The ‘transition period’ for the UK leaving the EU ended at 11pm on the 31st December 2020. Most EU, EEA or Swiss nationals had a deadline of the 30th June 2021 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to protect their residence rights in the UK, however there are some exceptions to this deadline which can be found in the eligibility rules.
If you have any questions about information on this page or would like to speak to an Immigration Adviser please email internationaladvice@lincoln.ac.uk
If you were already resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 please see the rest of the information on this page about the EU Settlement Scheme.
EU students who move to the UK from 1 January 2021 onwards to study on a course of more than six months will need to apply for Student immigration permission. You will need to complete an application, pay an application fee, and have a current passport or other valid travel document. You will need to meet specific requirements and to pass relevant checks, including UK criminality checks.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. This was followed by a transition period from 31 January 2020 to 31 December 2020, during which EU law continued to apply in the UK. After the transition period, the UK government ended reciprocal European Freedom of Movement to the UK.
EU/EEA & Swiss nationals & their family members already resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 were able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 for Pre-Settled or Settled status to continue living in the UK.
Irish citizens don’t need to apply because the Common Travel Area agreements existed between the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland prior to the EU Directive. There is some specific information for Irish citizens on the UK government website.
Family members of EU,EEA and Swiss nationals who are not EU, EEA or Swiss nationals themselves may also be eligible. Please see the section of this page ‘What about my family members?’
Pre-Settled Status gives you permission to remain in the UK for a further 5 years from the date that you are granted this status. Once you have reached five years continuous residence, you can apply again to obtain Settled Status if you want to remain in the UK longer. However, you must apply before your five years on Pre-settled status expires if you wish to remain in the UK. You do not have to wait until you have had pre-settled status for 5 years to apply for Settled Status if you will have reached 5 years residence in the UK before that. For example you may have moved to the UK in September 2019, but only applied for and were granted pre-settled status in September 2020 – as long as you meet the criteria for five years continuous residence you can apply for settled status in September 2024.
Whilst in the UK with Pre-Settled Status you can continue to study & work in the UK without restriction. You can also access any public funds you may be eligible for and use the National Health Service (NHS). You are free to travel in and out of the UK
Additionally, after obtaining Pre-Settled Status you can spend up to 2 years outside the UK without losing your status. However, absence from the UK can impact on your eligibility to later apply for Settled Status.
Settled status allows you to remain in the UK indefinitely. Whilst in the UK with Settled Status you can continue to study & work without restriction. You can also access any public funds you may be eligible for and use the National Health Service (NHS). You are free to travel in and out of the UK.
After obtaining Settled Status you can spend up to 5 years outside the UK without losing your status (or if you are a Swiss national or their family member you can spend up to 4 years outside the UK), you can choose to apply for British citizenship and any children born in the UK will automatically become British citizens.
Please refer to the UK government guidance for making an application to the EU Settlement Scheme.
You will need to meet the qualifying criteria, prove your identity, provide your biometric details, complete the online application form and provide evidence of your residence in the UK.
The deadline for a first application was 30 June 2021 (unless you are joining a family member in which case the deadlines are different) but if you missed the deadline please read the section below ‘I have missed the application deadline, can I still apply?’
If you submitted a valid EU Settlement Scheme application by the deadline (this is 30 June 2021 for a first application for Pre-Settled Status unless you are applying as a family member in which case different deadlines apply, or the expiry date of your Pre-Settled Status if you are applying for Settled Status), you keep your residence rights while the Home Office considers your application, as long as your presence in the UK was in full compliance with EU free movement law.
Examples of people who were not deemed to be here in full compliance of EU free movement law includes students who did not hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (an EHIC card or a private healthcare insurance policy), because this was a requirement for those exercising EU Treaty rights to live in the UK as a student. However in practice this is not likely to be an issue because the Home Office has confirmed that the EU Settlement Scheme does not check exercise of Treaty rights. So in practice everyone who made a valid application by the deadline will keep their residence rights until a decision is made on their application. For example continuing to be able to work, study, rent accommodation, etc.
A Certificate of Application is issued as soon as an application is valid in accordance with paragraph EU9 of the Immigration Rules for the EUSS in Appendix EU. Applicants who have a digital Certificate of Application can log into the online View and Prove service using their UKVI account, and generate a share code to prove their rights.
If you applied after the deadline please see the section below ‘What is my status if I have missed the application deadline’.
If you have missed your application deadline, you may be able to make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme based on having reasonable grounds for failing to meet the deadline applicable to them. Late applications should be made as close to the deadline as possible.
Pages 30 to 46 of the EUSS Caseworker Guidance explain how late applications are dealt with, and pages 31 to 44 give examples of reasonable grounds for applying late, as well as certain categories of people who can apply after 30 June 2021.
The EUSS Caseworker Guidance highlights 6 grounds someone can claim for a late application:
The guidance states that “In general, the more time which has elapsed since the deadline applicable to the person under the scheme, the harder it will be for [late applicants] to satisfy [the Home Office case worker]” of the reasonable grounds for late applications. (p.32)
Caseworkers are required to give applicants the benefit of any doubt in considering whether, in light of information provided with the application, there are reasonable grounds for their failure to meet the deadline applicable to them under the EU Settlement Scheme, unless this would not be reasonable in light of the particular circumstances of the case.
