What to Do Post Brexit as an EEA National – EU Citizens in UK after Brexit
On 31 January, the UK left the EU and up till today, is still in the process of negotiating its relationship with the EU.
This follows a number of extensions on 10 April 2019 where the EU granted an extension to 31st October 2019. Then On 29th October 2019, the EU granted the UK a further extension to Article 50 with the new deadline being 31 January 2019, which was met.
There is an implemented transitional period that is likely to end on 31 December 2020. The rights and status of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK will remain the same until 30 June 2021 as the UK left the EU with a deal on 31st January 22019.
If you are a EU/EEA/Swiss citizen or a family member and wish to stay past this transitional period, you must apply under a relevant immigration category or for the EU Settlement Scheme. So what are the rights of EU Citizens in the UK after Brexit?
We recommended that you applied to stay in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme as soon as you can if you are an EEA national and before the deadline, despite attempts to extend the deadline. Now the UK has left the EU, it is likely you will have to prove your right to work, study and use the NHS. It will be much easier to get your desired status if you apply sooner rather than later.
What is the EU Settlement Scheme?
The Home Office EU Settlement Schemes provide EU and EEA citizens and their families with a legal path to living and working in the UK after 31 December 2020. EU and EEA citizens living in the UK before the agreed date of Brexit will be able to apply to stay in the UK via the EU Settlement Scheme.
EU citizens in UK after Brexit should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if you are from the EU, an EEA country or Switzerland, or you are a family member to someone from these areas. The EEA includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The settlement scheme is designed to offer EU, non-EU EEA and Swiss citizens, and their eligible family members living in the UK, the opportunity to still live and work in the UK after they leave the EU.
You only need to apply for the EU Settlement Agreement if you do not already have indefinite leave to remain. If you do have indefinite leave to remain, you’ll usually have a stamp in your passport or a letter from the Home Office declaring your status. You also need not apply if you have British or Irish citizenship or dual citizenship.
Currently, anyone who holds an EU Permanent Residence document can stay in the UK indefinitely. If this is you, you can apply for British Citizenship, just as long as you can prove you have lived in the UK without breaking immigration rules for 12 months. If you are married to a British Citizen, you can immediately naturalise.
Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)
The rights and status of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit living in the UK will stay the same until 30 June 2021, if the UK leaves the EU with a deal. Successfully applying for the EU Settlement Scheme will allow EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to continue working and living in the UK after 30 June 2021.
You’ll be given either settled or pre-settled status depending on your length of time living and working in the UK. You can’t choose which settlement you are given.
EU citizens in UK after Brexit What is Settled Status?
Settled Status will grant EU nationals and their families, who have spent 5 years in the UK, the same rights as British citizens after the UK leave the EU. This is the only way to be sure you’ll get equal rights to healthcare, education, benefits and, pensions.
EU citizens have had the ability to start applying for EU Settlement Scheme from January 21, 2019, and will have until June 2021 to apply if the UK leaves with a deal, and December 21, 2020, if the UK had left without a deal. If you do not apply by these dates and continue living in the UK, you will be doing so illegally as EU citizens in UK after Brexit.
You’ll get settled status if you’ve:
- Started living in the UK by the date the UK leaves the EU (with or without a deal)
- Lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period
5 years’ continuous residence means living 5 years in a row within the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. There are some exceptions that mean you can spend time abroad without breaking the continuous residence rules:
- Leaving for 12 months for important personal reasons like childbirth, illness and studying abroad.
- compulsory military service
- time spent abroad in the military or as a family member of someone in the armed forces
- a Crown servant or a family member of a Crown servant (civil service, police, etc…)
- Going outside the country for work trips and holidays
If you do not fit under any of these categories, you can still apply for pre-settled status. Many of those who do not have 5 years of settled continuous residence get an approved pre-settled status. Some rules may differ but once you have lived the 5 continuous years you can then change your status from pre-settled to settled.
If you reach the 5-year continuous residence before 30 December 2020, we recommend waiting until then, so you go straight to settled status.
If you have settled status, you’ll be able to:
- Be employed and work in the UK
- Use the National Health Service
- Study at any level
- Access benefits and pensions
- Easily travel in and out of the UK
Once you have your approved settled status, you and your family can spend up to 5 years in a row outside the UK without losing your status and 4 years if you are a Swiss citizen
Settled Status Exemptions
If you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you may be able to get settled status if you have stopped working due to a work-related accident or illness. For this exemption, you must have:
- Become disabled or severely injured due to a work-related disease, which entitles you to a UK pension.
- Become disabled or severely injured due to an accident that took place at work, which entitles you to a UK pension
- You are married to someone who fits in the previously mentioned categories
If you or a close family member are an EU, EEA or a Swiss citizen and have either reached State Pension age or have retired early, you may still be able to get settled status, even if you haven’t lived in the UK for 5 years. You will be eligible if:
- you have worked continuously or were self-employed for 1 year before applying
- you have lived continuously in the UK for 3 years.
- have reached state pension age
Or you
- have lived and worked (including self-employment) in the UK for 3 years and return to your UK home once a week
- have reached state pension age
- are the family of anyone who fits the above categories.
Settled Status for Families
Any children born in the UK while you are living with settled status will automatically become British Citizens.
If the UK leaves the EU with a deal and you are a citizen of an EEA country like Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway you’ll be able to bring close family members to the UK after 31 December 2020 if:
- Your relationship began before 31 December 2020
- You are still in a relationship when they apply to join you in the UK.
