Important changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) from January 2025
More than three years have passed since the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) deadline of 30 June 2021, and the government continues to make changes to the scheme.
In its latest adjustment, the Home Office is implementing a change which will allow eligible holders of pre-settled status to automatically obtain settled status without needing to take any action. This important change will ensure that no pre-settled status holder will see their immigration status expire. Further details are below.
What is changing from January 2025?
From January 2025, the Home Office will introduce 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.
The process will see pre-settled status holders who are approaching the expiry of their status informed by email that their case may soon be considered for conversion to settled status. The Home Office expects to issue the first grants of settled status under this process in late January 2025. Pre-settled status holders will not need to take any action and will be informed if the Home Office is unable to convert them to settled status.
The rollout of this change will be phased, and later in 2025, the Home Office will expand the process to enable more eligible pre-settled status holders to be converted to settled status without them needing to make an application for it. The Home Office is also considering the appropriate next steps for cases where a pre-settled status holder has ceased to meet the conditions of their pre-settled status by not maintaining their continuous residence in the UK and will provide further information in due course.
The Home Office will undertake automated checks of pre-settled status holders against government-held information, for example in respect of their ongoing continuous residence in the UK. This reflects the assessment undertaken when the person first applied to the EUSS and will ensure their eligibility for settled status before it is granted.
What is the EU Settlement Scheme?
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) enables EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, and their family members, to obtain the status they require in order to live and work in the UK after 30 June 2021.
The scheme opened to the public on 30 March 2019. The deadline for most people to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021, but eligible applicants may still be able to apply if they have a later deadline to do so or they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for their delay in applying.
Successful applicants are given digital proof of their immigration status, known as an eVisa.
EU Settlement Scheme statistics
According to the latest published statistics, up to 30 September 2024, there have been more than 8.2 million EUSS applications received and 8 million applications concluded.
As of 30 September 2024, an estimated 5.7 million people had obtained status under the scheme.
More than 540,000 vulnerable people have also been supported to apply to the scheme by the government’s network of grant-funded organisations across the UK.
Advice for EUSS status holders
All EUSS status-holders are encouraged to update their digital status with their latest passport/national identity card information, and contact details, including their email address, using the ‘Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details’ service here.
A wide range of help and support remains available for those who need it. Further details can be found here.
For personalised advice and support with UK settlement applications, please contact Smith Stone Walters.
