Which family members are covered by the EU Settlement Scheme?

Who is an eligible family member? 

EU citizens living in the UK by 31 December 2020 granted settled status or pre-settled status (or are exempted from applying e.g. Irish citizens), can “sponsor” eligible family members under the EU settlement scheme (EUSS). Eligible family members under the EUSS may have been living in the UK with their EU family member by 31 December 2020, or could be living outside the UK on 31 December 2020 and want to join their EU family member to live in the UK together (these family members are called joining family members under the EUSS). 

The eligible family relationships that are covered by the EUSS are: 

• Spouses, civil partners, durable (unmarried) partners of EU citizens, where the relationship existed by 31 December 2020 (there are slightly different rules for Swiss citizens).
• Parents and grandparents of EU citizens (or their spouses or civil partners) who are “dependent” on the EU citizen. 
• Children and grandchildren of EU citizens (or their spouses or civil partners) who are under 21 and born before 01 January 2021.
• Children and grandchildren of EU citizens (or their spouses or civil partners) who are over 21, born before 01 January 2021 and are dependent on the EU citizen.  
• Children born to or adopted by EU citizens from 01 January 2021 who are under 21, or, are over 21 and are dependent on the EU citizen. 
• Other dependent relatives (e.g. siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts), who have been granted extended family member status by the Home Office under the EEA Regulations (there can be no new EEA Regulations applications for these family members). 

Dependent parents and children born before 01 January 2021 who are applying as joining family members can be related to either the EU sponsor or their spouse or civil partner (if the marriage or civil partnership took place before 1 January 2021 or, they are durable partners who go on to get married or enter a civil partnership). Children born from 01 January 2021 must be the biological child of the EU sponsor unless they are adopted by them.

It is important to be aware that family members and joining family members sponsored under the EUSS do not have an independent right to sponsor their own family members. For example, if an EU citizen with settled status sponsors their dependent adult child under the EUSS, if that adult child is married their spouse cannot be sponsored under the EUSS as a) the spouse does not have an eligible relationship with the sponsoring EU citizen (as a daughter in law) and b) cannot be sponsored by their spouse (the sponsored dependent adult child) as they are not entitled to sponsor under the EUSS as they have status as a sponsored family member. 

Is there a deadline for my family member(s) to apply by? 

Working out the deadline to apply for joining family members can be complicated, as there are several deadlines that apply to family members applying to the EUSS: 

• Family members living with you in the UK by on 31 December 2020 should have applied to the EUSS by 30 June 2021 (the same deadline for EU citizens). The only exceptions are if the family member either held any limited immigration permission in which case the deadline is before the expiry of the immigration permission or, they are immigration exempt, in which case they have 90 days from the end of the immigration exemption to apply. 

• Joining family members applying for pre-settled or settled status who have not entered the at any point since 01 January 2021, do not have a deadline to apply if they are applying from outside the UK. 

• Joining family members who are immigration exempt have 90 days from the end of the immigration exemption to apply. 

• Joining family members applying for pre-settled or settled status who entered the UK without an EUSS Family Permit between 01 January 2021 and 01 April 2021, should have applied to the EUSS by 30 June 2021 (unless they held a non-visiting immigration permission or are exempt from immigration control).

• Joining family members applying for pre-settled or settled status who hold any limited immigration permission that is not as a visitor (e.g. a Student Visa, Skilled Worker Visa) have until the expiry of that immigration permission to apply. The immigration permission must have been held continuously from three months after their first arrival in the UK since 01 January 2021). If this deadline does not apply, then one of the next two bullets will determine the deadline. 

• Joining family members applying for pre-settled or settled status who have not previously entered the UK at any point since 01 January 2021, but are now present in the UK having entered UK as a visitor have three months from their date of entry to apply. Note this deadline applies to children born in the UK who have three months from their birth to apply (if the child is not born British). 

• Joining family members applying for pre-settled or settled status who have entered the UK since 01 January 2021 (including as a visitor) have three months from their date of their first entry since 01 January 2021 to apply. This applies to both applications made inside (unless they have entered the UK with an EUSS Family Permit) and outside the UK. 

If your family member misses the deadline to apply to the EUSS, they will need to make a late application explaining the reasons for the delay in applying. Information on making a late EUSS application is covered in the section on How do I apply late to the EU Settlement Scheme?. Joining family members who have been granted pre-settled or settled status before arriving in the UK do not need to make an EUSS application on arrival as they hold EUSS status. 

Eligible family members who are not yet in the UK can apply to come to the UK to join you at any time in the future. A joining family member can be an EU citizen or hold any other nationality. The family member who intends to join their EU sponsor in the UK in most cases should apply from outside the UK before they travel to join them.

How do my joining family members apply to the EU Settlement Scheme? 

