EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS): Excessive Absences Rule Change- Changes To The Continuous Qualifying Period Definition

The EU Settlement Scheme EUSS enables EU, other European Economic Area and Swiss citizens living in the UK before the end of the post-EU exit transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, and their family members, to obtain the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK.

In our previous blogs on EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) we discussed recent Home Office updates on the EUSS Scheme announced on 17^th July 2023. After the High Court ruling in late 2022 there was pressure on the Home Office to announce their amendments to the EUSS rules in order to implement the judgement.

The Home Office has updated its immigration rules Appendix EU and EU Settlement Scheme Guidance, published on 9^th August 2023 when the new amendments started to apply. However, those updates were quite generic and lacked clarity on important points. So, we did not know what would happen to those pre-settled status holders who broke their continuity of residence.