UK EU Settlement Scheme

Summary

The UK EU Settlement Scheme protects UK residence rights for eligible EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens and qualifying family members whose ties to the UK connect back to residence before the end of the Brexit transition period (usually by 31 December 2020). Successful applicants receive settled or pre-settled status. This is a retained-rights scheme, not an ordinary work visa.

The main application deadline of 30 June 2021 has passed, so the scheme is now largely closed. It is not a route for someone newly considering a move to the UK. It keeps running only for a few specific groups connected to pre-2021 UK residence.

Eligibility

You may be a fit if:

• You are an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.
• You already hold pre-settled status and can now move to settled status after enough UK residence.
• You are a qualifying family member of an eligible EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen, and your family relationship existed by 31 December 2020 and still continues.
• You are a late applicant who can point to a later deadline or reasonable grounds for missing the original deadline.

You are not a fit if you are already a British or Irish citizen, or if you had no UK connection by 31 December 2020 and do not fall into one of the groups above. New family relationships formed after that date generally do not qualify.

What This Route Allows

Settled status generally lets you remain in the UK without a time limit, and it can support a later application for British naturalisation. Pre-settled status protects your residence while you build or prove the residence period needed for settled status. GOV.UK says a certificate of application can temporarily protect your rights while a valid application or appeal is pending. With status granted, you can live, work, study, rent, and access services in the UK.

What This Route Is Not

• A general UK immigration route for people newly moving to the UK.
• An ordinary work visa or part of the points-based system.
• Open to new family relationships formed after 31 December 2020.
• A route for EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens who had no UK connection by the end of 2020.

Next Steps

1. Confirm which situation fits you: pre-2021 resident, existing pre-settled status holder, qualifying family member, or eligible late applicant.
2. If you are moving from pre-settled to settled status, check whether you now have enough continuous UK residence.
3. If you are applying late, identify the later deadline or reasonable grounds that would let you apply.
4. Gather evidence of your UK residence and, for family members, of the relationship as it stood by 31 December 2020.
5. Apply through GOV.UK and keep any certificate of application that protects your rights while the decision is pending.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme
• GOV.UK — EU Settlement Scheme eligibility