EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) information

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is an immigration route that allows EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members living in the UK before Brexit i.e. on or before 31^st December 2020, to continue to live, study and work in the UK. The application process is managed by the UK Home Office.  

The initial deadline to apply for status under the EUSS was, in most cases, 30^th June 2021. However, the Home Office may accept a late application providing there are reasonable grounds for why you did not apply before the deadline. Details of what the Home Office consider to be reasonable grounds can be found their website for late EUSS applications. 

Note: A recent UK court judgement concluded that EU citizens holding pre-settled status do not need to re-apply for settled status before their pre-settled status expired.  The judge deemed that EU/EEA/Swiss citizens were only required to make one application to the EUSS and that settled status (and therefore permanent residence) was automatically acquired by the pre-settled status holder once they accrued 5 years of continuous residence in the UK.

We would still highly recommend that you do apply to convert your pre-settle status to settled status once you reach 5 years continuous residence because having this will help you to evidence your rights beyond the expiry of date of the pre-settled status.  Please take a look at the relevant section below ‘Converting your pre-settled to settled status’.

The EUSS application is free of charge and is usually made online. Once your application for the EUSS is approved, you will be granted either settled or pre-settled status.

Note: If you are an Irish citizen, you do not need to apply to the EUSS but if you have non-UK or Irish family members, they will need to apply.  

People granted either status under the EUSS are eligible to:

• Live, study and work in the UK
• access public services such as healthcare and schools
• access public funds and pensions

Settled status

If you have been living in the UK for five or more continuous years you will be eligible for settled status. If you are granted  settled status this means there is no time limit on how long you can stay in the UK.  However, if you were to leave the UK for 5 years in a row, you would likely lose your settled status and would need to apply for alternative immigration permission if you wanted to return to the UK again.  

For more information about what holding settled status will mean for you please visit the Gov.UK EUSS webpages. 

Pre-settled status

If you have been living in the UK for less than five years you will be eligible for pre-settled status. While you hold pre-settled status you should keep any time spent outside the UK to no more than 6 months in any 12-month period. 

Provided you end up living continuously in the UK for five years, with only permissible absences, you will automatically acquire settled status, also known as permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) as soon as you become eligible.

Although you do not have to re-apply in order to convert your pre-settled to settled status, we so strongly recommend that you do re-apply because having settled status will make it easier for you to evidence your immigration status now and into the future. 

Ideally you should apply to convert your status before your current pre-settled status expires but if you become eligible before then, apply as soon as you become eligible.  Please have a look at our section below 'Converting your pre-settled to settled status' 

The Home Office confirmed that absences of up to 12 months due directly to COVID will not affect the 5-year continuous residency required for an application for settled status. You can see more information about EUSS and permitted absences on the UKCISA website.

You will lose your pre-settled status is you are outside the UK for more than 2 years.

For more information about what holding pre-settled status will mean for you please visit the Gov.UK EUSS webpages.

An application for settled and pre-settled status is made via the same application route and you do not need to select an option. You will automatically be granted the status to which you are assessed as entitled.

The Home Office has published useful guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who need to make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme. Please read the guidance very carefully before you apply. 

Late applications can be accepted if you have 'reasonable grounds' for having missed the deadline. Some example of what might be considered reasonable grounds are:

• where a parent, guardian or Local Authority has failed to apply on behalf of a child
• where a person has or had a serious medical condition, which meant they were unable to apply by the relevant deadline
• where someone is a victim of modern slavery or is in an abusive relationship
• where someone is isolated, vulnerable or did not have the digital skills to access the application process
• where a person was unable to apply by the relevant deadline for compelling practical or compassionate reasons – including in light of the coronavirus pandemic

The EUSS caseworker guidance also explains some typical scenarios from page 32 onwards and you should prepare documents to submit with your late EUSS application as evidence of your reasonable grounds - this is very important. 

To submit the application itself is relatively quick, easy and it is free.

You will need a mobile phone or tablet onto which you can download the EU exit ID document check App as well as the following items and information:

• An ID document, ideally containing a biometric chip such as your passport or national ID card
• mobile phone number and email address 
• National Insurance number (NI) if you have one
• Documents proving your UK residency on or before 31st December 2020
• Documents proving your 'reasonable grounds' for late application

You will first need to download the EU exit ID document check App  from the Android / iOS App Store. You will use the App to scan the chip inside your ID document and to take a series of selfie photos. 

