The right to reside
For EU and EEA EFTA citizens, the Agreements provide the right to continue living in the UK after 31 December 2020 in much the same way as they would have if they lived here before the UK left the European Union. To be eligible under the Agreements, a citizen will have been exercising a ‘right to reside’ before the 31 December 2020 and continue to live in the same way after this date.
The Agreements also provide rights for family members of EU and EEA EFTA citizens.
To be able to live in the UK, EU and EEA EFTA citizens and eligible family members must have applied to the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before the deadline of 30 June 2021. A late application can still be made after this date by eligible individuals, but they will need to explain the delay in making the application. Family members joining EU and EEA EFTA citizens after this date must apply within 3 months of first joining. Applications for children that are born or adopted after this date must be made within 3 months of birth or adoption. Citizens should make an EUSS application as soon as possible to access and evidence their right to live in the UK.
An eligible individual with less than five years continuous residence in the UK will be granted pre-settled status (PSS). If they have been continuously resident for five years, they will be granted settled status (SS). They may have applied with less than five years continuous residence and have a grant of PSS and may now be able to show that they have lived continuously in the UK for five years. To upgrade to SS, they will need to make another application, in some cases they may be automatically upgraded to SS. EUSS status as proof of right to live in the UK will be provided in digital form as an eVisa which can be used to evidence status to others by using View and Prove.
Pending applications
Citizens may have applied to the EUSS and still be waiting for a decision on whether they can lawfully live in the UK under the Agreements, if this is the case they will have been issued with a Certificate of Application (CoA). If they are an eligible applicant a CoA will provide them with the same rights under the Agreements that they would be entitled to once they have received a grant of either PSS or SS.
The EUSS only operates in the UK. If a citizen continues to live in Gibraltar as an EU and EEA EFTA national or as a family member, they do not need to apply for residence status. Member states could choose whether to provide an application scheme for individuals to access rights and Gibraltar chose not to. This means that evidencing and relying on rights in Gibraltar continues in the same way as before the UK departure from the EU.