access NHS healthcare, rent property, and apply for public funds subject to normal eligibility rules. You can travel outside the UK freely and retain your status for as long as you do not spend more than five consecutive years outside the UK (four years for Swiss citizens).
Settled status also opens the path to British citizenship. Once you have held settled status for 12 months, you can apply for naturalisation — or immediately, if you are married to a British citizen.
What pre-settled status gives you
Pre-settled status gives you the same day-to-day rights as settled status — the right to work, rent, access the NHS, and use services. The key difference is that it is time-limited and does not, by itself, provide a path to British citizenship. You must first upgrade to settled status before you can apply for citizenship. You also have more limited access to some public funds compared to settled status holders.
Digital proof — your eVisa and share code
Since January 2025, all EUSS status is stored digitally as an eVisa. There is no physical document for EU citizens — the BRC (Biometric Residence Card) has been replaced entirely. To prove your status to an employer, landlord, or service provider, you generate a share code at gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status using your passport and date of birth. The share code is valid for 90 days and gives the recipient read-only access to your status.
Keep your contact details up to date: All EUSS correspondence — including auto-conversion notifications and extension emails — is sent to the email address on your UKVI account. If you change your email address, update it at gov.uk/update-uk-visas-immigration-account-details to avoid missing important communications.
How to apply for settled or pre-settled status
Applications are made online through the gov.uk EUSS portal. It is free to apply. Most EU and EEA citizens can verify their identity using a valid passport or national identity card with a biometric chip via the UKVI app. Non-EU family members typically require a biometric residence card.
- 1 Check eligibility Confirm you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, or that you qualify as a joining family member with a later deadline.
- 2 Create or log in to your UKVI account Go to gov.uk and start your application. Have your passport or national identity card ready.
- 3 Verify your identity Use the UKVI app to scan your biometric document. Non-EU family members use their biometric residence card.
- 4 Provide evidence of residence The system automatically checks HMRC and DWP records for most applicants. If your records are limited, you can upload supporting documents — payslips, bank statements, tenancy agreements or letters from employers or schools.
- 5 Receive your decision Most straightforward applications receive a decision quickly — often the same day. You will be notified by email and your eVisa will be accessible through your UKVI account.
Late applications — still possible in 2026
The main application deadline for most people was 30 June 2021. However, late applications are still being accepted in 2026 if the applicant can demonstrate reasonable grounds for not having applied by the deadline or in the time since.
Accepted reasonable grounds include: a serious medical condition that prevented applying; being a child whose parent or guardian did not apply on their behalf; arriving in the UK on a work visa or study visa and only becoming eligible for EUSS while in the UK; and other compelling practical or compassionate circumstances. If you are applying late, you will need to provide evidence of your reasonable grounds alongside evidence of your residence. Legal advice is strongly recommended for late applications, as the threshold for reasonable grounds is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Family members
Non-EU family members of eligible EU citizens can apply to the EUSS. If you are a joining family member — meaning you arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020 — your application deadline is different and depends on when you first arrived in the UK, provided your EU family member was already living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and the family relationship existed at that date (or the child was born or adopted after that date).
Family members who are children born in the UK while a parent holds settled status will automatically be British citizens. Children born while a parent holds pre-settled status may be eligible for pre-settled status themselves, and will only be automatically British if the other parent is already British or settled.
Path to British citizenship
Settled status holders can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation once they have held settled status for 12 months and have lived in the UK for five years in total. If you are married to a British citizen, the qualifying residence period is three years and you do not need to have held settled status for 12 months before applying.
The UK permits dual citizenship, so you do not need to renounce your EU nationality. Whether you can hold dual nationality depends on your home country's own laws — check with your national embassy or consulate before applying for British citizenship.
Policy watch: what the 2025 White Paper means for EUSS holders
The government's May 2025 immigration White Paper proposed extending the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years for many migrants under the points-based system. This caused concern among EU citizens still holding pre-settled status. The Home Office subsequently confirmed that EUSS holders are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and the proposed ten-year rule will not apply to them. Their rights and route to settlement remain governed by the terms of the Citizens' Rights Agreements.
Earned settlement — proposed policy, not current law. The government has also announced a proposed "earned settlement" framework that may link ILR to a contribution-based assessment. As of April 2026, no start date has been confirmed and the proposal has not been enacted. EUSS applications continue under the existing rules. If you are planning your timeline, seek legal advice before making assumptions about changes that have not yet come into force.
Your status, secured
More than five years since the EUSS deadline, the scheme continues to evolve — and not always in ways that are easy to follow. The July 2025 residence rule change, the rollout of automatic conversion, and the shift to digital-only eVisas have all significantly altered the landscape for EU citizens in the UK. Most of these changes are positive, but they require active attention: automatic conversion is not universal, extensions are not the same as settled status, and digital proof systems have their own requirements to maintain.
If you hold pre-settled status and have been in the UK for five years, the clearest action is to apply for settled status now rather than waiting. The process is free, straightforward for most applicants, and removes the time-limited element that pre-settled status carries. Settled status is both more secure and the necessary step before citizenship becomes available.
For anyone in a more complex situation — a long absence, a late application, a non-EU family member, or a question about the automatic conversion process — the EUSS Resolution Centre (0300 123 7379, Monday to Friday 8am–8pm) is the correct first contact. For anything involving an appeal or a refused application, a registered immigration adviser or solicitor is the appropriate route.