Date Legislation considered: 4 December 2025
Date Legislation in force: 11 November 2025 – for the purposes of changes considered in this report
Relevant Withdrawal Agreement/EEA EFTA Separation Agreement Right(s): Residence
What does the legislation do?
The Immigration Rules (“the Rules”) are statements by the Secretary of State as to how she will exercise her power to regulate immigration.
The Statement of Changes make several changes to the Immigration Rules, not all of which are relevant to the EU Settlement Scheme (“EUSS”).
The detailed rules for the EUSS are contained in Appendix EU.
The EUSS enables EU, EEA EFTA and Swiss citizens living in the UK by the end of the post-EU exit transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, and their relevant family members, to obtain the immigration status (either pre-settled status or settled status) they need to live in the UK.
Of relevance to the work of the IMA is:
• the change to the definition of ‘continuous qualifying period’ in Annex 1 to Appendix EU. The change clarifies the drafting of the change made to that definition from 16 July 2025 by Statement of Changes HC 836, enabling a holder of pre-settled status under the EUSS to be granted settled status – whether by application or by the automated process – where they have been resident in the UK for at least 30 months in total in the most recent 60-month period. The IMA’s legislation monitoring report in respect of HC 836 can be found here.
• the change made in Annex 3 to Appendix EU, which brings the grounds for cancelling pre-settled status at the border, on or before the holder’s arrival in the UK, into line with those for curtailing it in-country, so that, where proportionate, this can be based on the fact that the person never met, as well as where they have ceased to meet, the requirements of Appendix EU. The IMA notes that EUSS caseworker guidance and Border Force guidance has been updated to reflect this change.
Comments
The IMA raises no issues of concerns at this stage.
Citizens who are experiencing difficulties in exercising their rights are encouraged to report a complaint through the IMA Portal.
Further information about the IMA and guidance on how to report complaints can also be found on the website.