EU Settlement Scheme: Automatic Conversion to Settled Status and New Risks for Pre-Settled Status Holders
Major changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) have been introduced by the Home Office over the past year:
- In January 2025, the Home Office announced that eligible individuals with pre-settled status would be automatically upgraded to settled status, without the need to submit a further application.
- On 9 April 2026, the Home Office released further details on how this process will now operate in practice, alongside important updates that may affect those at risk of losing their pre-settled status.
Automatic Conversion to Settled Status
The Home Office confirmed that its system will look for evidence of at least 30 months of tax payments or benefit receipt within the most recent 60-month period. Where this is found, settled status should be granted automatically.
This development is intended to streamline the process and reduce the administrative burden on applicants. However, it will not apply to everyone.
Who Must Still Apply Manually?
The Home Office has confirmed that certain groups will not be eligible for automatic conversion to settled status and must submit an application themselves. These are:
- EEA citizens who have not been paying tax or receiving benefits for at least 30 months in the last 60 months
- those granted pre-settled status who later obtained another UK immigration status
- non-EEA national family members
- joining family members of any nationality
- those under the age of 18
- those with other eligibility requirements (such as those with ‘derivative rights’ including Zambrano and Chen / Teixeira cases)
Individuals falling within these categories should take proactive steps to secure their immigration status as they will not be able rely on the automated process.
Increased Scrutiny and Removal of Status
From 9 April 2026, the Home Office has also begun removing pre-settled status from individuals who have clearly not maintained continuous residence in the UK. Checks are being made using Home Office travel data to determine this. If an individual is deemed to have broken continuous residence, the Home Office position is to remove their pre-settled status.
Practitioners and applicants who have applied and reviewed a Home Office Subject Access Request will wince at this. Such records are almost always incomplete or inaccurate. As a result, there is a real risk that individuals could face removal of their status based on incorrect assumptions about their residence in the UK. It just takes one missing entry to give the impression that someone has spent a far longer period outside the country.
Before taking any adverse decision, the Home Office is expected to contact the individual and provide 28 days to respond and submit further evidence. This is a short timeframe in which to gather and present supporting documentation, so relevant individuals must be proactive. Maintaining proof of trips abroad in the form of email bookings is recommended. It may be advisable to apply for an extension of pre-settled status or switch to another visa route.
