Home Office announces more changes to pre-settled status

The Home Office has announced more changes incoming on pre-settled status:

The Home Office will change the duration of pre-settled status extensions from 2 to 5 years. The Home Office will also remove the pre-settled status expiry date from the digital profiles shown to third parties in the online checking services for Right to Work, Right to Rent and View and Prove.

Alongside this change, employers, landlords and letting agents will not be required to conduct a further right to work or rent check where the individual remains in their employment or as part of that tenancy agreement. 

One change takes place from today: holders of pre-settled status will no longer automatically lose their status because of residence abroad for two years. Instead, the period will be the same as for holders of settled status: five years normally, and four years for Swiss nationals and their family members.

However, it is worth noting that this change does not affect the absence requirements for pre-settled status holders. The Home Office may still cancel or curtail a person’s pre-settled status where they have not acquired the right of permanent residence and they have had too many absences from the UK: as a general rule, pre-settled status holders cannot be outside the UK for more than 6 months in any 12-month period unless it is for one of the limited reasons covered in the guidance.

The changes follow the case brought by the Independent Monitoring Authority on behalf of around two million affected EU citizens living in the UK with pre-settled status. The announcement today on the face of it looks to fall short of what a lot of us have understood to be the effect of the litigation behind this, which was to require upgrade of pre-settled status to full settled status. The IMA has also posted an article about the development. Other dates and further details to follow at some point.