If you’re a Swiss citizen, you’ll also be able to bring your spouse or civil partner to the UK until 31 December 2025 if:
- Your relationship began before 31 December 2025
- You are still in the relationship when they apply to join you in the UK.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal and you’re an EU citizen, the deadline for close family joining you in the UK is currently 29 March 2022, if:
- Your relationship began before the UK left the EU and
- You are still in a relationship when they apply to join you
If you’re a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you’ll be able to bring close family members after the UK leaves the EU if:
- your relationship began before the UK left the EU
- you are still in a relationship when they apply to join you
What is Pre Settled Status?
An EEA national and their family members who have not lived in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years will be granted pre-settled status. This is also known as limited leave to remain. The only thing you’ll have to prove is that you lived in the UK before 31 December 2020.
Pre Settled Status for Families
If you’re a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you’ll be able to bring close family members after the UK leaves the EU if:
- Your relationship began before the UK left the EU
- You are still in the relationship when they apply to join you in the UK
- Have made the application within the first three months, if they arrive in the UK after 31 December 2020.
If you achieve pre-settled status, any children born in the UK will be automatically eligible for pre-settled status. They will only be a British Citizen if they qualify for it through their other parent.
If you want to bring family to the UK after 31 October 2019, you’ll need to have a pre-settled or settled status.
To apply for pre-settled or settled status, they'll need to:
- prove they were in a relationship with you before 31 October 2019
- apply before 31 December 2020
What Do I Need to Apply for the EU Settlement Scheme?
When you apply for the EU Settlement Scheme, as EU citizens in UK after Brexit, you’ll need to prove:
• Your identity. This must be a valid passport or a national identity card. You will also need a digital photo that clearly shows your face.
• Your residence in the UK. This will either be a valid permanent residence document or a valid indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK document.
When you apply, you will need to either scan your documents and upload the photo using the ‘EU Exit: ID Document Check’ app for Android or iPhone ( iPhone version was available by the end of 2019) or send your document via post, uploading your photo via the online application portal.
The Android & iPhone app can only be used if your ID card or passport is biometric, otherwise, you will have to send your documents via post.
If you don’t have an iPhone or Android phone, you can use someone else’s to prove your identity. There are many organizations across the UK, like IaM that will offer to scan your documents for you, they may charge and please make sure they are a trusted service. When looking for advice and help with document scanning always check for trusted services as they are many Brexit-centric scams out there.
To be eligible for settled status, you usually need to have resided within the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least 6 months in any 12-month period for 5 years continuously. You will need to provide proof of this residency to obtain settled status.
Giving your national insurance number is the quickest way to prove this, this allows authorities to check your residency based on tax and benefit records. If this is successful, you won’t need to show any other documents.
If they cannot prove via your national insurance number that you have lived in the UK for 5 years continuously, they will ask for more documents. The Home Office will tell you immediately after you apply if you need to provide further evidence, and this will all be submitted through an online form.
The Home Office may also check your criminal conviction record which does not need to be declared if they are just spent convictions, cautions and an alternative to prosecution like speeding fines.
You can still apply for pre-settled or settled status if you’ve been convicted of a minor crime. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve been to prison, the 5 years' continuous residence starts from the day you were released.
Whether approved or not, the Home Office expects to decide on the majority of cases within two weeks.
If you have permanent residence?
The road to applying to the EU Settlement Scheme is a little different if you already have a permanent residence document of indefinite leave to enter or remain.
If you have a valid UK permanent residence document, you’ll have:
- a certificate inside your ‘residence documentation’ booklet (if you’re a Swiss national the booklet will be pink, blue for other EEA and EU countries)
- a certificate inside your passport
If this applies to you and you want to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021 you must either:
- apply to the EU Settlement Scheme
- apply for citizenship before 30 June 2021 (or 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal)
If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain?
If you’ve applied for indefinite leave to enter or remain, you’ll have a stamp in your passport or a letter from the Home Office declaring your immigration status.
If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK, you can continue living in the UK without applying to the EU Settlement Scheme. If you meet the conditions, you can apply for the scheme and achieve settled status.
By achieving settled status, you can spend 5 years outside the UK (4 years if you are Swiss) without losing your settled status. This will be instead of the 2 years you’ll have with the indefinite leave to enter or remain status.
If you moved to the UK before it joined the EU on 1 January 1973 you may have automatically been given indefinite leave to remain status. You will not need to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme to stay in the UK after June 2021, so long as you still have your documents confirming this status.
If you're applying for your child
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens under 21 can apply for themselves or have an adult apply for them. If you have already applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll be able to link your child’s application to your own, using your application number. The child can be added at any time after you’ve applied.
If you are successful, your child will be awarded the same status as you. All you need to link them is to show:
- Proof of your relationship to the child
It’s easier to start your own application to the EU Settlement Scheme before you apply for your child. Otherwise, you will need to prove your child has had 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK and they may receive a pre-settled whilst you receive settled status.
You can still apply for your child if they meet the scheme’s rules, but you do not. If your child has lived in the UK but you have not, you can still apply for them with proof of their residence.
If your application to any of the EU Settlement Schemes are successful, a letter will be emailed to you confirming your settled or pre-settled status. If your application is not successful you can apply for an administrative review, but you cannot appeal the decision. You can apply again until 30 June 2021, or 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
If you did not manage to apply within time, there is still time if you have reasonable grounds for not having applied in time.
If you need help or advice to get clarity on your current situation, reach out to IaM and one of our UK immigration lawyers will be able to assist you with your options and next steps.
Have you settled your status in the UK? Tell us how it went.
If you need help with your EU Settlement application, do not hesitate to contact us.
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2 Responses
Hello…. I’m a Nigerian Citizen, married with three kids and also work here. Please I wish to be granted a Visa and hope I’m qualify to have for myself and my family. Thanks
Hi Hannah,
We will need a lot more information to advise on what your options are.
If you are an EEA National family member, then you will be able to apply.
If you want, please schedule a Immigration Advice and Consultationfor us to advise you further.