EU Settlement Scheme Aftercare

Check your email regularly as the Home Office approval letter will be sent to the email address you provided for your application.

You should check your ‘junk mail’ or ‘spam’ folder too, as the approval letter can sometimes end up in there.

It is likely to take between five working days and one month for the Home Office to process your application if no further information is required. If further information is required or your application is complex, it can take longer than this. You can call the Home Office EU Settlement Scheme Resolution Centre number (0300 123 7379) to ask for an update on your application.

Once you receive the approval email, print it off the attached approval letter or save it in your inbox for future reference. Although this letter is not proof of your status, you may want to refer to the information provided in it later to update the digital information held by the Home Office.

If you have been granted Settled Status (also referred to as Indefinite Leave to Remain), you can spend up to five years in a row outside the UK without losing your status unless you are a Swiss citizen or the family member of a Swiss citizen.

Note that if you’re a Swiss citizen or the family member of a Swiss citizen, you can only spend up to four years in a row outside the UK without losing your Settled Status.

If you spend over this amount of time outside the UK without returning, your Settled Status will lapse. If this does occur and you wish to return to live in the UK, you will need to make a new application under a different immigration route. Please note that the new application will need to meet the Immigration Rules in force at the time. As we do not know what these will be, it is possible that some people may not be eligible to apply to return to live in the UK if their Settled Status lapses.

The Home Office can revoke your status if:

• You commit a serious criminal offence; or
• The Home Office believes that you submitted false information as part of your application.

If you have been granted Pre-Settled Status (also referred to as Limited Leave to Remain) this is a temporary status that is valid for five years. If you want to stay in the UK for longer than this, you must apply for Settled Status within that five-year period.

Be careful!

To qualify for Settled Status, you must have been continuously resident in the UK for at least five years. ‘Continuously resident’ means that you must have been living in the UK for at least six months (180 days) in every 12-month period. The Home Office may agree to one absence of up to 12 months for an important reason, such as pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas posting. If you are intending to have an absence from the UK of more than six months but less than 12 months, it would be advisable to clarify you have an important reason first with an immigration lawyer or adviser.

It is possible to spend up to two years outside the UK without losing your Pre-Settled Status. However, if, for example, you spend a continuous year and a half out of the UK, although you will retain your Pre-Settled Status, it is unlikely that you will qualify for Settled Status. This is because you will not be able to demonstrate the required ‘continuous residence’ in the UK for at least five years. If you have broken your continuous residence by being away from the UK for too long, if you return to the UK before 31 December 2020, you can begin a new continuous qualifying residence; in this case you must apply for a new grant of Pre-Settled Status before 30 June 2021.

If you spend more than two years outside the UK, your Pre-Settled Status will lapse.

The Home Office can revoke your status if:

• You commit a serious criminal offence; or
• The Home Office believes that you submitted false information as part of your application.