The UK Home Office has introduced a significant and welcome change for many European citizens living in the UK: as of 16 July 2025, the rules on “continuous residence”, one of the key criteria for obtaining settled status (the right to remain in the UK permanently), have been relaxed.
The change applies to those who already hold pre-settled status, the temporary residence status granted to citizens of the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who arrived in the UK before 31 December 2020, prior to Brexit.
Previously, applicants had to prove that they had lived in the UK without significant absences for a continuous period of five years, meaning no more than six months abroad in any rolling 12-month period, except for limited exceptions. Proving this often required detailed and sometimes difficult-to-obtain documentation, and the rolling nature of the calculation, not linked to calendar years, financial years or counting 12 months back from the date of the application, led to confusion and unintentional breaches.
As of 16 July 2025, this requirement has changed. It should now sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant has resided in the UK for a total of 30 months (two and a half years) in the last five years, even if that residence was intermittent, and included periods spent abroad.
This major shift addresses one of the most criticised aspects of the previous rules namely, the harsh consequences for people who temporarily left the UK for study, work, family reasons, or during the Covid-19 pandemic, and then lost eligibility for settled status due to exceeding the absence limits.
The new rule applies both to:
- Those with pre-settled status who submit an application for settled status, and
- Those included in the automatic upgrade process launched by the UKVI in January 2025, through which pre-settled status is converted into settled status without a new application, provided that Home Office checks with HMRC confirm sufficient UK residence.
It is important to note that this change applies only to people who already hold pre-settled status. It does not apply to individuals applying to the EU Settlement Scheme for the first time, i.e. late applicants.
Holders of pre-settled status who previously received a refusal based on continuous residence, may consider it is not worth reassessing their circumstances under the new criteria. In many cases, it may be possible to reapply or appeal (subject to time limitations), particularly if one can provide evidence showing a total of 30 months’ presence in the UK.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to retain and organise documentation such as bank statements showing UK transactions, payslips, utility bills, or tax records to support their application.
With this change, the UK government aims to resolve one of the most unclear and punitive aspects of the post-Brexit settlement scheme and to offer greater security and stability to EU citizens who have made the UK their home. However, it remains to be seen whether similar flexibility will be extended to late applicants or individuals without pre-settled status.