Once this is completed, you will move on to the online application form.

The EUSS application form will ask for basic factual information like your name, address and reference numbers such as your passport, national identity card or UK National Insurance (NI) number (if you have one). You will also need to attach your evidence of UK residency that started on or before 31st December 2020. Swansea University students can use your proof of enrolment letter as well as other documents that prove you have been living in the UK. 

We have created both a step-by-step Guide to the EU Settlement Scheme Application and a Guide to Completing the EU Settlement Scheme Application webinar which take you through the application and have useful hints and tips for dealing with the online application form. Please make sure you are using these resources to help you.

Please note: Once you have submitted your application, if you change your email, mobile phone number, address, name or identity document (e.g. passport) while your application is being decided, you will need to update your details. 

EUSS application processing times can take a long time - several months in some instances especially if you submit a late application. Once the application has been submitted you will receive a Certificate of Application (CoA).  Keep this is a safe place because you will need it to prove you have made an application. Please also make sure you have it when you travel to and from the UK. 

The UK Home Office intended for Pre-settled status to be valid for 5 years from the date you are granted the status and that in order to stay in the UK beyond 5 years, you would need to re-apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to convert your pre-settled to settled status before the 5-year expiry date passed. 

However, following a decision made by the UK Courts in December 2022, pre-settled status holders do not have to re-apply to convert to settled status. Settled status (also known as permanent residence or indefinitely leave to remain ILR) is automatically acquired by the pre-settled status holder as soon as they accrue 5 years of continuous residence in the UK, subject to any serious criminal convictions or long term absences. 

The Home Office confirmed that absences of up to 12 months due directly to Covid-19 will not affect the 5-year residency required for settled status. Please see information regarding this on the Home Office EUSS and Covid-19 website as well as UKCISA website.

Even though you do not have to apply to convert your pre-settled to settled status, we strongly advise that you do apply because having confirmation of your permanent residence from the Home Office will make things much easier for you to prove your continued immigration status into the future.

You might have started living in the UK well before you were granted pre-settled status but as soon as you have accrued at least 5 years continuous residence in the UK and providing that you have not spent more than the permitted time away from the UK (known as absences) during that time, you should be eligible to convert your pre-settled status to settled status.

How to apply

To apply to convert your status to settled status please read the latest guidance on the Home Office's EUSS webpages and follow the links to apply.  The application process will be mostly the same as when you applied for pre-settled status but this time you may need to upload additional documents to show that you have accrued at least 5 years continuous residence. 

We have created both a step-by-step Guide to the EU Settlement Scheme Application and a Guide to Completing the EU Settlement Scheme Application webinar which take you through the application and have useful hints and tips for dealing with the online application form. Please make sure you are using these resources to help you.

If you are making your application from overseas, please see the additional information regarding this on the Gov.UK website.

Please note: Once you have submitted your application, if you change your email, mobile phone number, address, name or identity document (e.g. passport) while your application is being decided, you will need to update your details.

If you have been granted a status under the EU Settlement Scheme you will receive an email from the Home Office telling you the outcome of your EUSS application. The email will also contain instructions about how to access and share your digital immigration status. You won't receive a physical immigration document.  Read all emails that you receive from the Home Office carefully and keep then in a safe place where you can easily find it in the future.

Proving your immigration status after it is granted

After your EUSS status has been decided, you will continue to be able to get into your personal EUSS immigration account from where you can view and prove your immigration status.

To log into your immigration account you will need:

• the identity document (passport or national ID card) that you used to create the account and make your immigration application
• your date of birth
• access to the mobile phone or email address you used to create the account and make your immigration application

Once logged into your account you can generate a share code. This code can be shared with employers, the University or anyone else who needs to check your right to work, study or reside in the UK. The code has an expiry date on it but you can generate as many as you need. This code can be entered into the Home Office system by a 3rd party in order to verify your immigration status.

When might I need to provide my status code?

You may be asked to prove your status in the UK in the following situations:

• Enrolling on a course of study
• Accessing the National Health Service (we also recommend that you always get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC))
• Applying for a job
• Renting accommodation
• Applying for a bank account or mortgage

If you are applying for a job, it might be worth mentioning that you have been granted permission to live/work/study in the UK under the European Settlement Scheme and can provide a share code within your job application. This may help to reassure employers that you have the ongoing right to work.

