This webpage provides an update on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Over 100 days have now passed since the end of the grace period for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members, who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. This email provides an update on the recently extended range of support still available, and details of how those with reasonable grounds for doing so can make a late EUSS application.

The Home Office continues to ensure that the EUSS is accessible and to support vulnerable applicants with flexibility and sensitivity. Protecting the rights of vulnerable citizens has always been a fundamental principle of the EUSS.

The Home Office is pleased to confirm that the existing Grant Funded Network of 72 organisations and local authorities across the UK has been awarded a funding extension to continue to support vulnerable and hard to reach applicants into 2022.

To find organisations that offer support in your area please click here: www.gov.uk/help-eu-settlement-scheme

Millions of applications have already been made to the EUSS, with the latest monthly statistics published yesterday (14 October 2021). Over six million applications have been made to the EU Settlement Scheme with 2.44  million grants of pre settled status and 3.02 million grants of settled status until the 30 September 2021. Of the applications made 172,200 have been made after the 30 June 2021 deadline and recorded until the end of September.

The Home Office would like to thank all for all your support and interest in EUSS to date.

Late applications can be made to the EUSS by EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 and who were not able to apply by the deadline, and they should do so as soon as possible.

Those who are eligible to apply will need to demonstrate reasonable grounds for making a late application. There is a wide range of circumstances which are reasonable grounds for a late application, including, but not limited to:

• Where a parent, guardian or Local Authority has failed to apply on behalf of a child
• Where a person has or had a serious medical condition, which meant they were unable to apply by the relevant deadline
• If someone is a victim of modern slavery or is in an abusive relationship
• Where someone is isolated, vulnerable or did not have the digital skills to access the application process
• Where a person was unable to apply by the relevant deadline for compelling practical or compassionate reasons – including in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

Late applications should be made online at www.gov.uk/eusettlementscheme as soon as possible.

If you have children who are not British citizens or don’t have indefinite leave to enter or remain, who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, they must have their own application made to the EU Settlement Scheme.

If you didn’t apply for your children by the deadline of 30 June 2021, you will need to submit a late application on their behalf as soon as possible, and when you apply for your child, you can ‘link’ their application to yours. For further information, please refer to the guidance available on GOV.UK.

If either parent submits a late application on the basis of reasonable grounds for missing the deadline which results in a grant of settled status based on their residency as of 30 June 2021, then any child born in the UK on or after 1 July 2021 will become a British citizen from the date on which the grant of settled status is made. There is no need to make a further application for the child in relation to this.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who make a valid EUSS application after the 30 June 2021 deadline, will have temporary protected rights in the UK until they receive an outcome of their EUSS application, including during any appeal.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members can prove their temporary protected rights by using their certificate of application up to the point a decision has been made on their application.

Joining family members will also have temporary protection of their rights in the UK for 3 months after their arrival in the UK and pending the outcome of an EUSS application made during that period, including during any appeal. They should apply to the EUSS from outside the UK (where they are eligible to do so) or they should apply for an EUSS family permit to come to the UK to make their EUSS application.

If you hold pre-settled status, you can apply to switch to settled status as soon as you’re eligible. This is usually after you’ve lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 5 years in a row (known as ‘continuous residence’).

You do not need to have held pre-settled status for 5 years before you can apply to switch to settled status. If you have spent more than 6 months outside the UK in a 12-month period, you may not be eligible for settled status.

To switch, you must apply to the EUSS again before your pre-settled status expires. For further information, please refer to the guidance available on GOV.UK.

From Friday 1 October 2021, almost all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens will need a valid passport to enter the UK as the government stops accepting national identity (ID) cards as a travel document.  Individuals with pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS can continue to use their ID card to travel until at least 2025.

It is recommended that EUSS status holders update their online account with all valid travel documents. Until an account is updated, it is recommended that EUSS status holders travel with the document they used to make an application to the scheme. This is to ensure that all valid travel documents that they hold and intend to use for travel (such as a recent passport) can be used to avoid any unnecessary delays at the border.

They can do this online by using the view and prove service through GOV.UK, which enables individuals with digital status to keep their travel documents updated.