EU Settlement Scheme: UK immigration rule changes to the absence requirement for pre-settled status holders

The Home Office has announced changes to the EU Settlement Scheme from 16 July 2025 to simplify the continuous residence requirements that EU citizens with pre-settled status must meet if they want to obtain settled status in the UK. 

These changes should be helpful for any EU citizens who may unwittingly have lost the ability to apply for settled status due to a long absence from the UK. We provide a short summary of what they mean in practice.

Current position

Under the EU Settlement Scheme, EU citizens with pre-settled status in the UK are required to meet certain criteria to maintain their pre-settled status and to qualify for settled status. A key requirement is the need to demonstrate continuous residence in the UK. Generally, this means that pre-settled status holders could not be absent from the UK for more than six months in any 12-month period, subject to limited exceptions.

If a pre-settled status holder exceeds this limit, they would under current rules not normally be eligible to apply for settled status, even if they are subsequently resident in the UK for five years continuously.

Take for example an EU citizen who moved to the UK in 2019 and was granted pre-settled status in 2020. Provided they maintained continuous residence in the UK, they would become eligible to apply for settled status in 2024. However, if they chose to spend a year travelling abroad and were absent from the UK for 12 months in 2022, their continuous residence would be broken. Even if they returned to the UK in 2023 and resumed residence in the UK, the rules would prevent them from applying for settled status following their return.

Changes to the continuous residence requirement

From 16 July 2025, pre-settled status holders will be able to maintain their pre-settled status and be eligible for settled status if they have been resident in the UK for at least 30 months in total in the most recent five-year period. These 30 months do not need to be consecutive – they can fall at any point within the most recent five-year period.

This is a very welcome change for pre-settled status holders who may not have previously met the continuous residence requirement but have nonetheless been resident in the UK for at least 30 months in the last five years.

Taking our example above, the EU citizen would have been resident in (at least) four out of the five years, so would have at least 30 months over five years and would now be able to apply despite the long absence in one year.

These changes will apply both to the automated process – where the Home Office conducts internal checks to grant settled status – and to cases where a pre-settled status holder applies for settled status through the standard application route.

All decisions made on or after 16 July 2025 will be considered in accordance with this new provision. Any pre-settled status holder who was previously refused settled status but would meet the updated requirements may submit a fresh application for settled status (provided that their pre-settled status remains valid and has not lapsed, been cancelled, curtailed, or invalidated). Alternatively, they can wait for their case to be reviewed as part of the automated process, which is being updated to cater for these new rules.

There has also been some suggestion that pre-settled status holders who have switched to another immigration route – e.g. skilled worker or spouse visa – will be able to keep their pre-settled status and potentially apply for settled status under the new rules. This was a common strategy where absences had exceeded the previous limits. We await guidance but this is another potentially very helpful point to watch.

All in all, these are helpful announcements from the Government and should provide EU citizens with much greater flexibility.