A UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) announcement confirms that from September 2023 two-year extensions will automatically be granted to anyone who has not obtained settled status. The announcement also outlines that at some point in 2024 those with pre-settled settled status will start to be automatically given settled status if automated checks of HMRC records indicate that they qualify. It is yet unclear whether those receiving a 2-year extension will eventually be able to further extend their permission.

More details about the announcement

If you enter the UK on or after this date you will need a visa to study with us. This will either be a:

• Student visa
• Standard Visitor visa
• Short-term Study visa

Based on your course, the University will advise you which visa you will need and provide you with any necessary documents relating to your studies, required for the visa application.

Key Points

Entering the UK using the ePassport gates
If you enter the UK using the ePassport gate and have no other entry clearance visa at the time, you will have automatically entered with a standard visitor visa and will have no endorsement in your passport. We would strongly advise you to check with us before you do this, as there may be restrictions on what you can study. For example it is not designed for studying courses longer than 6 months in length. For more information please read our Standard Visit visa section. As switching visa category or extending it is not permitted, you may have no option but to leave the UK again and travel back once you have the correct visa.

Updating your details and proving your status (for settled or pre-settled status)
If your application is successful you will receive a letter by email confirming your settled or pre-settled status. However, the letter cannot be used to prove your status. Instead, you will be able to view and prove your status to someone else online as no other documents will be issued.

The online service will allow you to do a number of things such as:

• Get a share code
• Update personal details such as your email address or details on a passport
• Checking your rights while in the UK including right to work, rent, claim benefits etc.

To access the service online for viewing or proving your immigration status you will need the proof of identity you used to apply (e.g. passport, national identity card, BRP), your date of birth, access to the mobile number/email address you used to apply. This is so you can receive a code allowing you to log in.

For further details see GOV.UK - view and prove your immigration status

If you arrived in the UK on or before this date, you will need to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme. The application is free of charge (if you already applied during the pilot you can request a refund of the £65 you paid).

You do not have to apply immediately, however it is best to do so as soon as possible. The deadline to apply by is 30 June 2021.

Once you apply you will be granted either pre-settled status or settled status. You cannot choose your status. It will depend on how long you have lived in the UK when you make the application and the supporting evidence you are able to provide.

• Pre-settled status: If you have been in the UK for less than 5 years, you will be given pre-settled status. It is valid for 5 years from the date you get your status, at the end of which you will be able to change this to settled status (equivalent to indefinite leave). You will need to apply before your pre-settled status expires. You must continue to maintain your pre-settled status otherwise you will not qualify for settled status.
• Settled status: If you have had ‘continuous residence’ for a minimum of 5 years, you will be granted settled status. You will be able to live in the UK for as long as you like. After 12 months you may be eligible to apply for British citizenship if you wish to do so.

Completing the application form

The Government website includes various sources to help with completing the application form.

• EU Settlement Resolution Centre: For questions about your application call 0300 123 7379
• Ask questions via this form: GOV.UK - ask a question about applying for settled status
• Other methods of help are outlined in EU Settlement Scheme [PDF]

For more information see GOV.UK - Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)

Rights for pre-settled and settled status holders

Once you receive pre-settled or settled status, you will be able to:

• work in the UK
• use the NHS for free, (if applicable)
• study (with no restriction on the type of course)
• access public funds (if applicable)
• travel to and from the UK

Key Points

‘Continuous residence’
This term refers to being in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 5 consecutive years. During those 5 years you have been in the UK for a minimum of 6 months in any 12 month period. The only exception to this is

• Being away for one period of 12 months for an important reason (examples include, childbirth, serious illness).
• Compulsory military training.
• Time spent abroad in the armed forces, or as a family member of someone in the armed forces.

Absences from the UK owing to COVID-19:
The UK Visas & Immigration guidance states:

If you are a student who was studying in the UK and are studying outside the UK because of coronavirus, that absence will not cause you to break your continuous qualifying period, where it is for a single period of more than 6 months but not more than 12 months, during your 5-year continuous qualifying period.

If this applies to your circumstances and you plan to apply for settled status in the future, you should note that only a single absence of more than 6 months but less than 12 months for an ‘important reason’ is permitted during the 5 year continuous qualifying period. More than one such absence will break your continuous qualifying period regardless of the reason for it.

Please note if you think you are likely to reach 5 years’ continuous residence before the EU Settlement Scheme closes on 30 June 2021, you can wait to reach the 5 years’ continuous residence before you apply. You may be issued settled status instead of pre-settled status first.

Even if you do not have long term plans to remain in the UK you should apply under the EU Settlement Scheme so that you can remain in the UK until the end of your course. Otherwise you will need to obtain a visa under a different immigration category. If the main reason for being in the UK is for study, it will mean, applying for a student visa.

The new rules for EU,EEA and Swiss nationals does NOT apply to Irish nationals. This is because under the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement Irish nationals can move freely and live in the UK without the need to apply for any visa documents.

The rights Irish nationals have includes study, work and access to health services in the UK. There are limited exclusions to this such as if a person has a deportation order, exclusion decision or an international travel ban. If any of these apply you will need to apply for permission to come to the UK.

Permanent residence & Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain
If you have permanent residence and want to remain in the UK beyond 30 June 2021 you will need to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme or for Citizenship. The requirements you will need to meet will be slightly different. For example, you will not need to prove 5 years’ continuous residence.

If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain you can continue to live in the UK without applying under the EU Settlement Scheme, however you may wish to consider applying. The main benefit in doing so would be that you would get indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme (also called settled status). This would then allow you to spend up to 5 consecutive years outside the UK without losing your settled status. With indefinite leave to enter or remain you can only leave the UK for 2 consecutive years.

Please note, the only exceptions to this is for Swiss nationals and their family members. The maximum period they can be outside of the UK is 4 consecutive years.

To apply under the EU Settlement Scheme the process you follow will be different. If you are not sure whether you have permanent residence or indefinite leave to enter or remain please read on.

If you have a valid ‘UK permanent residence document’ you will have:

• a certificate inside your blue ‘residence documentation’ booklet (or pink if you’re a Swiss national) OR
• a certificate inside your passport OR
• a biometric residence card confirming permanent residence (only if you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen)

Please note if your document has ‘registration certificate’ on it then it is not a permanent residence document. For anyone from the EU, EEA or Switzerland the document will have ‘Document Certifying Permanent Residence’ written on it. For everyone else it will state ‘Permanent Residence Status’.

If you have indefinite leave to enter or remain you will have one of the following:

• a stamp in your passport
• a letter from the Home Office
• a ‘vignette’ (sticker) or a biometric residence permit