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Indefinite Leave to Remain

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Indefinite Leave to Remain

This information relates to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) only. Find guidance for ILR holders on GOV.UK

Do you hold Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) which you obtained prior to the introduction of the EUSS, or before 1 January 2021?

Are you thinking about applying to the EUSS?

In August 2023, the UK Home Office introduced the Reasonable Grounds Test (RGT) for late applicants to the EUSS. The IMA is currently considering if the requirements of the RGT could impact citizens with ILR and their eligibility for status under the EUSS.

Whilst this work is ongoing, it is important to understand what your rights are under Indefinite Leave to Remain, and what this type of immigration status means.

I have ILR, what are my rights?

If you hold ILR, granted before 1 January 2021, you already have the right to live, work and study in the UK without restrictions, provided you do not remain outside the UK for more than 2 consecutive years.

How can I prove my ILR status?

If your ILR was granted outside the EUSS route, you may evidence your immigration status with any of the following documents:

• Stamp, or vignette in your passport
• Letter from the Home Office
• Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
  All BRPs are now expired, you can use it for 18 months after the expiry date printed on the card in certain circumstances – you should keep your expired BRP as it may help with future applications to stay in the UK
• eVisa
  In order to access an eVisa you will need to set up a UKVI account
  There is no fee for creating an eVisa account

What if I do not have a document which proves my ILR?

If you no longer have the physical documents listed above to evidence your status, as they have been lost or stolen, you can make a no time limit application (NTL) to apply for confirmation of your ILR status.

A successful NTL application results in an eVisa being issued which will act as digital proof of your ILR status. The NTL application is free of charge.

Can I apply to the EUSS?

If you hold ILR, you do not need to apply to the EUSS as you already have the right to remain in the UK.

If you held ILR before 1 January 2021 and you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or family member, you may be eligible to apply for status through EUSS.

Since August 2023, the Home Office requires late EUSS applications to meet the Reasonable Grounds Test. If you hold ILR and wish to apply to the EUSS after the deadline, you must explain why you did not apply earlier. If accepted, your application may still be considered and progress through the full process, beginning with the Validity Stage.

Making an informed choice

The decision to apply to EUSS is a personal one. The benefits of each route may vary depending on individual circumstances.

It is important that you seek immigration advice if you are considering applying to any new immigration status.

Here is a list of support networks that may be able to offer you advice.

Learn more about your rights.

Read Raluca’s story on securing her rights.

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Do I have the rights I need in the UK?

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Do I have the rights I need in the UK?

Are you or is your parent from one of these countries?

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

If you are from one of the countries listed above, or if you were born in the UK to a parent from one of those countries, there is a possibility that you do not have certain rights in the UK. This includes the right to:

• Live in the UK
• Use the NHS for free
• Travel in and out of the UK
• Access further and higher education
• Access benefits like housing
• Work in the UK

To secure these rights you might need to make an EUSS application.

How to secure your rights in the UK

Don’t assume you have all the rights you need to live in the UK. Know these facts:

• Being born in the UK does not automatically make you British citizen. This means you do not automatically get the rights of a British citizen
• Children do not automatically get the same immigration status as one or both their parents
• Before the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 (usually referred to as Brexit), the children of parents from the relevant countries automatically had access to rights in the UK
• But after Brexit, parents and their children needed to make an application to get EUSS status, a type of immigration status, to secure the rights they needed in the UK
• Family applications cannot be made to the EUSS. A separate EUSS application needed to be made for each child
• Although the deadline for EUSS applications has passed for those who were living in the UK by the end of 2020, you can still make a late application. As a child you may have what is known as ‘reasonable grounds’ for making a late EUSS application
• Children are able to make an application for themselves – it does not have to be done by a pare

Get reliable advice

Understanding immigration status is hard – you may well need help. Only rely on regulated advice. Even if well intentioned, unofficial advice could be wrong.

• Find free advice through organisations listed on the Gov.UK website.
• If you want the help of an immigration adviser, make sure they are regulated. Use this Gov.UK list to check.

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Voting eligibility for citizens from EU countries

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Voting eligibility for citizens from EU countries

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Secure child’s rights leaflet

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Are you an EU parent or carer?

Secure your child’s rights in the UK

You may not have thought about your child’s immigration status.

But EU, EEA and EFTA parents may need to apply to the EUSS for their child.

And there are time limits around making an application – it must be done within 90 days of your child’s birth, adoption, or from when they first came to the UK.

EUSS status protects your child’s rights to:

• Live in the UK
• Use the NHS for free
• Travel in and out of the UK
• Access further and higher education
• Access benefits
• Work in the UK

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Automatic conversions to settled status Everything you need to know

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Automatic conversions to settled status

How will automatic conversion work?

If you have pre-settled status (PSS) and your status is coming to its expiry date, you should receive an email from the Home Office saying you might be eligible for your status to be automatically converted to settled status (SS).

You won’t need to do anything, and your status will be automatically updated.

The Home Office will check your National Insurance record to see if you have five years of UK residence. The Home Office will use this information to verify your continuous residence in the UK, confirm any criminal conduct and ultimately determine eligibility.

The checks will be similar to the ones conducted during the initial application for PSS.

