You may be able to apply if:

• you’re a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the family member of a British citizen and you lived outside the UK in an EEA country together
• you’re the family member of a British citizen who also has EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship and who lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or the child’s primary carer

If you’re a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

You can apply if you’re in a relationship with an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen as their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner.

You can also apply if you’re related to an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, their spouse or civil partner as their:

• child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
• dependent child over the age of 21
• dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
• dependent relative

Your EU, EEA or Swiss family member will usually need to apply as well.

You can apply if you’re the family member of an Irish citizen, even though they do not need to.

If you’re eligible because you’re the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you can apply using the online service.

If your family member is a British citizen (‘Surinder Singh’ applications)

You may be eligible if you lived outside the UK in an EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) with your family member.

You must have lived in the EU or EEA country (or Switzerland) with them before the UK leaves the EU, and be:

• married to or in a civil partnership with them
• under 21 years old, and are their child or grandchild
• 21 years or older, and are their dependent child or grandchild
• their dependent parent or grandparent

The country that you lived in together must have been your main residence. Your British family member must also have been working, studying or self-sufficient in the country while there.

You cannot use the online service to apply if this is how you qualify for the scheme.

You can call our office to find out how to apply

If you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK

You may be able to apply if you used to have a family member living in the UK. This is called a ‘retained right of residence’.

If you’re eligible because you have retained rights of residence, you can apply using the online service.

If you’re in education in the UK

You can apply if you’re in education in the UK and one of the following is true:

• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died
• one of your parents is the spouse or civil partner of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died
• one of your parents was previously the spouse or civil partner of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has left the UK or died

If you qualify through any of these circumstances, your parent is also eligible, providing they have custody of you.

If your family member has died

You can also apply if your family member has died, and you lived continuously in the UK as their family member for at least one year immediately before their death.

If you were previously married or in a civil partnership

You can also apply if your marriage or civil partnership to an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen ended with a divorce, annulment or dissolution, and you lived in the UK when it ended.

One of the following must also apply:

• the marriage or civil partnership lasted for at least 3 years and you’d both been living in the UK for at least one year during that time
• you have custody of the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen’s child
• you have been given right of access in the UK to the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen’s child – the child must be under 18
• you have the right to live in the UK because you were the victim of domestic abuse in the marriage or civil partnership

If you’re the ‘primary carer’ of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

You may be able to apply if you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in the UK. Any dependent children you have may also be able to apply.

To be someone’s primary carer, you must be both:

• responsible for their day to day care, including making decisions about their education, health, and finances
• a family member or their legal guardian

You can share these responsibilities with someone else.

You cannot use the online service to apply if this is how you qualify for the scheme.

You can call our office to find out how to apply

If you’re the primary carer of an adult

You can apply if you’re the primary carer of a dependent adult who is a British citizen.

If you’re the primary carer of a child

You can apply if you’re the primary carer of a British child, or an EU, EEA or Swiss child who is financially independent.

You can also apply if you’re the primary carer of an EU, EEA or Swiss child who:

• is in education in the UK
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has worked in the UK when the child has lived in the UK
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has lived in the UK when the child has been in education
• has an EU, EEA or Swiss parent who has stopped working in the UK, or left the UK

What you’ll need to apply

You’ll need to provide proof of your relationship to your EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member – for example, a birth, marriage or civil partnership certificate, or a residence card. You can scan and submit this through the online application form.

If you apply before your family member, you’ll also need to provide evidence of their identity and residence.

If you do not have a biometric residence card, you’ll be asked to make an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point to provide your biometric information (your fingerprints and a photo, or a photo if you’re under 5) when you apply.

When you need to provide more evidence

In some cases, you’ll also need to provide the same documents as you would for a residence card application.

Check which documents you’d provide for a residence card application if:

• your family member is a British citizen and you lived together in an EU or EEA country that is not the UK, or in Switzerland – known as a ‘Surinder Singh’ application
• your family member is both a British citizen and an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, and lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK – known as a ‘retained rights of residence’ application
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or their primary carer

When to apply

The scheme is open now. The deadline for applying is 30 June 2021, except for in a few cases.

You’ll probably get a decision more quickly if you apply at the same time or after your family member applies.

Your family member will be given an application number when they apply. You can use this to ‘link’ your application to theirs, so that your applications are considered together.

If you’re the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who has died

You might be eligible for settled status before you’ve been living in the UK for 5 years.

Your family member must have been working or self-employed in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man at the time of their death. You must also have been living with them just before their death and either:

• they lived continuously in the UK the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least 2 years before their death
• their death was the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease

If you’re overseas and a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in the UK

If the UK leaves the EU with a deal the deadline for you to join your family member in the UK is 31 December 2020 (or 31 December 2025 if you’re the spouse or civil partner of a Swiss national).

If you’re not living in the UK by the deadline, you’ll still be able to apply if all of the following are true:

• your family member has either settled or pre-settled status
• your relationship began before 31 December 2020 (or 31 December 2025 for spouses and civil partners of Swiss nationals)
• you remain a close family member, for example a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, a dependent child or grandchild, or a dependent parent or grandparent

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal the deadline for you to join your EU national family member in the UK is 29 March 2022.

If you‘re the close family member of a national from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland who is living in the UK, there’s no deadline for when you can join them if both:

• your relationship began before the UK left the EU
• you’re still in a relationship when you apply

If your family member is a British citizen (‘Surinder Singh’ applications)

You must be living in the UK and apply by 29 March 2022.