Your rights under the EUSS
If you applied for the EUSS before the 30 June 2021 deadline, you have a right to enter, work, live, study, and claim benefits in the UK (though this is a little more complicated if you have pre-settled status).
If you have pre-settled status and want to apply for means-tested benefits (such as Universal Credit), you will also have to pass the Right to Reside test. This usually requires you to be in work, to have a history of work, or to be the family of a worker. You won’t need to pass a Right to Reside test if you apply for non means-tested benefits (such as Child Benefit).
Prove your EUSS status with a share code
If you obtained status under the EUSS, you can prove your status with the government's online View and Prove service. You will need your date of birth, and details of the ID document and phone number / email address you used when you made your application.
You will be able to issue a share code with a limited 90 day validity. With this share code and your date of birth, an employer, landlord, or education provider can check your right to live and work in the UK.
If you can't log in
You may have trouble logging in if you lost your ID, the phone number, or email address you used when you first made your application, or when the details you provide don't match the details the Home Office holds for your application. The only way to re-set your login details is to call the EU Settlement Resolution Centre at 0300 123 7379.
If you have pre-settled status under the EUSS, the time you spend outside the UK matters. If you plan to apply for settled status in the future, you should not accrue an absence of any more than six months, in any 12 month period (with the exception of acceptable ‘important reasons’, explained below).
This is because to be eligible for settled status later on, you must have been continuously resident in the UK for a five-year period.
What is meant by ‘continuous residence’?
To be eligible for settled status, you must have five years 'continuous residence' in the UK. A five-year ‘continuous’ period starts when you move to the UK. You can leave the country, but only for up to six months at a time in each 12-month period. These six months can be taken at once, or in several shorter breaks that add up to six months.
Absences are not calculated by calendar year, so if you were absent in 2019, for example, and then again in 2020, they will be added up if they happened within the same 12-month period. A new year does not reset the counter.
‘Important reasons’ that won't break your continuous residence?
The Home Office provides a list of acceptable ‘important reasons’ for longer absences of up to one year. This includes things like studying overseas, being pregnant, ill, or unable to return due to travel restrictions.
On 10th June, the Home Office confirmed that Covid-19 related absences also count as an ‘important’ reason. According to this revised guidance, your ‘continuity of residence’ won't be broken if you were:
- Self-isolating or shielding in accordance with local public health guidance
- Caring for family members with Covid
- Prevented from returning to the UK in time due to travel disruption
- Advised by your university that your course was moved to remote learning because of Covid
- Advised by your university or employer not to return to the UK, and to continue studying or working remotely from your home country
- Absent from the UK for another reason relating to coronavirus (e.g. you left or remained outside the UK because there were fewer coronavirus restrictions elsewhere)
If you broke your continuous residence
If you broke your five-year continuous residence, seek immigration advice and prepare as much as you can.
Keep good records to show why you had to travel or why you couldn’t return sooner. For example: emails from your university, work, family or doctors that show why you had to travel, and any medical records or emails from airline companies to demonstrate why you couldn't return.
The Home Office makes it clear that applications for settled status are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. It is important to get the right advice for your case. The Home Office has a list of valid evidence you can provide to prove a Covid-related absence.
IMPORTANT: if you have pre-settled status, spending more than six months outside the UK (in any 12 month period) can make it harder to obtain settled status.
Travelling with EUSS
Travel with the document linked to your EUSS
If you have EUSS status and want to travel to or from the UK, you'll need to travel with the document you used to apply to the scheme.
If you need to travel with a different document, you must first update your UKVI account to add that document before you travel. There are two ways to do this on the government website:
- Use the ‘Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details’ service
- Sign in to and use the ‘update details’ function of the 'View and Prove' service
If you are an EUSS status holder but not an EU citizen, and you have a biometric residence card (BRC), you should travel with that valid BRC and present it at the border.
If you are a visa national (i.e. a national of a country that normally requires a visa to visit the UK) you'll need to produce a valid visa or visa exemption document (i.e. a BRC, EUSS family permit or EUSS travel permit) in order to travel to the UK. Check whether you are a visa national here.
If you are not an EU citizen and have a BRC problem
From January 2025, the British Government is switching to a fully digital immigration system. eVisas will replace Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs).
You can apply for an eVisa online, from your UKVI account. The process is free.
If you are an EU citizen and you were living in the UK before 31 December 200, and you have status under the EUSS, certain family members are eligible to join you in the UK under the EUSS.
This includes your:
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Spouse or civil partner (if your marriage took place before 31 December 2020)
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Durable partner (if you were a durable partner - in a relationship akin to a marriage for a period of two years before 31 December 2020)
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Child, grandchild, great-grandchild or stepchildren (meaning the children of your spouse or civil partner - if the child is over the age of 21 they must also show dependency)
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Dependent parent, grandparent, or great-grandparents (or in-laws, meaning the parents of your spouse or civil partner)
You must generally show that your relationship started no later than 31 December 2020. Read more on gov.uk
Bringing a partner you are not married to
You can bring a partner you are not married to, but this can be more difficult. You will need to prove that your relationship started before 31 December 2020, that it was durable (a common indicator is that you had already been together for two years before 31 December 2020), and that it is still ongoing (see Home Office guidance).
One way to prove your relationship is with a document confirming this relationship exists in EU law (such as a residence card). Alternatively, you will have to gather an evidence base. This can include: joint bank statements, utility bills, or a tenancy agreement in joint names. There are other serious grounds that could be considered even if you have not lived together for two years before 31st December 2020. For example, if you had a child together on or before that date, and can evidence this with a birth certificate or custody agreement.