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European National Visa's

This page explains how European nationals and their close family members can benefit from a right of free movement to live and work in the UK

EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME SETTLED STATUS

The EU Settlement Scheme is open to resident EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and who wish to remain in the UK after 30 June 2021.  

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Eligible persons who have completed a continuous 5 year period of qualifying residence in the UK will be granted indefinite leave, also known as Settled Status.  If you are not eligible for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme solely because you have not completed a continuous qualifying period of residence of at least 5 years then you will be granted Pre-Settled Status.

 

Requirements for Settled Status

 

In order to qualify for Settled Status you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

  • You are a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a family member of a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a family member who has retained the right of residence by virtue of a relationship with a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a person with a derivative right to reside; or

  • You are a person with a Zambrano right to reside; and

  • You started living in the UK by 31 December 2020; and

  • You have completed a continuous qualifying period of residence of at least 5 years.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances. 

EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME FAMILY PERMIT

The EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit is available to non-EEA citizens who wish to travel to and enter the UK in order to join or accompany a close family member who is a relevant EEA citizen, including EEA or Swiss nationals with ‘settled’ status or ‘pre-settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

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EU Settlement Scheme Family Permits are also available to non-EEA citizens who wish to join or accompany a close family member who is an eligible person of Northern Ireland or an eligible naturalised British citizen.

 

Requirements for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit

 

In order to qualify for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

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  • You are a non-EEA citizen;

  • You are the close family member of a relevant EEA citizen;

  • The relevant EEA citizen is resident in the UK or will be travelling to the UK within 6 months;

  • You will be accompanying the relevant EEA citizen to the UK or joining them in the UK;

  • You are not the spouse, civil partner or durable partner of a relevant EEA citizen where either you or your partner have been granted an EEA Family Permit issued under the EEA Regulations or otherwise have been granted leave under or outside the Immigration Rules.

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The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances.

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If you are the family member of a British citizen and lived with that British citizen in an EEA country, and your relationship with them started before 1 February 2020, you have until 29 March 2022 to apply for a family permit to come back to the UK. If your relationship with them started on or after 1 February 2020, you will need to have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not returning to the UK by 31 December 2020. You will need to show evidence of why you did not return by then when you apply for your family permit.

EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME PRE-SETTLED STATUS

The EU Settlement Scheme is open to resident EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and who wish to remain in the UK after 30 June 2021.  

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Eligible persons who have not completed a continuous 5 year period of qualifying residence in the UK will be granted a period of 5 years’ limited leave, also known as Pre-Settled Status.  An application for Settled Status can be submitted once a 5 year period of qualifying residence in the UK has been completed.

 

Requirements for Pre-Settled Status

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In order to qualify for Pre-Settled Status you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

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  • You are a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a family member of a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a family member who has retained the right of residence by virtue of a relationship with a relevant EEA citizen; or

  • You are a person with a derivative right to reside; or

  • You are a person with a Zambrano right to reside; and

  • You started living in the UK by 31 December 2020; and

  • You are not eligible for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme solely because you have not completed a continuous qualifying period of residence of at least 5 years.

 

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances.

FAMILY PERMIT

An EEA Family Permit is a document issued to non-EEA nationals living outside the European Union who would like to travel to the UK with an EEA national family member or join an EEA national family member in the UK.

 

What are the main eligibility requirements for an EEA Family Permit?

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In order to qualify for an EEA Family Permit you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

  • You are a citizen of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA);

  • Your family member is an EEA national (but normally not British);

  • You are related to the EEA national in one of the following ways:

    • you are the family member of the EEA national such as their husband, wife, civil or unmarried partner, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild; or

    • you are an extended family member of the EEA national, for example their unmarried partner in a durable relationship, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc.; or

    • you are the main carer of a British citizen or a child who is an EEA national;

  • Your EEA national family member is travelling with you to the UK; or

  • Your family member is in the UK and, if they have lived in the UK for more than three months, is exercising Treaty rights as a worker, self-employed person, student, self-sufficient person, or as a jobseeker.

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