Frequently Asked Questions
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Other rights under the Withdrawal Agreement
Other resources
Useful resources:
Your Europe: EU Nationals in the UK (contains lots of links to other guidance and q&a documents from the European Commission)
UK Government: ask a question about the EU Settlement Scheme
UK Government: COVID-19 guidance for the EU Settlement Scheme
UK Government policy paper on student finance eligibility for the 2021-2022 academic year
Immigration Assistance:
EU Settlement Resolution Centre - Webform: eu-settled-status-enquiries.service.gov.uk/start or call 0300 123 7379 between Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays), 8am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday, 9:30am to 4:30pm (See call charges)
Postcode finder - to find closest charity / voluntary organisation https://www.gov.uk/help-eu-settlement-scheme
Charity / community organisations - the Home Office has funded charity / voluntary organisations to assist vulnerable applicants with their EUSS applications for free, search on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-community-support-for-vulnerable-citizens
Identity Scanning Locations - search here for a list of Local Authority locations. (Note that some may still be closed due to COVID-19 so if you can’t use your mobile devices to scan your documents you may need to send your Identity documents by post)
Assisted Digital Service - call 03333 445 675 or text “VISA” to 07537 416 944
Settled is a charity providing free immigration advice to EU citizens. You can contact them here: http://settled.org.uk/contact
Here for Good, free advice for vulnerable EU citizens, see https://www.hereforgoodlaw.org/advisory
There are many organisations and individuals providing advice on citizenship. In the UK, all immigration advice is regulated, so please make sure you go to someone who is qualified to give you advice on this area of law. On the ILPA website, you can find a directory of members to find an immigration advisor near your area: https://ilpa.org.uk.
How secure is settled status?
We heard many EU citizens applying for British citizenship (see this FAQ for costs and benefits) for the reason they do not feel secure with settled status, or because they do not receive physical proof of their settled status. There can be changes to the legislation underpinning the EU Settlement Scheme, although these should not remove rights guaranteed by the Withdrawal Agreement. Settled status can also be lost if you are abroad for more than 5 years, for example. (See also this FAQ on settled status 5-year absences)
What work is left to advocate for on the EU Settlement Scheme?
Currently, the3million is focussing on campaigning for a legal safety bridge between the end of freedom of movement and the UK’s new immigration system. We are seeking clarification about what will happen to the EU citizens whom the Home Office failed to reach before the deadline. We are campaigning to get physical proof of status. We are also seeking to achieve residence-based voting rights for England and Northern Ireland, just as Scotland and Wales have done. You can read more about our campaign goals here: https://www.the3million.org.uk/goals
As part of our campaign for physical proof of status, we are collecting evidence of problems with digital status. If you have experienced any problems, or know someone else who has, please help us to help everyone by filling in our form at: https://www.the3million.org.uk/report-it
What is the situation on pensioners’ rights in the UK? Do you lose access to your pension because of absences?
Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement is all about citizens’ rights, and it is divided into different ‘Titles’.
Title II covers residence rights and conditions that the EU Settlement Scheme must comply with.
Title III is about social security coordination, and this includes pension rights, healthcare and social security rights.
Title III covers a wider range of people than Title II, as it includes citizens who are in a situation involving both the UK and one or more EU member states, whether now or in the past. Even if you have settled status now, and then leave the UK to go and live in an EU country for more than five years, you will still have UK pension rights protected.
This is a complex area - the European Commission Guidance Note provides examples of how people are covered.
The Government has also published staff guidance which gives many helpful examples.
What happens with my family reunification rights post-Brexit?
If you have settled or pre-settled status, you have family reunion rights, which means you will be able to be joined by certain EU or non-EU family members in the future. This includes your spouse or registered partner(as long as they were already your spouse or registered partner at the end of the transition period, 31 Dec 2020), your or your spouse/partner’s direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or dependants, and your or your spouse/partner’s direct relatives in the ascending line (parents, grandparents etc).
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. See https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/applying-for-settled-status.
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/eu-settlement-scheme-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 for pre-settled status or settled status before they travel to the UK.
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.
