EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS): Key Updates For Family Members

1. Overview of the Recent Changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

This article outlines changes to the EU Settlement Scheme that came into effect on 08 October 2024, as a result of the 10 September Statement of Changes (HC 217), focusing on changes to EUSS deadlines for joining family members.

2. Who Qualifies as a Joining Family Member Under the EUSS? (Simplified Definition)

Broadly, a joining family member is someone applying under the EU Settlement Scheme as a family member of an EEA national, where the EEA national has status under the EUSS based on their UK residence prior to 31 December 2020 (the end of the Brexit transition period), and where the joining family member was not themselves resident in the UK prior to 31 December 2020. The relevant relationship needs to have begun before 31 December 2020. (This is a simplified definition – someone who was resident in the UK prior to 31 December 2020 can apply as a joining family member in certain