EU Citizens and Family Members Resident Before the Specified Date
Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU after Brexit | British Government Policy Paper June 26, 2017, Paragraphs 27-31 of 59
27) EU citizens (and their families) who already have five years’ continuous residence in the UK by the date of our departure or by the end of the grace period, will be eligible for a grant of settled status provided they have proof of five years’ residence at the time of their application (we will set out separately the evidence we want to see as proof of residence).
28) There will be some EU citizens who were resident in the UK before the specified date but who will not have obtained settled status or met the five years’ residence requirement by the end of the grace period of blanket permission. They will be allowed to stay in the UK untilthey reach the five year point, but they will need to apply to the Home Office for permissionfor this (leave to remain). At the five year point, they will be able to apply for settled status.
Example case study: EU citizen who arrived before the specified date and has not completed five years’ residence before the UK’s withdrawal from the EU
Christophe is a French teacher who arrived before the specified date and will have been in the UK for four years at the point the UK withdraws from the EU.
After the UK leaves the EU, Christophe will be able to continue to live and work in the UK during the grace period of blanket permission without having to make an application. Once Christophe has been resident for five years, which will be before the endof the grace period, he will be entitled to apply for settled status which will allow him to settle in the UK permanently.
Example case study: EU citizen who arrived before the specified date but has not completed five years’ residence by the end of the grace period
Lukas is an Austrian national who came to work in the UK before the specified date. He will have been resident in the UK for two years at the point the UK withdraws from the EU. After the UK leaves the EU, Lukas will be able to continue to live and work in the UK during the grace period of blanket permission without having to apply for any permission. He must apply to the Home Office for temporary residence document if he wishes to continue to reside in the UK after the grace period. This will enable him to continue lawfully living and working in the UK while completing five years’ residence.
Once Lukas has been resident for five years he will be entitled to apply for settled status which will allow him to settle in the UK permanently.
Family Members
29) Family members of eligible EU citizens (who can be either EU citizens or non-EU nationals) who are resident in the UK before we leave the EU will also be eligible to apply for settled status, provided that they too meet the criteria above and have been in a genuine relationship with an eligible EU citizen while resident in the UK. Family members who do not yet have five years’ residence will also be eligible to apply for permission to stay (‘leave to remain’) to enable them to accrue these. Most EU citizens will be eligible for the settlement scheme in their own right (rather than as a family member of a resident EU citizen), so this will be most relevant to non-EU national family members. However, EU citizenswill be able to access the scheme as a family member if they wish to and can evidence their relationship.
Example case study: child born to EU citizen parents qualifying for settled status
Audra and Ignas moved to the UK from Lithuania in 2015. They are married and are expecting a baby later this year.
After the UK leaves the EU, Audra and Ignas will be able to stay in the UK as now during the grace period without having to apply for permission to do so. Once they have been resident for five years, in 2020, they will be entitled to apply for settled status which will allow them to settle in the UK permanently.
When their child is born later this year, their son or daughter will also have the opportunity to stay permanently in the UK. Once they acquire settled status, Audra and Ignas will need to apply for settled status on their child’s behalf. Or they can instead choose to register their child as a British citizen.
30) Future family members of those EU citizens who arrived before the specified date – for example a future spouse – who come to the UK after we leave the EU, will be subject to the same rules that apply to non-EU nationals joining British citizens, or alternatively to the post-exit immigration arrangements for EU citizens who arrive after the specified date.
31) Children of EU citizens eligible for settled status will also be eligible to apply for settled status. This applies whether those children were born in the UK or overseas, and whether they were born or arrived in the UK before or after the specified date. Specifically, children of EU citizens who hold settled status and are born in the UK will automatically acquire British citizenship (and with that, the right to live in the UK). EU resident parents who arrived before the specified date, but who need to apply for permission to stay (‘leave to remain’) post-exit in order to meet the five year residence requirement, will also need to apply for the same permission on behalf of their child when their child is born.
About the Author