There are two ways for joining family members to apply under the EUSS, either by applying directly for settled status or pre-settled status or by applying for an EUSS Family Permit first and then applying for directly for settled status or pre-settled status once they arrive in the UK. It does not matter which application process is used in terms of which family relationships are eligible (see the above list), however, the nationality of the joining family member will determine how they make their EUSS application.

Joining family members who are EU / EEA / Swiss citizens can apply directly for settled status or pre-settled status from outside the UK. They should use the Home Office ID scanning App to send their identity information and then should complete the online application form (see section How do I apply for settled status or pre-settled status?). However, as noted above, if your joining family member has entered the UK at any point since 01 January 2021 (even as a visitor), and their application for settled status or pre-settled status is over three months after the date they first entered the since 01 January 2021, they will be considered a late applicant and must justify the reason for the late application. If the Home Office does not accept the late application, it may be necessary for the joining family member to leave the UK and apply for an EUSS Family Permit. 

For joining family member from other nationalities applying from outside the UK, they must apply for an EUSS Family Permit which is a is a type of visa that permits travel to the UK. Once the EUSS Family Permit is granted and the joining family member arrives in the UK, they must apply settled status or pre-settled status within three months of arrival to the UK, or before the expiry of the EUSS Family Permit (whichever is the latter date), otherwise they will have to make a late application and explain the reasons for missing the deadline. 

The Home Office expects joining family member applications to be made outside the UK. Therefore, your family member should apply and wait for the outcome of the application for pre-settled status or settled status, or the EUSS Family Permit application before they travel to the UK. If they attempt to travel before the application is granted they could face problems travelling to the UK and / or at the UK border and may be refused entry. 

What if my joining family did not apply for settled or pre-settled status or an EUSS Family Permit before travelling to the UK?

If your joining family member has already entered the UK because you were unaware that they should have applied under the EUSS before travelling to the UK, they are permitted to make an application for pre-settled or settled status inside the UK. This applies irrespective of the nationality of the family member. 

However, as noted above the deadline for joining family members without an EUSS Family Permit is three months from the date they first entered the since 01 January 2021. So you will need to consider if your family member are a late applicant and if they are, they must justify the reason for the late application. If the Home Office does not accept the late application and you are unable to challenge this outcome, it may be necessary for your joining family member to leave the UK and apply for an EUSS Family Permit from outside (as there is no deadline to apply for an EUSS Family Permit). 

What evidence of my family relationship do I need to provide?

This depends on which family member is being sponsored. In some cases, the family relationship evidence is relatively straightforward, for example, married couples and those in the civil partnerships need to provide the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate in the EUSS application, which demonstrates that the legal relationship existed by 31 December 2020. Applications for children should also be straightforward as the birth certificate should prove the parent child relationship. 

Some family member applications are more complex as the Home Office needs to assess aspects of the family relationship to determine if the eligibility criteria is met. For example, applications from durable (unmarried) partners require detailed evidence showing that the relationship was serious by 31 December 2020. Applications that require dependency to be proved (e.g. parents, and adult children) can also be complicated to evidence, as the Home Office must be satisfied that the Family member is dependent on the EU sponsor for their essential living needs. 

The below information covers some of the questions that often arise in respect of these more complicated family member applications. 

What happens my child is born in the UK after 31 December 2020?

Children born in the UK to a parent with settled status, or pre-settled status and who have acquired permanent residence under the Withdrawal Agreement are born British (additionally, children born to a parent who are “settled” in the UK outside of the EUSS are also born British). If you are unsure if your child is British, we recommend speaking to a qualified and regulated adviser about your child’s situation. We have provided more information about finding a qualified legal adviser in the section Where can I find regulated immigration advice?.

Children who are not born British citizens are treated as joining family members and should try to apply to the EUSS within three months of their birth if they are born in the UK. If you as parents are unable to obtain a passport or EU national ID card for your child within three months of their birth to make the online EUSS application (see the section How do I apply for settled status or pre-settled status?), you should call the Home Office Resolution Centre and request a paper application form, which allows you to submit an application for your child before an identity document is issued. If you are applying for your new-born child after three months from their birth, you must explain the reason why you are making a late application (for example, because you were unable to obtain an identity document within three months). Children born outside the UK should apply to the EUSS in the same way as adult joining family members. 

How do I know if my relationship is “durable” by 31 December 2020? 

Couples who were in serious relationships but unmarried on 31 December 2020 may be able to qualify as durable partners under the EUSS. To sponsor your partner as a durable partner it is necessary to show the Home Office that your relationship was serious as of 31 December 2020 and that the relationship continues at the date your partner applies. 

