EU settlement route

Back to visa category

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021. You can also apply if you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland.

The deadline for applying is 30 June 2021. You must usually have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

The deadlines are different in some situations, for example if:

  • you are applying to join a close family member
  •  the family member of a British citizen (‘Surinder Singh’ applications)
  •  you stop being exempt from immigration control

You will be given either:

  •  settled status
  •  pre-settled status

EU Settlement Scheme – Settled and pre-settled status

Settled status

You will usually get settled status if you have lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period (known as ‘continuous residence’)

Five years’ continuous residence means that for 5 years in a row you have been in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for at least 6 months in any 12 months period. The exceptions are:

  • one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training, or an overseas work posting)
  • compulsory military service of any length
  •  time you spent abroad as a Crown servant, or as the family member of a Crown servant
  •  time you spent abroad in the armed forces, or as the family member of someone in the armed forces

You may be resident in the UK on 31 December 2020 and may be eligible for settled status if you both:

  • lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period in the past
  •  have not left the UK for more than 5 years in a row since then

You can stay in the UK as long as you like if you get settled status. You will also be able to apply for British citizenship if you are eligible.

Pre-settled status

If you have not lived in the UK for 5 years in a row (known as ‘continuous residence’), you will usually get pre-settled status. You must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 unless you are applying as the existing close family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who started living here by then. You can stay in the UK for a further 5 years from the date you get pre-settled status.

You can apply to switch to settled status as soon as you’ve had 5 years’ continuous residence. The 5 years is counted from the day you first arrived in the UK. You do not need to have held pre-settled status for 5 years to apply. You must apply for settled status before your pre-settled status expires to stay in the UK. If you will reach 5 years’ continuous residence by 30 June 2021, you can choose to wait until you have 5 years’ residence to apply. This means that you will get settled status without having to apply for pre-settled status first if your application is  successful.

If you will not reach 5 years’ continuous residence by 30 June 2021, you cannot wait until after this date to apply. You must apply for pre-settled status by 30 June 2021. You can then switch to settled status once you have 5 years’ continuous residence.

If you have left the UK

You may be able to get pre-settled status if you were living in the UK before 31 December, but you were not here on that date. You must not have left the UK Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for more than 6 months in any 12-month period. You may also be eligible if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, but you left the UK for one period of no more than 12 months for an important reason (for example childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting). Your previous residence in the UK will count towards your eligibility for pre-settled status.

Showing your continuous residence when you apply

You will need to show that you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, unless you are joining your family member who is an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and they were living here by then.


If your evidence is older than 6 months, you will usually also need evidence to show you were here in the last 6 months. This is to show your continuous residence. If you have been outside the UK for one period of no more than 12 months, you can use evidence from before you left to show your continuous residence.

You must have been outside of the UK for an important reason, for example, due to childbirth, serious illness,study, vocational training, or an overseas work posting.