To be eligible for SS you must not have spent more than six months in any 12-month period outside the UK, although a single longer absence up to 12 months is permitted for an ‘important reason’ – for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training, an overseas work posting or because of Covid.

Further information around how absence from the UK may affect your EUSS status can be found here.

What you need to do

• PSS holders are encouraged to keep their UKVI account details up to date

• Check your emails regularly as the Home Office may contact you

• Update your UKVI account if you get a new passport or national ID card

If you are not selected for automatic upgrade, and your expiry of PSS is approaching, the Home Office will automatically extend your PSS by five years.

It is also strongly advised that PSS holders familiarise themselves with the documents set out by the Home Office, which show your eligibility. All the documents you can and can’t use as evidence of residence can be found here.

Other useful resources

For anyone seeking further advice or information about issues they may be facing, you can find details of various organisations including charities, citizens’ rights groups and public bodies that may be able to help you on our website.

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Securing your child’s rights fact sheet

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Securing your child’s rights in the UK as an EU, EEA or EFTA citizen

If you are an EU or EEA EFTA parent living in the UK, there is a possibility that your child does not have certain rights.

Rights are not automatically given to every child that is born or adopted in the UK.

And children do not automatically have the same immigration status as their parents.

You may have to make an EUSS application on behalf of your child to secure their immigration status and guarantee their rights in the UK.

These rights are important. They mean that your child can:

• live in the UK
• use the NHS for free
• work here
• travel in and out of the UK
• access further or higher education
• access benefits

This fact sheet should help you check whether you should make an EUSS application for your child, as well as answer questions about making such an application.

Do I need to make an EUSS application for my child?

Use the below to help you understand whether your child needs an EUSS application. For the latest rules around this matter, go to Gov.UK.

If your child was born in the UK on or after 1 July 2021 and you can answer YES to any of the three questions below when considering the circumstances at the time of your child’s birth, then your child is a British citizen and already has the rights they need. *

• Do you or does the child’s other parent have settled status?
• Were you or was the other parent a British citizen when the child was born?
• Do you have pre-settled status and were you living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and had been in the UK for five years continuously before your child was born, during which time were you working (or looking for work for up to three months), studying or self-sufficient?

If you CANNOT answer yes to any of the above questions, then your child may need EUSS status to secure certain rights in the UK.

Read on for our FAQs around this.

**There may be other situations whereby your child is a British citizen. Go to Gov.UK.

FAQs

Is my child eligible for EUSS status?

If you, your spouse or civil partner, or your child is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and you lived in the UK by 31 December 2020, you can apply to the EUSS for your child if they
are under 21 years old. Or, they were under 21 when they got pre-settled status and want to switch to settled status.

When do I need to make an application for my child?

An application should be made within the time limit set out by the Home Office. If your child already lived in the UK by 31 December 2020, the deadline for applications was 30 June 2021. If your child was born or adopted in the UK after 30 June 2021, or they first arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020, you must apply within 90 days of their birth, adoption, or first arrival in the UK. If you’ve missed the deadline, you may be able to submit a late application.

If my child has pre-settled status under EUSS will they be automatically upgraded to settled status?

The Home Office has begun automatically converting some people’s status from pre-settled to settled. At the moment, this isn’t being done for children. A child who is under 21 will need to apply to the EUSS to convert their status from pre-settled to settled.

How do I make an EUSS application on behalf of my child?

Information about how to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme can be found on Gov.UK. When making an
application, you will need to prove:

• your child’s identity
• your relationship to your child
• your immigration status
• when your child was born or adopted
• when your child started living here – evidence that they were here in the last six months of 2020 if they were living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• your child’s continuous residence

Parents can use their child’s email address if they have one, or their own email address, to make an EUSS application for their child. You can link your child’s application to yours. If your application is successful, your child will get the status they are eligible for – this may be different to yours.

Contact Gov. UK’s Resolution Centre if you do not have any of the listed documents as you may be unable to use the online service. There is a postal option available too.

FAQs

Can I make an application for my child even if I am not eligible for EUSS status?

Yes. If your child is eligible for EUSS, you can still make an application for them even if you are not eligible for the scheme.

Can my child make an application themselves?

Yes, if your child is able to submit an application, they can do it themselves. You are not obliged to do it for them.

I have pre settled status as a joining family member, can my child apply to EUSS?

If someone else sponsored your application to the EUSS, for example, your brother, you won’t be able to sponsor your child’s application. Your child may be able to apply if their other parent has pre-settled status and started living in the UK before 31 December 2020.

If your child was born in the UK and at the time of their birth, the other parent was British or had settled status (or had pre-settled status and had acquired permanent residence rights under the Withdrawal
Agreements), then your child will be British.

You need to take action to secure your child’s immigration status. It is important to get good quality, regulated immigration advice. A list of organisations that may be able help you are included on the IMA
Website Useful Contacts.

What happens if I miss the deadline to apply for my child?

If you’ve missed the deadline, you may still be able to submit an application. You will need to show ‘reasonable grounds’ for why you missed the deadline. There are a number of circumstances where you may
still be eligible. Details are on Gov.UK.

More Information

To ensure you get good quality advice you should always seek advice from regulated immigration professional or legal advisors.

Information about how to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme can be found on Gov.UK.

A list of organisations which may be able to help you can be found on the IMA website.