Accredited official statistics

How many people have been granted settlement via the EU Settlement Scheme?

Updated 13 June 2024

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1. How many people have been granted settlement via the EU Settlement Scheme?

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) enables EU, other European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by the end of the transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, as well as their family members, to obtain a UK immigration status. Further information about the EUSS can be found on the GOV.UK EU Settlement Scheme webpage.

There have been 7.9 million EUSS applications made since the scheme was launched. These applications relate to 6.3 million people (some people will have multiple applications). Of these, 5.7 million people had obtained a grant of status through the scheme (3.8 million settled status and 1.9 million pre-settled status).

Figure 1: EU Settlement Scheme: Total and cumulative number of applications received and concluded by quarter since the start of the scheme

Source: Table EUSS_MON, EU Settlement Scheme summary tables , year ending March 2024.

Figure 1 shows the number of applications were high at the start of the scheme, particularly Q3 (July to September) and Q4 (October to December) of 2019. There were further peaks between Q4 (October to December) 2020 and Q2 (April up to the 30 June 2021 deadline for those resident in the UK before the end of the EU exit transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020).

Applications since 30 June 2021 have continued at over 50,000 per month, see section 2.1 below.

2. Applications concluded

This section relates to the number of applications concluded, not the number of people receiving a conclusion. Some individuals may have submitted multiple applications, for example an initial application granting pre-settled status and a subsequent application to upgrade to settled status. Statistics on the number of people with settled status and pre-settled status can be found in Repeat applicants section.

7.8 million applications had been concluded up to 31 March 2024, of which 49% (3.8 million) were granted settled status, 36% (2.8 million) were granted pre-settled status and 14% had other outcomes (including 691,200 refused applications, 196,810 withdrawn or void applications, and 219,640 invalid applications).

Of the refusals, 99% were refused on eligibility grounds (issues with the application, such as providing no evidence of residence) and less than 1% were refused on suitability grounds (issues with the applicant, such as being subject to a deportation order). Full definitions of eligibility and suitability can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance.

2.1 Concluded applications by type, post 30 June 2021

The deadline for most people to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021. This deadline does not apply to people who already have pre-settled status and are applying for settled status.

Of the 1.8 million applications received from 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024, 1.7 million have been concluded by 31 March 2024.

Of the concluded applications:

• 587,130 were from late applicants (with 37% granted status). The number of late applications peaked in Q4 2022 (72,910), as of the latest quarter, Q1 2024 the number of late applications (33,520) has reduced to less than half the numbers reported at peak

• 708,720 were from repeat applicants (with 90% granted status)

• 414,450 were from joining family members (with 48% granted status)

• 12,700 were from derivative rights applicants (with 43% granted status)

Figure 2: EU Settlement Scheme: Concluded applications submitted after 30 June 2021, by type of application, 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024

Source: Table EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EU Settlement Scheme - summary tables, year ending March 2024

Applications concluded as invalid have increased since August 2023 following changes to the validity criteria. More information on the validity criteria is available in the Immigration Rules.

Of the 112,500 applications found to be invalid from 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024, 60,840 (54%) have been decided under the revised validity criteria, the large majority of which were late applications without reasonable grounds for delay. Table EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EU Settlement Scheme summary tables, year ending March 2024.

The number of repeat applications (96,760) in Q1 2024 was at the highest level since the scheme began. This reflects the increase in individuals moving from pre-settled to settled status. Many repeat applicants will be people initially granted pre-settled status who are subsequently applying for settled status, therefore the number of repeat applicants will to some extent reflect the number of people granted pre-settled status in earlier years.

3. Repeat applicants

Individuals who have made repeat applications to the EUSS are referred to as ‘Repeat applicants’ within this report. These include people moving from pre-settled to settled status, those granted pre-settled or settled status after another outcome and those to whom no status is granted EU Settlement Scheme, table 4 EUSS_RA_01. Where this report references ‘people’, this refers to individual applicants, including ‘repeat applicants’ and those who have made only one application. More information on details of repeat applications is provided in EU Settlement Scheme section of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

There have been 1.3 million repeat applications since the scheme opened, meaning an estimated 6.3 million people have applied to the scheme since it began in 2018 of which 79% made one application. It is estimated that a total of 5.8 million EEA nationals and 501,300 non-EEA national applicants had applied to the scheme.

Of the repeat applicant cohort, as of 31 March 2024:

• 88% (1.2 million) had received a grant of status

Of which:

• 62% (829,420) had moved from pre-settled to settled status

• 10% (130,070) were granted settled status following another outcome

• 17% (230,230) were granted pre-settled status following another outcome

Additionally, 11% (154,360) had received an outcome of refused, invalid, void or withdrawn, and less than 1% (2,550) were awaiting an outcome.

