EU Settlement Scheme

Yes, the scheme is also open to resident citizens of the other European Economic Area (EEA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and of Switzerland, and their family members.

Yes, your passport only needs to be valid at the time of application. ‘Valid’ here means that the document is genuine and has not expired or been cancelled or invalidated.

Yes, research carried out abroad for more than 6 months but no more than 12 months would qualify as an exception to the continuous residence requirement. You will need to obtain a letter from your institution confirming the period of time spent abroad for research purposes.

It will not be possible to renew or extend your pre-settled status if you have remained outside the UK for more than 6 months (or 12 months due to Covid, study abroad or other medical reasons) after 31st Dec 2020. You will need to apply to enter or remain in the UK under the relevant UK Immigration laws once your pre-settled status expires.

In this situation you will still need to make an application to regularise your status in the UK post-Brexit, but you will have a choice to make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme or under the UK Immigration rules. We advise that you contact the UCL Student Immigration Advice Team to discuss the requirements and benefits of each route. You can get in touch with the Advice Team through their contact form.

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies and Ireland. The CTA established cooperation between respective immigration authorities enabling British and Irish citizens to move freely between, and reside in, these islands. British and Irish citizens enjoy additional rights in Ireland and the UK. These include the right to work, study and vote in certain elections, as well as to access social welfare benefits and health services.

If you are a British citizen or an Irish citizen you do not need to take any action to protect your status and rights associated with the CTA. After the UK leaves the EU, you will continue to enjoy these rights, no matter what the terms of the UK’s exit. Both the UK and Irish governments have committed to taking all necessary measures to ensure that the agreed CTA rights and privileges are protected in all outcomes.

Yes. However, you must not remain outside the UK for more than 2 continuous years otherwise you will lose your pre-settled status (abscences over 6/12 montsh may also effect your application for Settled Status). For those granted settled status, you must not remain outside the UK for more than 5 continuous years otherwise you will lose your settled status. 

The government has confirmed that applications under this scheme will be able to be made from outside the UK for those who are normally resident in the UK.

Further Information for applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme who are applying from outside the UK can be found here.

‘Preferred evidence’ is that which covers you for a period longer than 6 months, which means one document for each year of residence will be sufficient from this list.

‘Alternative evidence’ is that which covers you for less than 6 months, this means you will need to submit more of them to evidence that you meet the residence requirement.

A list of ‘preferred’ and ‘alternative’ documents can be found at pages 70-73 of this document.

Yes, you will need to apply for settled status once you reach the 5 year residency mark.

You may use the mobile application on any Android or Apple device. All personal information will be deleted from the mobile app once it has been closed, ready for the next person to use.

The first stage of the application must be made via the ‘EU Exit ID Document check’ application. Your phone/tablet will need:

• Android 6.0 or above – you can find this in your settings; or 
• iPhone 7 or above
• at least 135MB of storage space to install the app;
• to be connected to 3G/4G or Wi-Fi;
• NFC – you can find this in your settings.

You can use someone else’s phone to aubmit the application. You can also visit one of the organisations offering to scan your document for you. You’ll need to book an appointment and you may have to pay a fee.

However, you can also begin your application online using a computer and complete the Identity checks via post. You will need to enter your document details, upload a digital photo and then post your document at the end of the application. If you want to apply whilst you are outside the UK, then you cannot use this postal option.

There is no requirement under the scheme to provide evidence that you have or have had Comprehensive Sickness Insurance.

If you do not already have a National Insurance number then this means you most likely have not worked in the UK. Getting a National Insurance number now will not help with proving your residence in the UK as the UKVI’s automated checks will not be able to cross reference your National Insurance contributions against HMRC records.

You will still be able to evidence your residence in the UK without a National Insurance number. Please see Annex A of this guidance document for more information on what documents can be used to prove your residence in the UK.

As long as these bank statements show transactions that have taken place in the UK for 6 months in every year then you can use them.

Applicants who are granted pre-settled status will need to apply via the same application process for settled status once they have been resident in the UK for 5 years. The 5 years do not have to start from the point of the grant of pre-settled status - it will include all the time you have resided in the UK.

You can download a copy of your UCL Statement of Student Status letter from your Portico account or you can request a copy from Student Support and Enquiries. More information on obtaining a Statement of Student Status can be found here.

Yes, but you will also need to provide evidence of course completion in the form of your Degree Certificate or Transcript of Results for the course which you have completed.

You can read further information on UKVI’s privacy policy here.

You are not required to provide evidence of this as part of your application if you have no criminal convictions. You will be simply asked to make a declaration confirming your criminal record status as part of your application.

If you have been away from the UK for less than 6 months you will be able to apply for pre-settled/settled status. If you have been away 6 - 12 months, you will still be able to apply under as long as you can prove that this was due to your study or work year abroad. You should be able to prove this with a Statement of Student Status from both UCL and your host institution. Information on obtaining a UCL Statement of Student Status can be found here.

If you have been outside the UK for more than 12 months, you will not be eligible to apply for pre settled/settled status. 

If you have been away from the UK for less than 6 months you will be able to apply for pre-settled/settled status. If you have been away 6 - 12 months, you will still be able to apply under as long as you can prove that this was due to your study or work year abroad. You should be able to prove this with a Statement of Student Status from both UCL and your host institution. Information on obtaining a UCL Statement of Student Status can be found here.

‘Settled status’ is similar to ‘permanent residence’. You can stay in the UK as long as you like if you get settled status. You’ll usually be able to apply for citizenship 12 months after you have obtained settled status.

You are an unmarried partner if you are in a durable relationship with the relevant EEA citizen and you have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for 2 years or more, unless there is other significant evidence of the durable relationship, for example, evidence of joint responsibility for a child (a birth certificate or a custody agreement showing they are cohabiting and sharing parental responsibility).