The UK has introduced new Immigration Rules automatically extending the status of pre-settled EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) by two years. The Home Office will manage the process, ensuring that those who haven’t yet switched to settled status won’t lose their immigration rights.
The status extension will be directly communicated to beneficiaries and reflected in their digital status. The Home Office also aims to convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status once they meet the requirements, reducing the need for individual applications.
Automated checks scheduled for 2024 will verify continuous UK residence, with safeguards preventing wrongful granting of settled status. The new rules will also help protect the EUSS’s integrity from fraud and abuse, including a revision of the considerations for late applications. Two temporary transitional routes that fall outside the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement will also close.
Lord Murray, Under Secretary of State for Migration and Borders, emphasised that these rules ensure the valued contributions of EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens to British society without fear of losing their immigration status. It will also facilitate tackling fraudulent EUSS applications and providing better service to legitimate late applicants and status-holders.
As of March 31, 2023, an estimated 5.6 million Europeans and their family members have secured their rights in the UK through the EUSS, with 2.1 million holding pre-settled status and 3.5 million with settled status.
