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Changes to pre-settled status: Automatic extensions following High Court’s ruling on the EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office announced that people will have their pre-settled status extended by two years before it expires, if they have not obtained settled status by that point.

In addition, in 2024, the Home Office will seek to automatically convert some eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status.

These changes were announced on 17th July 2023 through a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules and a Press Release by the Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick. 

This comes off the back of the High Court ruling which found people with pre-settled status must not lose residence rights just because they do not make a second application to the EU Settlement Scheme before the expiry of their pre-settled status. 

The judgment also clearly states people with pre-settled status should not be denied permanent residence rights after 5 years of lawful residence just because they do not make a second application under the scheme.

This legal case was brought by the Independent Monitoring Authority, and the3million and the European Commission intervened in the case. 

Report problems caused by the expiry date of your pre-settled status

Summary of changes

Pre-settled status extended by two years, before it expires

From September 2023, people with pre-settled status will automatically have their status extended by two years before it expires, if they have not obtained settled status. 

This extension should be applied in the month before the month in which someone's pre-settled status was due to expire. For example, someone whose pre-settled status expires in March 2024 should receive the extension in February 2024..

This process will be automated by the Home Office and it will reflect in the person’s digital status. Pre-settled status holders will be notified of the extension directly. 

Once the extension happens, people’s full rights granted by pre-settled status will continue.

Note however, that this process may be changed in 2024, and that the Home Office may make checks on people's eligibility before extending their status. The Home Office have also said that if they extend the pre-settled status of an individual who was no longer eligible for it (for example because they had been absent from the UK for too long), they may contact the individual to start a process of revoking their status (which will be subject to appeal rights). It is very important to keep your contact details on your digital status up to date. 

Automated upgrades from pre-settled to settled status

The Home Office intends to automatically convert as many eligible pre-settled holders to settled status as possible, once they are eligible for it. 

During 2024, automated checks of some pre-settled status holders will take place to establish their continuous residency in the UK and lead to being granted settled status without making an application.

Your most frequently asked questions

We have compiled an FAQ document which covers questions about the automatic extension of pre-settled status by two years, including what happens after the two year extension, and automatic upgrades to settled status. 

There are still a lot of unknowns about the Home Office's plans for implementation, so we have highlighted the areas where we need more details in order to be able to provide a full answer.

Read the Q&A document

Our thanks go to Chris Benn from Seraphus for his time in reviewing this Q&A document.

Here are the top most important questions that have come up. Please consult the Q&A document if your question is not answered below:

I have pre-settled status, but should now be eligible for settled status. Can I still go ahead and make an application for settled status?

Yes, and we strongly encourage you to do so when you qualify. Usually people need five years of continuous residence to be eligible for settled status, but there are some limited situations where settled status can be obtained earlier.

What will happen at the end of the two year extension? Will people who still didn't apply for settled status get another two years extension?

We asked the Home Office whether there will be repeated two-year extensions of pre-settled status, but all we were told was that they will set out details in due course about what happens after the initial extension.

The point of the High Court judgment is that someone’s pre-settled status cannot expire if they continue to meet the requirements of the Withdrawal Agreement, and therefore the Home Office is under an obligation to honour this.

Will the two year extension count towards the qualifying residency period for settled status?

It is important to understand that the High Court judgment has not changed anything regarding the eligibility rules for settled status. Unless you are a joining family member, you will need to have five years’ continuous qualifying residence that started before 31 December 2020. Therefore if your continuous residence was broken at some point after 31 December 2020, this extension does not help to build up a qualifying residency period.

Please consult the Q&A document which also explains the circumstances in which the two year extension could count towards the qualifying residency period for settled status (exceptions for absences due to Covid-19 pandemic; cases of joining family members, and an absence prior to December 2020). 

Whose pre-settled status will be automatically upgraded to settled status?

If you did not supply a National Insurance (NI) number when you applied for pre-settled status, then we understand from the Home Office that you will not be considered for an automatic upgrade from pre-settled to settled status.

If you did supply a NI number, then your account should be periodically included in the check for automated upgrades. The Home Office will check your NI number against HMRC and DWP records, in the same way as they do when someone applies for status under the EU Settlement Scheme. See this GOV.UK page for more information on these automated checks.

If these checks return evidence of five years’ residence, then you should be offered an automatic upgrade to settled status without you needing to make an application.

If they do not, then nothing happens as a result. Not being automatically upgraded is not the same as the Home Office saying you have not been in the UK for five years, it is only that the records do not show that you have been here for five years. You would separately be able to make an application for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme when you can evidence five years’ residence. Furthermore, your pre-settled status should be extended by two years before it expires.

On the Government website about upgrading from pre-settled to settled status, it says “If you’re not eligible for settled status because you spent more than 6 months outside the UK in a 12-month period, you’ll keep your pre-settled status.” Does this mean I’ll keep my pre-settled status forever, even if I am not eligible for settled status?

The wording on this webpage causes a lot of confusion, and it is not clear what the legal meaning of it is. 

The Home Office has currently only committed to extending pre-settled status once, and we do not know whether there are any eligibility criteria attached to these automated extensions. 
On future repeated extensions the Home Office has only said they will set out details in due course. 

Therefore we do not know whether future extensions will be subjected to different eligibility criteria. Furthermore, the UK immigration rules state that those who leave the UK for more than two continuous years lose their UK immigration status. 

We would advise you to seek legal advice from a qualified immigration advisor.

Watch our webinar with immigration experts

On 2nd August 2023, we held a webinar with immigration experts, covering how these changes will affect people. 

We were joined by: 

  • Chris Benn - Immigration specialist with Seraphus Solicitors
  • Pam Everett - Director of Operational Delivery at the Independent Monitoring Authority
  • Rhys Davies - General Counsel at the Independent Monitoring Authority
  • Kezia Tobin - Head of Policy and Advocacy at the3million

Other resources

You can find more information through the following resources:

Upgrading from pre-settled to settled status

We strongly recommend that people apply for settled status as soon as they have 5 years of continuous residency, to secure proof of their rights. Make sure you start a new application, by proving your identity, even though you may have previously already done this when applying for pre-settled status. 

Problems applying for or proving status

If you have any issues applying for or proving your status, we recommend you do the following: 

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