There has been welcome news from the Home Office today, which has announced that the “continuous residence” requirements for pre-settled status holders now wishing to apply for settled status will be simplified from 16 July 2025.
The current requirement is that those with pre-settled status must prove that they have not been out of the UK for more than 180 days in any rolling 12 month period since they first lived here.
From 16 July, the rule will be much more straightforward. Settled status will be granted to holders of pre-settled status who have been residents in the UK for at least 30 months in total in the most recent 60-month period prior to the date of application, or to the Home Office considering whether to grant under their automated process (provided they continue to meet all other eligibility requirements).
This will be particularly good news for people who previously had issues with long absences, for example resulting from the Covid pandemic, or for what the Home Office deemed to be another “important reason”. It will also reduce the evidential burden on applicants who have not, for example, been continuously employed while they have been in the UK and who have to find other ways to prove their residence.
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