On the 21st of May 2024, the Home Office announced significant changes to the Immigration Rules affecting pre-settled status. Those holding pre-settled status will no longer lose their status after 2 years – this period will be extended to 5 years.
By the end of 2023, 5.7 million people had secured their UK residency through the EU Settlement Scheme. This includes 2 million with pre-settled status and 3.7 million with settled status. The recent changes to pre-settled status will allow many more individuals under the scheme to live, work and build a life in the UK with greater security.
The new changes reflect the Home Office’s practical implementation of the High Court judgment in the judicial review proceedings brought by the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA).
In Independent Monitoring Authority v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin), Mr Justice Lane ruled that a right of residence can only be lost in very specific circumstances, which do not include a loss of rights caused by failure to upgrade from pre-settled to settled status.
Following the High Court judgment, the Home Office preliminarily implemented new immigration rules on the EU settlement scheme in 2023 allowing those with pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme to have automatic extensions of 2 years prior to their visa expiry. These have now been replaced by the 5-year rule: ‘the Home Office will change the duration of pre-settled status extensions from 2 to 5 years.
The Home Office reinforced their position by introducing the further changes. They will remove the pre-settled status expiry date from the digital profiles shown to third parties such as employers, landlord and letting agents. Therefore, pre-settled status holders will no longer need to prove their right to work or rent online where they remain in their employment or as part of the tenancy agreement.
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