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  • FAQ

    Last updated: January 3rd, 2024

    Can members of my family join me in the UK?

    If you are an EEA or Swiss citizen who holds pre-settled status or settled status and who moved to the UK before 31 December 2020, you can be joined by your family members in the UK at any time in the future (family reunion).

    This includes:

    • Your spouse, civil partner or durable partner (as long as they were already your spouse or partner at the end of the transition period, 31 Dec 2020)
    • Your spouse or civil partner (if you are a Swiss citizen, and they are your spouse or civil partner before 31 Dec 2025)
    • Your or your spouse/partner’s children under the age of 21
    • Your or your spouse/partner’s direct descendants dependent relatives (children, grandchildren etc)
    • Your or your spouse/partner’s direct ascendant dependent relatives (parents, grandparents etc).


    If you are a British and/or Irish citizen and were born in Northern Ireland, you may also potentially be able to sponsor dependent extended family members. We recommend you seek legal advice if you think this might apply to you.

    Article 10 of the Withdrawal Agreement has a list of eligible family members who can apply to join you in the UK. From 1 January 2021, family members who want to join you in the UK must apply to enter the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme. This can be done in two ways - applying for a family permit before you come to the UK, or apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from outside the UK. 

    Please see our note about circumstances where the EU Settlement Scheme may not be suitable or where the sponsor has an outstanding status decision here 

    Applying for a family permit

    Your family member can apply for an EUSS family permit online. When they have been granted their family permit, they can travel to the UK to join you. Once in the UK, they will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme within three months of arrival.

    More information on family permits can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

    Applying from outside the UK

    Citizens with EEA/Swiss passports/national identity cards with biometric chips, or citizens from other countries with valid UK-issued biometric cards can apply directly to the EU Settlement Scheme before they travel to the UK. (See https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/applying-for-settled-status)

    They will have to wait until their (pre-)settled status is granted before they can move to live in the UK with you. See https://www.the3million.org.uk/rights-enter-uk for more information.

    Family members of EU citizens who are granted a status under the EU Settlement Scheme do not automatically have the same status as their relatives. If the family member has been living in the UK with the EU citizen, then they might get settled status if the EU citizen is granted this status. If the family member is joining the EU citizen in the UK, then they will be granted pre-settled status.

    Note: Durable partners need to show that their relationship to the EU citizen began before the 31st December 2020 and must show evidence of this relationship which can include a family permit, a residence card, or other evidence showing that the relationship has been durable. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-evidence-of-relationship-to-an-eu-citizen. Durable partner cases can become complex and the help of a legal adviser is recommended. 

    See also this useful explanatory article on durable partners at FreeMovement.

    For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/eligibility and https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/join-EU-EEA-Swiss-family-member.

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