Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why EU citizens with pre-settled status have to re-apply at the end of the five year period to obtain settled status; and what are the consequences of a failure to make the second application within time.

It has been the UK’s long-standing position that EU citizens and their family members granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme will have to apply for settled status before their pre-settled status expires in order to stay in the UK. This will ensure they have the immigration status, and secure evidence of this, which they will need to access their rights and entitlements in the UK for years to come.

Requiring an application for settled status enables us to confirm the person has fulfilled the requisite criteria and passes appropriate criminality and security checks. They will be reminded of the need to make an application before the expiry of their pre-settled status. We will also allow late applications where there are reasonable grounds for doing so.