Automatic upgrades to settled status

Since early 2025, the Home Office has been upgrading some pre-settled status holders to settled status automatically.

By 31 December 2025, there had been 86,670 people (see our statistics page for more data) who received an automatic upgrade to settled status.

It is important to understand the limitations of who can be automatically upgraded, and when.

If you qualify for settled status, you should apply for it as soon as you can, as settled status is a less precarious form of immigration leave.

Important information about being automatically upgraded to settled status

⚠️ People are only considered for an automated upgrade to settled status around six weeks before their pre-settled is set to expire.

Example: 

• R. is Lithuanian and arrived in the UK in January 2018. She was granted pre-settled status in October 2019, with an expiry date of October 2024. She has met the requirements for settled status since January 2024, but has not yet made an application. In September 2024, she received a 5 year extension to her pre-settled status, so her new expiry date is October 2029. She won’t be considered for automation until September 2029.

⚠️ Not everyone with pre-settled status can benefit from automatic upgrades. They are only for EEA/Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by 31st December 2020, and where HMRC/DWP systems show that they have either been paying tax or receiving benefits for at least 30 months in the last 60 months.

The following groups are excluded:

• Non-EEA family members, and family members of any nationality who arrived in the UK on or after 1st January 2021, may receive emails about automated upgrades - but cannot benefit. This is because to qualify for settled status, family members must also prove the continuity of their relationship to their sponsor.
• Children under the age of 18.
• People who have pre-settled status as someone with ‘derivative rights’ or ‘retained rights’.
• Those granted pre-settled status who later obtained another UK immigration status.

What information is considered to determine if you can be upgraded to settled status?

To check whether they hold enough data about you to upgrade you to settled status, the Home Office will look at tax (HMRC) and benefits (DWP) information they hold about you. This is done through the National Insurance number you’ve provided.

They are looking for evidence of your residence for at least 6 months in any 12 months, in your qualifying period. Before April 2026, the system was not adjusted to the latest absence rules for the EU Settlement Scheme - which state you only have to prove 30 months of residence in the last 60 months. 

However, on 9 April 2026, the automated upgrade system was changed to work on the new rules. See the Home Office announcement: EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) status automation update. This new process will also start to remove pre-settled status from people where the Home Office believes people have left the UK for long periods. See this helpful explainer on the Seraphus website.

What happens if not enough information is found to show that you qualify for settled status?

There are many reasons why you might qualify for settled status, but not be upgraded through the automatic system.

If you’re not automatically upgraded, it does not mean you don’t qualify if you make an application and provide proof of residence to the Home Office.

You should receive an automatic five year extension to your pre-settled status, if the Home Office can’t grant you settled status automatically.

Please note that this will change later on in 2026.

The Home Office will start a process soon where they may curtail (remove) people’s pre-settled status, if they think you are no longer eligible for it - for example, because you’ve left the UK. Although we have no confirmed start date, a Home Office minister indicated in a Select Committee meeting that this could start in March 2026.