Please note: it is very important that you keep your details, such as your current passport number and contact details up to date on your Home Office immigration account.  Failure to do so may mean you have difficulty getting back into your account to generate 3rd party share codes or you may experience problems when passing through immigration control at the airport.

Proving your immigration status while your EUSS application is being decided

If you have applied as a late applicant to the EUSS you will receive a Certificate of Application (CoA). This could be in the form of a PDF letter sent to you by email or a digital CoA that you can download via the view and prove status portal. The CoA is evidence that you have made an application but you are waiting for the Home Office to process it and give you a decision. You will need to use this CoA to prove your rights while you wait for a decision. 

If you applied to convert your pre-settled status to settled status you will also receive a new Certificate of Application (CoA), please keep this in a safe place.

Remember that anyone, including children, who is an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen and who was living in the UK before the 31st December 2020 is eligible to apply for the EUSS in their own right. This is not dependent on them being a family member. 

Non-EU family members who were living in the UK on or before 31^st December 2020 should have applied to the EUSS by no later than 30^th June 2021. However the Home Office may accept a late application if the applicant can show they had reasonable grounds for having missed the deadline. Late applicants should read the relevant guidance for late EUSS applications and submit an application as soon as possible.

Family members (both EU and non-EU) who were not living in the UK by 31^st December 2020 but who now wish to join their EU/EEA/Swiss family member in the UK can apply as a ‘joining family member’ providing the following criteria are met:

• the EU/EEA/Swiss family member who is already in the UK has been granted either pre-settled or settled status
• The relationship formed on or before 31^st December 2020* and is still ongoing
• The joining family member is a partner or spouse, child, grandchild or great grandchild of the EU citizen or a parent, grandparent or great grandparent of the EU citizen and who is dependent on them. Dependent in this context means to be reliant financially, for health or social needs or in cases where the parent or grandparent otherwise would not be able to meet essential day-to-day living needs
• Children born or adopted after 31^stDecember 2020 and future dependants, can still apply as joining family members

*Joining partners/spouses of Swiss citizens can have formed the relationship after 31^st December 2020 and can still apply as a joining family member.

How to apply for new joining family members

The process for getting EUSS status for a joining family member has two stages:

Stage 1 - your family member must apply for an EUSS family permit. Your family member must obtain this before they travel to the UK. If granted the EUSS family permit will be valid for 6 months during which time the holder must travel to the UK.

Stage 2 – once inside the UK EUSS family permit holder must then apply to the EU Settlement Scheme within 3 months of arrival in the UK.  

It is important to complete this second stage of the process because the family permit obtained at the first stage will expire after 6 months.  Completing this second stage will allow your family member to get pre-settled or settle status which will protect their longer term rights to live in the UK.  

Children born or adopted to an EUSS status holder after 31 December 2020 and future dependants will also have their rights protected and can still apply to the EUSS.

Healthcare for family members

Once granted a status under the EUSS family members will be entitled to access healthcare but we recommend that in all cases any eligible family members should always get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) as this might help with accessing the health service.  

There is a lot of further information available regarding the EU Settlement Scheme and application process.

There are several video resources that are useful for all applicants; the Home Office have produced a very short video (less than 2 minutes) called The EU Settlement Scheme: How to Apply and the organisation Free Movement have produced a 20-minute video walk through of the Scheme. International@CampusLife have also produced a Guide to the EU Settlement Scheme Application and a Guide to Completing the EU Settlement Scheme Application webinar.

Please note: the video resources above were created when the EUSS was first launched in 2019, so there may be elements of the content that might now be slightly out of date. However they should hopefully still give you a helping hand when completing your application form. 

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) are an excellent, reliable source of information and they have a free Student Advice Line which our students can access.

Settled is a charity set up to help and support EU, EEA and Swiss citizens as well as their family members following the UK's exit from the EU. Settled has multilingual information and guidance on their website as well as free, accredited advice over the phone, email and via social media (multilingual).

The Gov.uk website holds the most official and up-to-date information regarding the scheme.

If you have any questions that have not been answered in these pages, please email the International@Campuslife team and we will always endeavour to assist where we can.