What is the difference between Permanent Residence and settled status?

Brexit. A term that is currently riddled with uncertainty. There are many questions about the difference between Permanent Residence (PR) and Settled status in a post-Brexit Britain. Therefore, this article will seek to answer some of those questions.

What is PR and settled status?

PR – Under the current Regulations, an EU national who has been residing in the UK as a ‘qualifying person’ (usually by working and/or studying) continuously for at least 5 years will have PR status in the UK. To evidence this, they can apply for a document that certifies this status.

Settled status – In preparation for Brexit, the Home Office has introduced the EU Settlement Scheme for EU nationals (and their family members) to secure their right to reside in the UK post Brexit. Under Appendix EU of the Immigration Rules, a person will be granted settled status if they have resided in the UK for at least 5 continuous years.

How do I acquire PR or Settled status?

PR is acquired automatically after residing in the UK for 5 years. However, it should be noted that in order to apply for naturalisation, you are required to apply for a document that certifies your PR.

Settled status is not acquired automatically. You must make an application under the EU Settlement Scheme. If you fail to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme, you will lose your right to reside in a post-Brexit UK.

When are you granted PR or settled status?

You are granted PR retrospectively, meaning that the date upon which your PR is granted is the date at which you completed five years of continuous residence in the UK, not the date on which the decision was made.

The date of the decision to afford you settled status is the date at which it is granted.

How do I evidence PR or settled status?

You can evidence your PR status, through a physical document which will be issued to you once your application is granted.

You can prove that you have settled status in the form of an electronic ‘Unique Application Number’. This is a 16-digit number issued by the Home Office to confirm that you have been granted settled status.

When am I eligible for naturalisation?

You must have held a PR document for at least one year to be eligible for naturalisation. However, this does not apply if you are married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, in which case you can apply immediately upon being granted a PR document.

You must have held settled status for at least one year to be eligible for naturalisation. However, as with PR, you do not need to wait if you are married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen.