If you are an EU citizen or have family members from the EU living in the UK, you may still have time to apply for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
What is Settled Status?
Settled status allows EU, EEA and Swiss nationals and their relatives to work and live in the UK indefinitely.
To obtain it, you must have lived in the UK for 5 years and have not spent more than 6 months outside of the UK in any 12-month period of these 5 years.
This application route was officially closed on 30 June 2021, but you may still have time to apply.
How do I apply?
Because the EUSS has closed for initial applications, you must meet one of the exception criteria or have reasonable grounds for not having applied by the deadline.
Possible exemptions from the deadline
If you have previously been granted Pre-Settled Status under the EUSS, you can still apply for Settled Status once you have reached 5 years of continuous residence in the UK.
Additionally, there are extended application deadlines for a variety of family and UK immigration situations. If unsure whether you qualify for any of these, you should contact an immigration services provider.
Reasonable grounds for missing the deadline
If you do not fall within the exemptions above, you may still be able to make a late application. The Home Office has published a non-exhaustive list illustrating reasons for failing to meet the deadline, they include serious medical conditions or treatment, failure to apply on behalf of a child, lack of digital skills to access the application, the Covid-19 pandemic, or the person not knowing they had to make an application before the deadline. These are discretionary applications, decided on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you seek professional advice before applying late.
How Gherson can assist
Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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