FAQ

I saw that the IMA won a court case against the Home Office which says the EU Settlement Scheme is unlawful. I’ve been absent from the UK for too long - does this now mean I can still get settled status after all?

No.

The judgment is about those pre-settled status holders who lose rights only because they do not make a second application to the EU Settlement Scheme before their pre-settled status expires. The Withdrawal Agreement only allows loss of status in certain circumstances, and a failure to make another application is not one of those circumstances.

However, the Withdrawal Agreement does allow for loss of rights for other reasons - for example by breaking continuous residence or for criminal conduct. This means that some pre-settled status holders who have been absent from the UK for a long time will lose eventually their status, or their ability to gain settled status. 

We have created a Q&A document, with a detailed list of questions that will hopefully answer questions you may have. The document is available here.

Note, that some longer absences from the UK don’t necessarily break continuous residence. If this may apply to you, we recommend you seek immigration advice - see https://www.the3million.org.uk/useful-links for organisations who can give legal advice.

For more details on the case, see our FAQ ‘I saw that the IMA won a court case against the Home Office about pre-settled status holders. What are the consequences of this case?’