Home Office sets out changes to EU Settlement Scheme process

Post-Brexit watchdog the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements has saluted the Home Office for its reaction to a landmark judgment on how people with pre-settled status should be treated.

After the UK's departure from the European Union, all EU and European Free Trade Association area citizens resident in this country had to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to secure their right to remain living and working here.

Eligible people who had been in the UK for more than five yeas by 31 December 2020 were generally granted settled status under the EUSS. Those who had been in the UK for less than five years were granted pre-settled status, which needed to be renewed if it had not been converted into settled status after five years.

Under the Home Office's previous arrangements, citizens with pre-settled status risked losing their residency rights if they failed to make a further application to the EUSS before their status expired.

However a 2022 High Court judgment ruled that this was unlawful.

Last week, the Home Office put out a paper confirming its new policy is to automatically renew pre-settled status when it expires.

The document also says the department is introducing a process to convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status without the need for them to make a further application to the scheme, where this is possible.

The IMA said that after individuals' pre-settled status is extended, each case will undergo checks on eligibility for settled status. It said that if the checks prove positive, settled status will be granted  and citizens' digital status will be updated automatically.

IMA chief executive Miranda Biddle applauded the detailed update provided by the department.

"We welcome this information from the Home Office about how it is ensuring that no eligible citizen or their family member loses access to their rights," she said.

"We have always been clear that any changes implemented to the EUSS need to provide clarity and practical resolution for citizens which enables them to continue to live and work in the UK, broadly as they did before Brexit.

"We also encourage all citizens to check that their digital status is recorded correctly in their UK Visas and Immigration account, in light of any changes the Home Office has notified to them."