Further Updates to the EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office announced on 9th April, by way of a published policy paper, that further changes had been made to the operation of the EU Settlement Scheme. These changes are essentially two-fold: (1) expansion of the scope of automated checks to grant settled status, and (2) the introduction of a process to identify and potentially cancel the pre-settled status of individuals who have broken their continuity of residence in the UK.

In terms of the first change, the Home Office has confirmed that their system now checks for 30 months of tax and benefit payments in the last 60 months to confirm UK residence. Whilst this is a welcome change, as it widens the cohort of individuals holding pre-settled status who are able to be automatically granted settled status, there remains a significant cohort of individuals who do not benefit from these changes. Groups of pre-settled status holders who cannot be automatically granted settled status, and will need to apply for settled status, include:

• EEA citizens who have not been paying tax or receiving benefits for at least 30 months in the last 60 months
• those granted pre-settled status who later obtained another UK immigration status
• non-EEA national family members
• joining family members of any nationality
• those under the age of 18
• those with other eligibility requirements (such as those with ‘derivative rights’)

The Home Office have confirmed that if settled status cannot automatically be granted, eligible pre-settled status holders will continue to have their status extended by five years, with pre-settled status holders being able to apply for settled status, once they are eligible.

The second change, as outlined above, is that the Home Office will begin to remove pre-settled status from those individuals who have broken their continuity of residence in the UK. The Home Office have confirmed that the process of identifying and potentially removing pre-settled status will be undertaken in two stages. Firstly, checks against tax and benefits data to confirm UK residence (similar to the position above for the automation process) and if these checks do not confirm residence, then checks using travel data will be undertaken. 

The Home Office has confirmed that checks on individuals who have been outside the UK for the longest periods will be undertaken first. 

As confirmed by the policy paper, affected individuals will be contacted by the Home Office and afforded an opportunity to provide any relevant information and/or documents before any decision is made to remove pre-settled status.

The Home Office has confirmed that pre-settled status will only be removed where it is considered proportionate to do so, and that decisions will include a right of appeal.

If you would like any further advice or assistance in this regard then please do not hesitate to contact one of the experienced solicitors in our immigration team.