Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the differences are between the proposed settled status for EU nationals after the UK leaves the EU and the current status of EU citizens who obtained indefinite leave to remain before the UK joined the EU.

EU citizens and their family members who obtain settled status under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) will be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). This status will provide the holder with the same rights and access to benefits, education and healthcare as those who obtained it under the Immigration Rules before the UK joined the EU

In addition, the UK and the European Commission have agreed that those granted settled status under the WA will also benefit from certain more favourable entitlements including, for example, that ILR will not lapse unless the holder has been continuously absent from the UK for over five years, as opposed to two years; and more generous provisions relating to future family reunification.

Further details of the agreement with the European Commission can be found in ‘Joint report on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union’ published on 8 December 2017, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joint-report-on-progress-during-phase-1-of-negotiations-under-article-50-teu-on-the-uks-orderly-withdrawal-from-the-eu.