EU Settlement Scheme

Prior to Brexit, European Economic Area (EEA)/Swiss citizens (termed ‘EEA citizens’ for these purposes) and their family members benefited from EU free movement rights, which were primarily implemented in the UK by the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (the EEA Regs 2016), SI 2016/1052. In line with the Withdrawal Agreement reached between the EU and the UK on 17 October 2019, and the equivalent agreements reached with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and Switzerland, these Regulations continued to apply in full throughout the transition period that applied immediately after the UK left the EU (ie between 1 February 2020 and 11 pm on 31 December 2020).

For details of the legal mechanisms for which effected the end of free movement, see Practice Note: Brexit and the end of EU free movement law in the UK. All EEA citizens arriving in the UK from that time (who are not otherwise in scope of the EU Settlement Scheme) have been subject to the new ‘single’ post-Brexit immigration system.

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) was introduced as a new immigration route under the Immigration Rules that allows