To assess whether the relationship is considered serious by 31 December 2020, the Home Office will first look at whether the couple have been living together for two years by 31 December 2020. If the couple can show they have been cohabiting for two years at this date the Home Office will normally accept that they are durable partners (note that if this cohabitation took place in the UK, the applying durable partner must hold a document issued under the EEA Regulations or, be able to show they were otherwise lawfully resident in the UK). 

Couples who have not lived together for two years can still qualify and as durable partners, if there is strong evidence to show that they were in a serious unmarried relationship by 31 December 2020. For example, a couple with a child together would normally be accepted as durable partners (where the child is born by 31 December 2020). There may be other situations where the Home Office will accept a couple are in a durable relationship by 31 December 2020, even where they have not been living together. This will always depend on the facts of the relationship (for example how long the relationship has lasted, whether the couple have lived together at all, the reasons why the couple has been apart, etc), and so there is no definitive answer as to what a durable relationship is. 

When trying to understand if your relationship might be considered durable by the Home Office, the first thing to consider is how long you have been together with your partner before 31 December 2020. The longer the relationship the more likely it will be accepted as durable, but as set out above, the assessment will always be based on each couple’s specific situation. The more evidence you can put forward of your relationship together, the stronger the chances it will be accepted as durable. This means providing evidence proving that you have lived together, travel that you have taken together, if you live or lived apart showing that you frequently travelled to see each other and evidence of how you communicate with each other (particularly in times when you are not together). You should also prepare a statement (either a joint statement or individual statements), confirming the history of your relationship and how it has developed and strengthened over the time that you have been together. 

If you are unsure about whether your relationship may qualify, we recommend you speak to a qualified and regulated legal adviser. We have provided more information about finding a qualified legal adviser in the section Where can I find regulated immigration advice?.

I was supposed to marry or have my civil partnership before 1 January 2021 but Covid-19 prevent the ceremony happening – what is my position? 

Unfortunately, many couples – through no fault of their own – had their weddings and civil partnerships postponed due to the health pandemic. This means from the EUSS perspective, that couples who were not able to hold legally marry or enter into civil partnerships by 31 December 2020, are assessed under the durable partner rules set out in the above section. This is because the scheme will only accept spouses and civil partners where the legal relationship existed by 31 December 2020.

If you have now had your marriage or civil partnership ceremony after 31 December 2020, you will still need to show the Home Office that you should be considered as durable partners by 31 December 2020. The fact that your relationship has progressed from an unmarried couple to married or civil partners, is a factor that the Home Office must consider when assessing your relationship. It will be important in your application to inform the Home Office about your wedding or civil partnership plans that were postponed in 2020, as well as showing evidence that you have now married or become civil partners. 

What happens if my spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner does not qualify for sponsorship under the EU settlement scheme? 

If your partner cannot meet the criteria to be sponsored under the EUSS because the relationship did not exist by 31 December 2020 (for example, if you have a new relationship that began in January 2021), there may be an alternative way of sponsoring them to join you in the UK under the Family Visa route of the Immigration Rules. These rules are more restrictive than the EUSS family member rules and therefore, it is recommend you speak to a qualified and regulated legal adviser if you are considering sponsoring your family member for a Family Visa. We have provided more information about finding a qualified legal adviser in the section Where can I find regulated immigration advice?.

Are my parents or adult child dependent on me? 

To sponsor a parent, grandparent or adult child to join you in the UK under the EUSS, you must prove to the Home Office that they are dependent on you at the time they apply to join you. Dependency is assessed in the EUSS by considering the parent, grandparent or adult child’s “financial and social conditions, or health”, to decide if they are unable “meet their essential living needs (in whole or in part) without the financial or other material support” of their EU sponsor.

For example, if your parent lives overseas and you have been financially supporting them, consider the situation if you stopped sending them money and whether they would they be able to afford their essential living costs (for example, their housing, food or medical costs). If your parent would not be able to support themselves without your financial support, then they would be considered dependent on you so you can sponsor them to join you in the UK under the EUSS. 

Dependency is not always financial as in some situations you may be providing essential support to your family member that is emotional or, you are helping them meet their medical needs. Whether dependency exists will always depend on the facts situation and so there is no definitive answer as to what a dependency is. If you are unsure about whether your parent, grandparent or adult child may qualify as your dependent family member, we recommend you speak to a qualified and regulated legal adviser. We have provided more information about finding a qualified legal adviser in the section Where can I find regulated immigration advice?.

Note that once your dependent parent(s) or adult child Are granted pre-settled status, there is no need for them to remain dependent on you in order to qualify for settled status once they have completed a five-year continuous residence period. 

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This site offers information about Brexit, how it may impact you as an EU citizen and your family living in the UK, and what you may need to do next. It summarises key issues and is purely for information purposes and has no legal force. It does not provide any legal interpretation of EU or UK legislation and is not meant to replace specialised legal advice on UK immigration rules.