The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) was created in August 2018 and has effectively replaced European Free Movement law, although there are still some transitional arrangements in place. Free movement law gave Europeans strong legal rights to come to the UK, but these rights have now been significantly limited.

The following nationalities are engaged by this area of law: EU nationals and nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland (referred to here for convenience collectively as “EEA nationals,” although Switzerland is not in the EEA).

The old statuses of EEA Residence Card and Permanent Residence under free movement law have been replaced by Pre-Settled Status (which is granted for five years) and Settled Status (which is indefinite leave to remain). These statuses permit work and study and in many cases access to the benefits system. They are statuses under the UK Immigration Rules, not European law.

The large majority of applications for Pre-Settled Status in the UK have already been made but in a few cases applications are still possible, either because the migrant did not meet the deadline of 30 June 2021 and they want to apply out of time (there are probably not many of these cases left now), or because they are in a category where the deadline has not yet come.

EUSS Family Permit applications and EUSS Pre-Settled Status applications may both be made from outside the UK by those who qualify. The applicant must be applying to join a qualifying EEA family member who was already living in the UK on 31 December 2020 and the family relationship must have begun by then (and must be still ongoing). The EUSS Family Permit is granted for six months, and those who hold this status in the UK can apply for Pre-Settled Status.

The idea behind the Pre-Settled Status/Settled Status scheme was that after five years on Pre-Settled Status the applicant would then need to apply for Settled Status. However, the High Court has determined that this requirement is illegal because it is in breach of the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and EU, because it would cause affected migrants to become overstayers if they did not submit such an application.

There is no English language requirement for Pre-Settled or Settled Status applications, but a migrant holding Settled Status may lose their status if they stay outside the UK for more than five years (four years for Swiss nationals and family members).