Where a person has not provided sufficient information as to the reasonable grounds for their failure to meet the deadline applicable to them, caseworkers are required to give applicants a reasonable opportunity to submit this.
Where an application under Appendix EU is refused on eligibility grounds on the basis that there are not reasonable grounds for the applicant’s failure to meet the deadline applicable to them, the applicant may seek an administrative review of that decision, or appeal against it.
On 6 August 2021, the UK government announced their plans to protect applicants who make a late EU Settlement Scheme applicants.
The announcement states that late applicants are protected if they submitted a valid application and have been issued with a Certificate of Application by the Home Office.
A Certificate of Application is issued as soon as an application is valid in accordance with paragraph EU9 of the Immigration Rules for the EUSS in Appendix EU. Applicants who have a digital Certificate of Application can log into the online View and Prove service using their UKVI account, and generate a share code to prove their rights.
You must not travel outside the UK until you are in possession of a Certificate of Application, confirming you have made a valid application to the EU Settlement Scheme. You may be asked to provide evidence you were resident in the UK by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 in order to be admitted to the UK.
If you have not made an application to the EU Settlement Scheme at all and have no other valid immigration status in the UK, you won’t be able to evidence your rights in the UK. In this case you should seek advice urgently to discuss the options available to you.
If you were eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme but did not apply by 30 June 2021 you lost your lawful status in the UK (unless a different deadline applies to you, for example if you are applying as a family member).
From 1 July 2021, where a person without status under the EU Settlement Scheme is encountered by Immigration Enforcement (or referred to them), the officer will consider, on the basis of the information and evidence available to them, whether the person may have been eligible for status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as an EEA citizen or as their family member, had they made an application under Appendix EU by 30 June 2021
Where it appears to the officer that this is the case, they will provide the person with a written notice giving them an opportunity to make a valid application under Appendix EU, normally within 28 days of the date of the written notice. No immigration enforcement action for being in the UK without permission will normally be taken during this period. The guidance does not state what happens if a person does not apply within the 28 days deadline in the written notice.
Not having applied to the EUSS and therefore neither having a Certificate of Application nor lawful status affects your residence rights in the following ways:
You cannot apply for a new job as you will not pass a right to work check.
If you were already working by 30 June 2021 but have not applied to the EUSS, and if your employer becomes aware of this, they can give you 28 days to make your EUSS application but must then take steps to end your employment if you do not apply within that time.
You cannot rent a new property after 30 June 2021 if you have not applied to the EUSS as you cannot pass landlord immigration checks.
Existing tenants do not need to be checked by landlords. If a landlord did find out that a tenant had not applied in time to the EUSS, they need to report this to the Home Office and advise the tenant to apply to the EUSS within 28 days.
Someone who is eligible to apply to the EUSS but who has not submitted an application by 30 June 2021, who is therefore in the UK without immigration status, will be chargeable for treatment. Any payment you make will not be refunded if you later apply for and are granted status under the EUSS.
The deadline to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021. There are two circumstances in which you can apply outside the UK:
1. If you were resident in the UK at any time in the previous six months and before 31 December 2020; or
2. If you were previously resident and studying in the UK before 31 December 2020 and you meet either one of the scenarios below:
The EU Settlement Scheme is open to all EU/ EEA & Swiss nationals resident in the UK by 31 December 2020.
The scheme is also open to non EU/ EEA or Swiss nationals resident in the UK if they are the relevant family members of an EU/ EEA or Swiss national who is resident in the UK. (Relevant family members are: spouse/ civil partner/ unmarried partner, children under 21, dependent children 21 or over including grandchildren and other direct descendants, parents, grandparents and other direct ascendants, and other family members who are dependent).
All applications are subject to an identity, criminality and residence in the UK check
The application for Settled or Pre-Settled Status is the same process through the EU Settlement Scheme. You don’t need to choose which status you are applying for initially. At the end of the application, based on the information provided by you, you are informed if you are being considered for settled or pre-settled status. You have the ability to change that by providing additional evidence at the end of the application.
Settled Status: To be granted Settled Status you must complete the EU Settlement Scheme application and demonstrate that you have been resident in the UK for at least 5 continuous years with no absences of longer than 6 months in any 12 month period. The continuous 5 year period can be any historical 5 year continuous period, provided that you have not spent 5 years or longer outside the UK.
In addition, a one off absence from the UK of up to 12 months for particular reasons is permitted, and is not deemed to disrupt your continuous period of five years qualifying residence required for Settled Status.
Your residence in the UK must have started by 31 December 2020.
If you are under 21 and are applying with your parents, you may not need to have been resident in the UK for 5 continuous years to obtain Settled Status if your parent(s) have met the requirements.
Pre-Settled Status: To be granted Pre-Settled Status you must complete the EU Settlement Scheme application and demonstrate that you established residence in the UK by 31 December 2020, even if you are applying to the EUSS after that date.
