Family Members of EU Nationals UK - Eligibility, Relationship & Application

A family member of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT) (the end of the Brexit transition period) might be able to apply to the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) to continue living in the UK. A person can also apply to the EUSS if they are a family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland.

An eligible joining family member applying from outside the UK must first apply for the EUSS Family Permit. After arriving in the UK on the Family Permit, they can then apply for the EU Settlement Scheme.

Joining family members can be someone:

• Who is from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland; or 

• Who is not from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland can also be

Successful applicants get either settled (indefinite leave) or pre-settled (limited leave) status.

Eligible family members of EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals under the EU Settlement Scheme

A person can apply as a joining family member if they are one of the following family members:

• Spouse (husband/wife), civil or unmarried partner - the relationship must have started by December 2020 and must still exist.

• Child, grandchild, or great-grandchild aged under 21

• Dependent child, grandchild, or great-grandchild aged over 21

• Dependent parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent

• A person can also apply if they are related to someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, or their spouse or civil partner, and the applicant is their:

• Child, grandchild, or great-grandchild aged under 21 years

• Dependent child, grandchild, or great-grandchild aged over 21

Eligible family members also include those who were adopted through an adoption order that’s recognised in UK law.

Family Relationship

The joining family member must 

• Be a family member of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, who started residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT), and has EUSS - Settled or EUSS - Pre-settled status 

• Have started residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT), or are joining 

• their family member in the UK

Other types of family relationships

A joining family member can also apply if:

• They used to have a family member (dead or alive) from one of the EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, who started residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT) (but they have separated, their family member has died, or the family relationship has broken down)

• They are a family member of someone who is a British citizen as well as a citizen of one of the EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland who resided in the UK as a citizen of one of these countries before they obtained British citizenship

• They have a family member who happens to be an eligible person of Northern Ireland.

• They are the child of an individual from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland who used to live and work in the UK – the joining family member must be in education in the UK

• They are a family member of a frontier worker or someone who is exempt from immigration control

• The joining family member and their child may also be eligible if, by 31 December 2020, the joining family member was the primary carer of a:

• Child of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, who previously lived and worked in the UK - the child must be in education in the UK

• Child who is self-sufficient and from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland

Relevant Date

The relevant date under the applications for EU nationals and family members is 31 December 2020. The relationship must be established before this date and should be continuing till the date of application

Dependency

For children over the age of 21 years and also the dependent parents of EU national or their family member must prove that the dependency is established for essential living needs. The dependency must be established before 31 December 2020 and must be continuing until today, The dependency can be medical or financial. 

Applying on the basis of ‘retained right of residence’

A person who used to have a family member from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland and was residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT) may be able to apply to the EUSS. This is known as a ‘retained right of residence’.

If the applicant’s family member has died

They can still apply to the EUSS if their family member who was residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT) has died.

If the applicant is not from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, they must also have lived continuously in the UK as their family member for one or more years immediately before their death.

If the applicant was previously married or in a civil partnership

They can apply if their marriage or civil partnership to someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland who was residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT) ended with a divorce, annulment, or dissolution, and they lived in the UK at the time when the marriage or civil partnership ended.

If the applicant is not from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, one of the following must also apply:

• The marriage or civil partnership in the UK lasted for 3 or more years, and they would both have been living in the UK for at least one year during that period

• They have custody of their child

• They have been given the right of access in the UK to their child - the child must be aged under 18

• Particularly difficult situations apply - for example, the applicant or another family member suffered domestic abuse in the marriage or civil partnership

Deadline for the eligible family members to apply under the EUSS

A joining family member should have applied to the EUSS within 90 days of the first date they arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.

If there was a delay in applying to the EUSS, they would be required to show ‘reasonable grounds’ for it if they:

• Started residing in the UK by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT); or

• Arrived in the UK on or after 1 January 2021 and did not apply within 90 days of the first date they arrived

Deadline for spouses and civil partners of Swiss citizens

The rules are different for a person who is married to or in a civil partnership with an eligible Swiss citizen.

They will still be eligible if:

• They either married or entered into their civil partnership before 31 December 2020

• They are still married or in a civil partnership on the date of application and their relationship continues to be genuine and subsisting

Applying to the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) as an eligible family member of an EU, EEA, or Swiss national

A joining family member can usually apply to the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) online using any device, for example, an Android device, an iPhone, or a laptop.

If they have resided in the UK for 5 years in a row, they should be granted Settled Status, and if they have resided in the UK for less than 5 years, they should be granted Pre-settled Status.

Who cannot use the online service?

A person cannot use the online service to apply to the EUSS if they are applying as:

• A family member of a British citizen they lived within the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT), and they returned with their family member to the UK

• A family member of a person who is a British citizen as well as a citizen of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, and lived in the UK as a citizen of one of those countries before they became a British citizen

• A child of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland who previously lived and worked in the UK – the child must be in education in the UK

• A joining family member and their child can also not use the online service if, by 31 December 2020, 11:00 PM (GMT), they were the primary carer of a:

• British citizen (and they had no other type of permission to stay in the UK)

• Child (who is in education in the UK) of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, who previously lived and worked in the UK 

• Child who is self-sufficient and from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland

If a person cannot use the online service, for example they can contact the EUSS team at UK Visas and Immigration (the ‘Resolution Centre’) to know how they can apply.

The resolution centre will usually send the applicant an application form. The applicant must send a completed application form along with any supporting documents to the Home Office by post to the address below.

EU Settlement Scheme
PO Box 2076
Liverpool
L69 3PG

The applicant must not send their form back by email unless the Resolution Centre tells them to do so.

Applying for the EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit

An eligible joining family member who is outside the UK must apply to the EUSS Family Permit to come to the UK. The family permit lasts for 6 months, within which they must apply for EUSS – Pre-settled Status.  

Under Appendix EU, entering the UK on an EUSS Family Permit is considered reasonable grounds for making a late application.

A person can apply for an EUSS family permit to come to the UK if all of the following are true:

• They are the eligible family member of someone from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, 

• Their family relationship started by 31 December 2020

• Their family member was a citizen of the EU or EEA and living in the UK by 31 December 2020

• Their family member will be in the UK when they apply, or will travel there with the applicant up to 6 months later

A person may also be eligible to apply for the EUSS family permit based on their retained right of residence.

The immigration status of the person whose family member is applying to the EUSS Family Permit

The person whom the applicant wants to join in the UK must be from one of the EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland. This includes if they:

• Are exempt from UK immigration control (for example, a foreign diplomat posted in the UK)

• Travel continually to work in the UK, but they live abroad (also called a ‘frontier worker’)

• Are a British citizen having dual citizenship with an EU member state, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, and they settled in the UK before 16 July 2012 without using their right to free movement (also known as a ‘McCarthy’ case)

• Are a British citizen as well as a citizen of an EU member state, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, and they were studying, working, self-employed, or living in the UK as a self-reliant person before they became a British citizen (also known as a ‘Lounes’ case)

The applicant’s family member must usually have EUSS - Settled or EUSS - Pre-settled status, or have applied for it and they’re waiting for a decision.

If the applicant’s family member did not need to apply to the EUSS, or could not apply because they’re a British citizen, the applicant can apply for an EUSS Family Permit. Their family member must satisfy the eligibility criteria for the scheme.