FAQ

I have settled status but left the UK. How long can I be away without losing my status?

With settled status, you have a five-year absence allowance (four years if you are Swiss), so as long as you come back within those five years, even for a brief period of time, you can ‘reset the clock’ on your settled status.

This GOV.UK EU Settlement Scheme webpage sets out that entering the UK for any amount of time will reset the clock:

"If you have settled status, you can spend up to 5 years in a row outside the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man without losing your status.

If you enter the UK for any amount of time during that 5 years, you’ll then be able to spend up to 5 more years outside the UK.

If you’re a Swiss citizen, you and your family members can spend up to 4 years in a row outside the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man without losing your settled status. Your family members do not have to be Swiss citizens. If you enter the UK for any amount of time during that 4 years, you’ll then be able to spend up to 4 more years outside the UK."

Obviously careful evidence must be retained of returning back to the UK, so that you can demonstrate you were never out of the UK for more than a continuous five years (or four years if you are Swiss). It would be recommended to carry this evidence with you if entering the UK again at a later date, to be able to demonstrate that you had reset the clock if challenged by Border Force officials (see the sections on lapsed leave in the EU Settlement Scheme: Border Force guidance. 

More information on how absences affect your status can be found here: https://www.the3million.org.uk/absence-calculator