Process of acquiring settled status to be more streamlined and straightforward for holders of pre-settled status
The Home Office announced on Friday that it is introducing a new system to automatically convert eligible EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) pre-settled status holders to settled status without requiring a new application.
The new process is expected to begin later this month, with the first group of pre-settled status holders being informed via email as their status approaches expiry. The initiative will expand later in 2025 to include more eligible individuals. The Home Office is also reviewing next steps for cases where pre-settled status holders no longer meet the necessary conditions, with further updates to follow.
Currently, pre-settled status holders must apply again to the EUSS after five years of UK residency to gain settled status.
Details of the new automated process can be found in a brief Home Office policy paper here, which is also reproduced below. You can also see the Home Office's updated EUSS media factsheet for more information.
Home Office
Policy paper
EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) status automation
Published 17 January 2025
The EUSS has provided 5.7 million EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members with the status they need to continue living and working in the UK following our departure from the European Union.
Successful applicants to EUSS receive 'pre-settled status' or 'settled status':
- pre-settled status is limited leave to enter or remain, usually granted if the applicant has been resident in the UK for less than 5 years
- settled status is indefinite leave to enter or remain, usually granted if the applicant has been resident for at least 5 years.
Pre-settled status holders currently need to make a further application to the EUSS after they've completed the required residence in the UK (usually 5 years) in order to obtain settled status.
The Home Office is introducing a new process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without the need for them to make a further EUSS application. This will make the process of acquiring settled status far more streamlined and straightforward for thousands of people who hold pre-settled status.
We will email pre-settled status holders who are approaching the expiry of their status to inform them that they may soon be considered for an automated conversion to settled status. We expect to issue the first grants of settled status under this process from late January 2025. Pre-settled status holders will not need to do anything, and we will inform them if we are unable to grant them settled status.
The Home Office will automatically check pre-settled status holder records against government-held information, for example to ensure they have remained resident in the UK, and to check for any evidence of criminal conduct. These checks are the same as the checks undertaken when the person first applied to the EUSS and will ensure they are eligible for settled status before it is granted.
Later in 2025, the Home Office intends to expand this process to enable more eligible pre-settled status holders to benefit from it. We are also considering the appropriate next steps for cases where a pre-settled status holder no longer meets the conditions of their pre-settled status, for example because they have not remained continuously resident in the UK. Further information will be provided in due course.
The Home Office already extends pre-settled status by 5 years for people approaching expiry of that status, to ensure that nobody loses their rights because they did not make a further EUSS application. The new automation process confirmed today ensures that we are now going further than ever before in supporting people to secure their rights.
Pre-settled status holders don't need to wait to be converted to settled status. They can still apply for it as soon as they are eligible at www.gov.uk/eusettlementscheme. The introduction of this automated process will not prevent people from doing so.
We will continue to listen to and gather feedback from status holders and stakeholders throughout the phased rollout of this process to ensure we can fully consider any input and concerns before each phase is implemented.
These changes will support the Home Office implementation of the High Court judgment in the judicial review brought by the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens' Rights Agreements (IMA) concerning pre-settled status holders under the EUSS.
Home Office
17 January 2025