Figure 3: EU Settlement Scheme: Repeat applicants moving from pre-settled to settled status by month, 28 August 2018 to 31 March 2024

Source: Table EUSS_MON, EU Settlement Scheme summary tables, year ending March 2024

Figure 3 shows the number of applicants who have moved from pre-settled to settled status per quarter since the launch of the scheme. Overall, there has been an increase in the numbers of applicants moving from pre settled to settled status since the scheme began, with the latest quarter Q1 2024 having the largest number of applicants (82,790).

Figures on repeat applicants by nationality can be found in data Table EUSS_RA_01- EUSS_RA_04 see EU Settlement Scheme, EUSS_RA_01-04.

4. Applications based on a derivative right to reside

Derivative rights applicants are applicants who did not qualify for a right of residence under the Free Movement Directive but may have had a right to reside in the UK before the end of the transition period derived from other EU law. Derivative rights applicants can apply to the EUSS under one of the following routes:

• Chen
• Ibrahim and Teixeira
• Family Member of a British Citizen (Lounes and Surinder Singh)
• Zambrano

The Surinder Singh and Zambrano routes were closed to new applications at 11:59pm on 8 August 2023. More information on these routes and their eligibility requirements can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance.

Table 1: EU Settlement Scheme: Derivative Right to Reside applications by route and outcome type, 28 August 2018 to 31 March 2024

	Chen	Family Member of a British citizen	Ibrahim/Teixeira	Zambrano
Applications received	2,420	14,280	510	15,350
Applications concluded	2,350	13,960	480	15,000
of which
Settled	650	5,220	210	1,430
Pre-settled	1,090	7,130	120	860
Refused	520	1,120	130	11,950
Withdrawn or Void	70	270	20	410
Invalid	30	220	10	350

Source: Table EUSS_DR_01, EU Settlement Scheme summary tables, year ending March 2024.

Notes:

1. Lounes and Surinder Singh applications are recorded as Family Member of a British citizen in the statistics.

Table 1 shows that the number of refused Zambrano applications (11,950) accounted for 87% of total number of refusals for derivative rights applications (13,720).

5. Other related data

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permit enables family members of EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period (and who, with some exceptions, have pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS), and (where the application was made before 9 August 2023) of qualifying British citizens returning to the UK after living in the EEA or Switzerland, to join them in the UK. Once here the family member can then apply to the EUSS for the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK. Data on EUSS family permits are published within the Immigration System Statistics chapter ‘Why do people come to the UK? For family reasons’.

6. About these statistics

The findings presented here are based on data collected from Home Office administrative systems. These systems hold records of individual applications received to the EU Settlement Scheme and their outcomes (settled or pre-settled status, and other outcomes). As these are sourced from live operational systems, numbers may change and may not precisely reflect other published statistics produced at a different point in time. The majority of applicants to the scheme are EEA nationals, but non-EEA nationals are also eligible to apply in some cases. Non-EEA nationals who have submitted an application to the scheme are included in these statistics.

Due to developments in underlying systems, the number of applications from ‘Joining family members’ and ‘late applications’ from August 2023 up to December 2023 have been revised in this release. More information on these changes can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme section of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

The EU Settlement Scheme statistics were designated as ‘Official Statistics’ from May 2022. For more information, please see the EU settlement scheme data quality section of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

Figures in this publication refer specifically to flows of applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme, including repeat applications as people transition from pre-settled to settled status. These figures cannot be directly compared with estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. Figures in this report include non-EEA national family members, eligible EEA nationals not resident in the UK and some who may have subsequently left the UK. These are not usually included in estimates of the resident EU/EEA population, or the census where they are not in the UK. More information can be found at ‘Note on the difference between ONS population estimates by nationality and Home Office EU Settlement Scheme statistics’. Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.

6.1 Repeat applications

The data in this report account for the number of applications to the system, including individuals making applications on more than one occasion. An individual granted pre-settled status can make a new application at a later stage for settled status. As these are separate applications with separate outcomes, they are counted separately in the statistics. There are several case working systems used to administer applications to the scheme, with each application having a unique application number but not a single person identifier to distinguish repeat applicants.

Analysis using probabilistic data matching methods have been developed to better understand the number of repeat applicants to the scheme. This allows us to provide more accurate figures on the number of people who have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme overall, including their outcomes. More information regarding the methodology is provided in EU Settlement Scheme section of the Immigration system statistics user guide.

7. Data tables

Data on the EU Settlement Scheme for the period 28 August 2018 to 31 March 2024, is available in:

• EU Settlement Scheme - summary tables, year ending March 2024. Tables EUSS_01 to EUSS_05, EUSS_DR_01, EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EUSS_RA_01 to EUSS_RA_04, EUSS_MON, EUSS_Non_EEA_01 and EUSS_Non_EEA_02

• EU Settlement Scheme local authority - summary tables, year ending March 2024. Tables EUSS_LA_01 to EUSS_LA_03