EU Settlement Scheme: evidence of UK residence
How to provide evidence of your UK residence if we can’t confirm this through an automated check of UK tax and some benefits records.
You can provide your National Insurance number during your application to help us confirm your UK residence using an automated check.
If you do not agree with the result of this check, you should upload further evidence of your UK residence to your application. These should be photos or scans of documents – please do not post them.
Submitting documents as evidence of residence
When you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme you will not need to provide evidence for your entire UK residence – just enough to show whether you qualify for settled or pre-settled status.
You can upload a maximum of 10 documents to show evidence of UK residence. Each document must be no more than 6MB in size. We’ll contact you if we need further information.
You’ll need to provide a document to show that you were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, unless you’re joining a family member in the UK after that date.
For pre-settled status, you’ll also need to provide a document dated in the last 6 months to show that you have not broken your continuous residence.
If you’re applying as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or of a person of Northern Ireland, you’ll need to show they started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 unless your family member is a ‘specified relevant person of Northern Ireland’.
All the documents you submit as evidence of your UK residence must be dated and have your name on them.
You only need to provide one piece of evidence to cover each month or longer period of time.
Use documents that cover longer periods of time if you can, such as annual bank statements, council tax bills or university letters and certificates. This means you will not need to submit as many documents.
A document with a single date on will count as proof of residence for that month only, for example a monthly electricity bill, an official letter or a GP appointment card.
The examples below of the types of evidence you can provide are not exhaustive. We may consider other forms of evidence on a case-by-case basis.
Evidence that covers longer periods of time
Documents that cover a longer period of time between 2 dates include:
- annual bank statement or account summary, showing 6 months of payments received or spending in the UK in a 12-month period
- a dated and signed employer letter confirming the duration of a period of UK based employment undertaken and evidence that the employer is genuine, for example, their Companies House number
- a dated and addressed council tax bill
- letter or certificate from your school, college, university or other accredited educational or training organisation showing the dates you enrolled, attended and completed your course
- invoice for fees from your school, college, university or other accredited educational or training organisation and evidence of payment
- document showing a UK address from a student finance body in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland or from the Student Loans Company
- residential mortgage statement or rental agreement and evidence of payment
- a dated and signed letter from a registered care home confirming your residence there
- employer pension contributions
- annual business account of a self-employed person
- a P60 for a 12-month period – your P60 shows the tax you’ve paid on your salary in the tax year (6 April to 5 April). We may ask you for additional evidence to confirm that you were resident here for at least 6 months of that period.
- a P45 showing the length of your previous employment. You should get a P45 from your employer when you stop working for them.
Evidence that covers shorter periods of time
These documents count as evidence for one month if they have a single date on them. They can be used to cover a longer period of time if they have a start and end date covering longer than a month.
- bank statement showing payments received or spending in the UK
- payslip for a UK-based job
- water, gas or electricity bill showing a UK address
- landline or mobile telephone, TV or internet bill showing a UK address
- domestic bill, such as for home repairs, vet’s services or insurance, and evidence of payment
- card or letter from your GP, hospital or other healthcare professional confirming appointments you have made or attended
- letter from a government department, public service or charity that show you dealt with them on a particular date or for a particular period (for example Job Centre Plus or Citizens Advice)
- passport stamp confirming entry at the UK border
- used travel ticket confirming you entered the UK from another country
- invoice for work you have done in the UK and evidence of payment
Documents you cannot use as evidence
The documents you use should be from an official or impartial source.
You cannot use:
- photos and videos
- letters or references from family and friends
- greeting cards, for example birthday cards
- postcards sent or received
- personal scrapbooks
If you do not have enough evidence
If you do not have enough evidence in your own name, we’ll work with you to confirm when you’ve been resident in the UK based on all the evidence available.
Updates to this page
Last updated 20 September 2022 + show all updates
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Updated section on evidence which covers a longer period of time.
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Updated guidance to reflect changes in relation to the end of the Grace Period.
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Updated to clarify you'll need to provide one document to show that you were resident in the UK before 31 December 2020.
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Added information for if you’re applying as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.
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Added link to the application start page
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Updated to add link to the automated check page
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Added information about the number of documents that can be submitted and the maximum file size of each document
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The pilot is now closed.
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Updated to define P45s and P60s
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Updated evidence of residence lists, added guidance on what to do if you do not have enough evidence in your own name
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First published.