Pre-Settled Status
If you have been resident in the UK for any period of time less than 5 years, you will need to provide evidence that you were resident in the UK before by 31 December 2020. Please note that applying for pre-settled status requires genuine residence. While you must have completed a continuous qualifying period of residence in the UK, the rules do not specify any minimum period, so you could apply as soon as you start living in the UK if you wish to, as long as your stay would be regarded as ‘residence’.
If you have a National Insurance Number and you have been working in the last six months, the National Insurance Number should be sufficient evidence for Pre-Settled Status.
Someone without a National Insurance contribution record in the last 6 months will be told near the end of their application that there isn’t evidence to consider them for settled or pre settled status and that they can upload a document(s) to show that they meet the residence requirement. The document(s) that you provide as evidence must be less than 6 months old. Acceptable documents are listed on the gov.uk website. As EU/EEA/Swiss nationals can enter the UK through e-gates it may be useful to keep evidence of your arrival date into the UK for example your e-ticket.
If you are applying from outside the UK it would also be useful to retain evidence of your remote studies during this period. This could be, for example, the emails from the University of Lincoln confirming students can study remotely at this time or screenshots from the UK government web pages, or your own country’s government web pages (in English), confirming travel restrictions.
As long as you are genuinely resident in the UK, if you then need to leave the UK while your Pre-settled status application is being considered you can do so, as the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance states that “An application made under Appendix EU will not be treated as automatically withdrawn if the applicant travels outside the Common Travel Area before the application has been decided”. If your application remains undecided and you need to return to the UK it’s advisable to carry evidence in your hand luggage to show you were living in the UK before the end of the transition period. Pages 198 onwards of the EU Settlement Scheme guidance: EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members gives examples of the type of evidence that may be accepted. Where possible it’s advisable to carry evidence from the ‘preferred list’.
Settled Status
To be granted Settled Status, you will need to evidence that you have been resident in the UK for 5 continuous years. The gov.uk website explains which documents you can use.
If you have been working/self-employed in the UK for a continuous period of at least 5 years, the easiest and quickest way to prove this is by providing your National Insurance Number (NINO) on your application. UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) can check this with HM Revenues & Customs by accessing your NINO records. In this case it is likely that no further documents will be needed to prove residence for settled status.
If you haven’t been working during some or all of the continuous 5 year period, you can provide other documents listed on the gov.uk website. All documents you provide must be dated and have your name on them.
If you have had an absence from the UK of longer than 6 months but less than 12 months for one of the important reasons listed, you will need to provide official evidence of the reason.
If you are an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen with a biometric passport you should use your passport with the EU Exit: ID Document Check App. You do not need to send it to the UKVI unless requested.
Non EU/ EEA or Swiss family members of an EU national with a UKVI issued Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) Card, you must use your BRP with the EU Exit: ID Document Check App. You do not need to send it to the UKVI unless requested.
As well as completing the stages on the App, you will also need to provide evidence of your residence in the UK and any evidence to justify absences as explained in the previous section
If you are a non EU/ EEA/ Swiss family member of an EU/ EEA, Swiss national, you will also need to provide evidence of your relationship.
Depending on your circumstances, you may need to provide additional evidence (for example: evidence of absence from the UK of more than 6 months if for a permitted important reason or evidence of dependency if child over the age of 21)
There is information on the gov.uk website about acceptable evidence of residence in the UK.
The EU Settlement Scheme Guidance in general highlights the other documents you may require in specific circumstances (such as absences from the UK for an important reason, evidence of relationship etc)
An application can be rejected if it is considered as invalid, for reasons such as; not using the correct application process, not providing the required proof of identity or nationality, or failure to provide biometrics.
An application can be refused in certain cases, including amongst others; an application not meeting the requirements, providing false or misleading information or evidence, failure to disclose information requested such as criminal convictions and where an applicant has certain criminal convictions in particular those which led to a prison sentence. It can also be refused if made after the first application deadline.
It is important to read the Suitability Requirements for more details and seek advice if you think this may apply to you.
If your application has been refused you can seek specialist legal advice about your options and about your status in the UK.
You may be able to apply to join or stay with your EU/EEA/Swiss national family member if they have been granted Pre-settled or Settled Status in the UK, or they are eligible to apply because they were resident before 31 December 2020.
Relevant family members who are either European nationals or of a non European nationality currently outside the UK can apply for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit to come to the UK and join their EU/EEA/Swiss family members. Your family relationship must normally have begun before 31 December 2020.
Once you have arrived in the UK, you can apply for the EU Settlement Scheme.
Relevant non-European family members who were resident before 31 December 2020 should normally apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021.
You can contact the University of Lincoln International Advice Service by emailing: internationaladvice@lincoln.ac.uk or calling 01522 837080.
The United Kingdom Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has detailed information on the EU Settlement scheme and other issues relating to EU, EEA & Swiss nationals, as well as a free student information line
The UK Government website has a section for EU, EEA & Swiss nationals which contains information on the EU Settlement Scheme, the Application form, policy guidance, immigration rules and other important information.
If you have questions about your EU Settlement Scheme application you can contact the Home Office EU Settlement Resolution Centre by phone or online.
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