Applicants for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme can now meet continuous residence requirements if they have been in the UK for at least 30 months in the last 5 years before applying. The new rule came into force on 16 July 2025.
The relaxed rule on absences from the UK is a major concession which will help many EEA nationals with pre-settled status qualify for settlement earlier than expected. Source: EU settlement scheme caseworker guidance
What has changed in the continuous residence rule for EU nationals
Previously, the continuity of residence for EU nationals and their family members with pre-settled status would be broken if they were out of the country for more than 6 months in any 12-month period. The rule allowed for some exceptions, such as absences for health reasons, due to COVID or important family considerations. However, it was often difficult to decide with the Home Office would accept the circumstances as sufficiently important to recognise the exemption.
The new rule allows to disregard up to 2.5 years of absences (30 months) of the 5-year period preceding the application. It can be a continuous period of 2.5 years, or discrete periods totalling 30 months.
You still have to meet the 5-year residence requirement, but you do not have to have held pre-settled status for the entire period.
For example, if you came to the UK in September 2020 for a short period, then returned and applied for a pre-settled status in March 2021, then left the UK for a year and returned in September 2022, under the old rules your continuous residence would have been broken by the 18-month long absence between March 2021 and September 2022 and the qualifying period for settlement would have started afresh in September 2022. The new rules will allow you to disregard the absence, and the qualifying period will run from September 2020 provided your further absences did not exceed 30 months. So, you may be eligible for settled status as early as in September 2025 depending on how much time you spent outside the UK after September 2022.
The qualifying period is always calculated from the date of application backwards. If you apply on 1 August 2025, it will be your absences from the UK between 1 August 2020 and 1 August 2025 that matter. You don't have to have been in the UK on 1 August 2020, but your residence period should have commenced before this date.
Don't forget that your qualifying period could have started earlier than your last pre-Brexit visit, that is if you were in the UK before September 2020 and the gaps between your visits or stays were not more than six months.
Who will benefit from the new rule
Many people who took a gap in residency, for example accepting a job offer or undertaking a course of studies abroad, would previously have considered continuity of their residence broken and another continuous 5-year period of residence necessary for a successful application for settled status.
Some people with pre-settled status may have changed applied for a partner visa or global talent visa, the most generous routes in terms of permitted absences during the qualifying period for ILR.
It is now possible to apply for settled status relying on the new continuous residence rules even if you changed your immigration status. In other words, pre-settled status is preserved while you may hold a visa under another part of the immigration rules.
If you believe that you may be eligible for settled status as a result of the concession and would like to discuss your circumstances with one of our lawyers, please book an immigration advice call and we will be delighted to help.
Originally published 30 July 2025
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