Note: if you are hoping to make use of your family reunification rights in the future, and you are thinking about applying for British citizenship, then you may wish to seek legal advice if you have gaps in your past where you should have had, but didn’t have, Comprehensive Sickness Insurance. Unfortunately there are some complex circumstances in the Immigration Rules in which naturalising as a British citizen may result in the loss of family reunification rights.
Also note that unmarried partners need to show that they have been in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years. These cases can become complex and the help of a legal adviser is recommended.
Are voting rights protected as part of the Withdrawal Agreement?
No. However, the Government has said that EU citizens who lived in the UK before 31 December 2020, and who have pre-settled or settled status, will retain their local election voting rights. For EU citizens who arrive after 1 January, local election voting rights are currently being negotiated bilaterally. The only agreements the UK has reached so far are with Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain and Poland. At the3million we are campaigning for residence based voting rights for all migrants with leave to remain, as Wales and Scotland have done.
You can read more about our campaign here: https://www.the3million.org.uk/our-home-our-vote
I have pre-settled / settled status. Will I be able to use an EHIC card when I visit other EU countries?
Yes, you and your family members (of any nationality including British), will be entitled to use an EHIC card since you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
A form of continuing reciprocal healthcare has been agreed with the EU. Current EHIC cards will remain valid until their expiry date. Those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (and their families) will be able to apply for a new EHIC card. Whereas others will be able to apply for a GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) when their current EHIC cards expire.
For more details, and to apply for an EHIC or GHIC, see here.
If you are traveling, and you need treatment but have been unable to obtain an EHIC or GHIC card, you can contact Overseas Healthcare Services.
The Government has published staff guidance which gives helpful examples of EHIC entitlement.
I am a British-EU dual national, will I be able to use an EHIC card when I visit other EU countries?
It depends on whether you exercised treaty rights before naturalising to become British. If you have, then you and your family members (of any nationality including British), will be entitled to use an EHIC card since you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
If you did not exercise treaty rights before naturalising to become British, you will still be able to use your existing EHIC card until it expires - after which you can apply for a GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card).
For more details, and to apply for an EHIC or GHIC, see here.
If you are traveling, and you need treatment but have been unable to obtain an EHIC or GHIC card, you can contact Overseas Healthcare Services.
The Government has published staff guidance which gives helpful examples of EHIC entitlement.
I have dual British-EU citizenship, so cannot apply for settled status. Am I covered by the Withdrawal Agreement as a dual national?
If you exercised free movement rights before naturalising as a British citizen, then you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. You will have family reunion rights and rights under social security coordination.
However if you never exercised free movement rights - for example you were born in the UK with both your British and your EU nationality, then you are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.
Helpful documents to explain this: European Commission Guidance Note, European Commission Q&A, UK Government guidance on social security coordination.
Would the requirement for employers to pay to hire European citizens apply in case of employees with settled/pre-settled status?
The requirement to apply for a work visa, and for your employer to have a sponsorship licence, only applies for new arrivals from 1 January 2021, so it will not affect EU citizens resident in the UK before this date. You can continue to work and change jobs freely if you have (pre-) settled status.
I already have ILR. Do I need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for settled status?
If you have proof of your ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), you do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
However, you will not be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement if you do not apply, which means you will lose your ILR after a 2-year absence from the UK. People with Settled Status on the other hand only lose their status after a 5-year absence from the UK. There are some other differences such as family reunion rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.
If you came to the UK before 1989, but you do not have ILR or have lost your evidence of ILR, then you and your children can choose to apply to the Windrush Scheme to get ILR - if you do not want to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
This page https://www.the3million.org.uk/windrush shows more details, and also contains a table of the difference in rights between ILR and Settled Status.
How can my non-EU family members join me in the UK?
If you are an EU citizen who holds pre-settled status or settled status (or is eligible to hold either status), you can be joined by your family members in the UK at any time in the future.
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. In many cases this will involve applying for an ‘EUSS family permit’ and then applying for pre-settled status once they have arrived in the UK. However, in some cases family members can apply directly for pre-settled status or settled status before they travel to the UK. More information on family permits can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/eu-settlement-scheme-family-permit