Check if your family members can get pre-settled status or settled status

If you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in the UK, some of your family can also apply to come and live in the UK. They can apply for pre-settled or settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme if both:

• you have pre-settled or settled status

• your relationship with your family member started by 31 December 2020 - unless you’re a Swiss citizen

If your family member is a child who was born after 31 December 2020, you can also apply for them to come and live in the UK.

If you came to the UK on a visa after 31 December 2020, you can't use the EU Settlement Scheme to bring your family to the UK. You’ll need to check if your visa allows you to bring your family to the UK.

The EEA includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

How your family member applies to the EU Settlement Scheme depends on where they’re from and their immigration status. It‘s important to check how your family member should apply before they come to the UK.

If you’re a British or Irish citizen

There are some situations when your family members can apply for pre-settled or settled status.

Before your family member comes to the UK

Before your family member comes to the UK, check:

• if they can apply to come to the UK - this depends on their relationship to you

• if they should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before they arrive - this depends on what citizenship they have and their immigration status

Check if your family member can apply to come to the UK

Only some of your family members can apply - it depends on how you’re related to them. 

You should also check what evidence they’ll need to prove they’re related to you.

Check how your family member should apply 

How your family member should apply depends on what citizenship they have and their immigration status.

If your family member is an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

Your family member should usually apply to the EU Settlement Scheme as a family member before they come to the UK. They’ll need to apply using the government’s ‘EU Exit’ app.

When they’ve got pre-settled or settled status, they can come and live in the UK.

Find out more about applying to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK on GOV.UK.

If your family member can’t use the app to apply to the scheme, they can apply for a family permit instead. If they come to the UK on a family permit, they can apply to the scheme when they arrive. Your family member can apply for a family permit on GOV.UK.

The permit doesn’t give your family member the right to claim benefits or get help with housing in the UK. They might get these rights when they apply for or get pre-settled or settled status.

If your family member already has a valid visa, they can come to the UK on their visa and apply to the scheme when they arrive.

If your family member is a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland

How your family member should apply depends on if they have a residence card.

When your family member applies

When your family member applies, they’ll need to give your name. They’ll also need to give the application number you got when you applied for pre-settled or settled status. 

Your application number is 16 digits long. You can find it on your:

• decision letter - if you’ve already got pre-settled or settled status

• application certificate - this would have been emailed to you when you applied

You can check what your family member needs to do to apply for pre-settled or settled status.

If your family member isn’t eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme

They can only live in the UK if they can get a work, study or family visa. You can check if your family member can get a visa on GOV.UK.

Your family member can visit the UK for up to 6 months.

If your family member isn’t from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, they might need to pay for a visa to visit the UK. If your family member is in this situation, they’re known as a ‘visa national’. You can check if your family member is a visa national on GOV.UK.