Switching from pre-settled to settled status

If you have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme you should apply to switch to settled status once you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years.

If you’ve spent time living in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, this counts as time living in the UK.

You might not be able to get settled status after 5 years if either:

• you’ve spent more than 6 months outside the UK in any 12-month period

• you got pre-settled status as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and your or your family member’s situation has changed

Check when the 5 years starts

The day your 5 years starts depends on whether or not you’re a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland.

If you’re a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland

Your 5 years starts from the day you started living in the UK, not the day you got pre-settled status. You can apply for settled status before your pre-settled status expires - it's a good idea to do this as soon as you have lived in the UK for 5 years.You don’t have to wait until your pre-settled status is about to expire to apply for settled status.

If you’re a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland

The rules about when your 5 years of residence starts are different depending on if you’re a close family member or an extended family member. 

You’re a close family member if you’re a:

• husband, wife or civil partner

• dependent parent or grandparent

• child or grandchild under 21 years old

• dependent child aged 21 or over

Your 5 years starts from either the day you arrived in the UK or the day you became a close family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, whichever was later. For example, if you came to the UK then married a German citizen, your 5 years starts on the day you got married. It doesn't matter if the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen didn’t have settled or pre-settled status at the time.

You’re an extended family member if you’re a:

• long-term partner who isn’t married or in a civil partnership

• brother or sister

• aunt or uncle

• niece or nephew

• cousin

If you had a family permit when you arrived in the UK, your 5 years starts on that day. If you didn’t have one of these, your 5 years starts the day you got a residence card.

You can find out more about applying for pre-settled status and settled status as a family member.

You can apply for pre-settled and settled status as a family member on GOV.UK.

If you’ve been out of the UK for more than 6 months

You might not be able to get settled status if you spent more than 6 months outside the UK within any 12-month period.

There are some exceptions to this. You might still be able to get settled status if you were outside the UK for up to 12 months for:

• an ‘important reason’ - for example, pregnancy or military service

• any reason related to coronavirus - this includes shielding, caring responsibilities and following guidance not to travel 

If you were out of the UK because of coronavirus

If you were out of the UK for longer than 12 months in a row because of coronavirus, this won’t break your continuity of residence. The first 12 months of your time out of the UK counts towards the 5 years you need for settled status. The rest of the time after 12 months doesn't count.

If you were out of the UK for 2 periods of between 6 and 12 months, this won’t break your continuity of residence as long as:

• 1 period was for an important reason

• 1 period was for a reason related to coronavirus

The whole of your first period out of the UK counts towards the 5 years you need for settled status. The first 6 months of the second period also counts. The rest of the second period after 6 months doesn't count.

Example

Marta is a Polish citizen who has pre-settled status. She moved to the UK in January 2019.

Marta went to Poland:

• for 7 months from February to September 2020 - she couldn’t come back earlier because of coronavirus

• for 8 months from November 2020 to July 2021 - she gave birth and had to stay to recover from complications

Marta still has continuity of residence in the UK. This means she will be able to apply for settled status when she has been in the UK for 5 years.

The first period when Marta was out of the UK counts towards the 5 years she needs for settled status. Only the first 6 months of the second period count towards the 5 years. This means the 5 years paused for 2 months from May to July 2021.

Marta will be able to apply for settled status in March 2024 - this is 5 years and 2 months after she moved to the UK.

Some people who have retired or had to stop working might be able to get settled status if they’ve lived in the UK for less than 5 years. You can find out about applying if you’re retired or had to stop working.

If you can’t apply for settled status when your pre-settled status ends

You might be able to get pre-settled status for another 5 years. You should apply before your current pre-settled status ends.

You can add together the time from both periods of pre-settled status. You can then apply for settled status when you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row.

You might be able to get pre-settled status again by applying as a family member. You can do this if you have a family member from the EU, EEA or Switzerland who has pre-settled or settled status. They must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

You can apply as a family member whether or not your first period of pre-settled status was as a family member. Find out more about applying as a family member.

If you can’t apply as a family member, you might be able to get pre-settled status again if both of the following apply:

• the time spent outside the UK was before 31 December 2020

• you were back in the UK by 31 December 2020

If you got pre-settled status as a family member and your situation has changed

If your relationship with your family member changed before you reached 5 years, you might not be able to get settled status. It depends on what has changed.

If your family member is the partner of an EEA or Swiss citizen

If the partner’s situation has changed and they can’t switch to settled status, you might also not be able to get settled status. Get help from a specialist adviser.

Applying to switch to settled status

You’ll need to prove your identity using your identity document. 

If you're an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen your identity document is your passport or national identity card.

If you're from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland your identity document is your passport, 'biometric residence card' or 'biometric residence permit'.

You’ll also need to provide evidence of your continuous residence. This can sometimes be proved automatically using your National Insurance number - you won't need to give any documents as evidence.

If your pre-settled status is based on your relationship to a family member you’ll need to provide evidence of that relationship.

You can find out more about preparing to apply for settled status.

You can apply to switch to settled status on GOV.UK. 

If your application is successful you’ll get a letter confirming your status emailed to you, and your status will change in your online account.

What to do if your application fails

If you don’t get settled status and you think a mistake was made, you might be able to apply for an administrative review on GOV.UK. This costs £80, and you’ll get this money back if the decision is changed because of a mistake.