European Union exit (Brexit) Advice and Guidance

EU Settlement Scheme

If you are an EU citizen living in the UK, you can apply for EU settlement.

Settled status in the UK offers a number of advantages:

• you can work without restrictions
• you can access the National Health Service freely
• you can access funding for your education through Student Finance England
• you can access general public funding
• you have no travel restriction on moving throughout the UK or EU
• you may be able to bring family members with you to the UK

The EU settlement scheme is being offered until 30 June 2021, but you MUST arrive in the UK no later than 30 December 2020 in order to qualify.

You can apply online once you have arrived in the UK.

In your initial application, you can qualify for either:

• Settled status (5 years continuous residency in the UK) or
• Pre-Settled status (less than 5 years residency in the UK). If you gain pre-settled status, you will need to apply for settled status when you reach 5 years of residency.

In January 2021, the UK will operate a new immigration system in which EU citizens will have to apply for visas in order to live, work and study in the UK. Applying now for the EU settlement scheme will mean that you will not have to go through a new process and will maintain all of the rights to work, study, health care and funding that EU citizens currently have in the UK.

If you have questions about the EU settlement scheme, please contact us at enquiries@richmond.ac.uk