10 Mar What happens if you break your EUSS residence?

For a “relevant” EEA citizen or a family member (FM) of an EEA national with pre-settled status, a continuous qualifying period of residence leading to settlement will not be broken if said applicant is residing in the UK and is not absent for more than 6 months in total (the latter can be a single period of absence or several trips) in any rolling 12-months period of the relevant 5 years period.

It is important to note that there are some exceptions for instance in the case when a single period of absence of more than 6 months but less 12 months is related to pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas posting, or is due to compulsory military service and/or a period of posting on Crown service’s duties when accompanying a British partner/spouse.

What if you broke the ‘continuous qualifying period’ rule under EUSS?

If an EEA national or FM of EEA were to hold pre-Settled status but incurred an absence of more than 6 months, they would still be able to apply for an extension in order to meet the 5 years’ continuous residence requirement if they had returned to the UK before 31 December 2020.  In this case, the individual would be allowed submit an extension application before their current Pre-Settled status were to expire.

However, if the migrant held pre-settled status and returned to the UK after 31 December 2020, they would not be able to apply for a pre-settled status extension and as a result, would need to apply for permission to remain in the UK under other routes, or leave the country once their current status expires.

Settled status is only lost after a continuous 5 years absence, while pre-settled status is cancelled by a continuous 2 years absence.

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