Table Of Contents:
- Initial deadline to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme
- Who can still apply in 2026
- Applying for the EUSS in 2026 as a family member of a relevant EEA citizen
- Who cannot apply in 2026
- Summary
The EU Settlement Scheme was introduced to protect primarily the rights of relevant EEA citizens who were residing in the UK by 31 December 2020 and the family members of relevant EEA citizens who started residing in the UK by 31 December 2020 and have settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS. Eligible people who applied under the EUSS are first granted pre-settled status, and once they have spent 5 years continuously in the UK with this status, they can be eligible to apply for settled status under the EUSS.
The Home Office in 2026 is using your HMRC tax and benefits records to automatically convert your pre-settled status to settled status, where possible. You will be eligible for an automatic grant of EUSS – Settled status if you are an EEA/Swiss citizen who was resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 and your HMRC records show that you have lived in the UK for 5 years continuously and meet the relevant absence rules.
You can also apply for settled status rather than waiting for an automatic upgrade to settled status.
Initial deadline to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme?
The deadline for most EEA citizens to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021. You can still apply if the deadline for you to apply is after 30 June 2021, or you have ‘reasonable grounds’ to show why you are applying now, and not by the deadline or within the time since the deadline of 30 June 2022 passed.
If you already have EUSS – Pre-settled status, you can usually convert this status to settled status anytime once you have completed 5 years of continuous residence in the UK.
EEA Citizens applying under the EU Settlement Scheme – is it still possible in 2026?
Although the EU Settlement Scheme deadline of 30 June 2021 has long passed, the Home Office continues to accept late EUSS applications from EU, other EEA nations (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), and Swiss citizens who have reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.
The deadline of 30 June 2021 does not apply to those who already hold pre-settled status and are applying for settled status.
Who can still apply in 2026?
You can apply for the EUSS in 2026 as an EEA citizen if you started living in the UK before 31 December 2020 and you have not yet applied under the EUSS. However, since the deadline has passed, you must make a late application with reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.
Reasonable grounds may include, if:
• Your parent/guardian/local authority did not apply for you when you were a child, and you have only recently been made aware of the need to apply
• You have a serious medical condition/illness that prevented you from applying
• You lack the physical/mental capacity to apply
• You have significant, ongoing care/support needs
• You have been in an abusive/controlling relationship, or you have experienced domestic violence
• You came to the UK on a study or work visa and became eligible to apply to the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) while you were in the UK
• There is another compelling practical/compassionate reason
You must provide evidence of your reasonable grounds that explain the reason(s) you could not apply and cover the entire period since the deadline of 30 June 2021 passed, as well as why you could not apply by the deadline.
You can also still apply if you already hold pre-settled status under the EUSS and want to upgrade to settled status under this scheme after 5 years of continuous residence in the UK.
This is not considered a late application and remains fully open in 2026.
Applying for the EUSS in 2026 as a family member of a relevant EEA citizen
On the other hand, if you are joining a family member of someone from the EU, other EEA nations (Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein), or Switzerland, who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020, and has settled or pre-settled status, and you joined them in the UK on or after 1 April 2021 in the UK, your deadline to apply for the EUSS will be on the basis of when you first arrived in the country after 31 December 2020, as long as:
• Your relevant family member was residing in the UK by 31 December 2020
• You were, by 31 December 2020, their family member (this does not apply to children born or adopted later)
• The family relationship still exists on the date of your application.
You can apply depending on how you entered the UK.
If you entered the UK as a visitor, your deadline to apply for the EUSS is 90 days from the first date you arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.
If you did not enter the UK as a visitor, your deadline to apply for the EUSS is 90 days from the first date you arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020 or when your permission to be in the UK expires, whichever is later.
If your spouse or civil partner is a Swiss citizen
You could have applied as the spouse/civil partner of a Swiss citizen in the UK until 31 December 2025 if:
• Your relationship with them started after 31 December 2020 and by 31 December 2025; and• You are still in a relationship with them when you apply
Who cannot apply in 2026?
If you are an EEA citizen, you cannot apply for the EUSS in 2026 if:
• You moved to the UK after 31 December 2020
• You have no reasonable grounds for a late application
• You are trying to use EUSS as a new immigration route
Summary
In 2026, you can still apply to the EUSS as an EEA citizen only if you lived in the UK before 31 December 2020 and you either have a valid reason for applying late, or already hold EUSS- Pre-settled status and are upgrading it.
Although the EU Settlement Scheme remains legally open in 2026, in practice, it is highly restrictive, and late applications face strict scrutiny. Several applications are now rejected as invalid if no strong justification for the late application is provided.
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