Introduction
On 24 June 2025, the Home Office laid before Parliament Statement of Changes HC 836, introducing a transformative amendment to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). This development marks a significant evolution in how the Home Office interprets and applies the concept of “continuous qualifying residence” for pre-settled status holders seeking settled status. The changes are set to come into force on 16 July 2025.
Previous Legal Framework and Challenges
Historically, under Appendix EU, individuals holding pre-settled status were required to demonstrate continuous residence in the United Kingdom for five years to become eligible for settled status. Continuity was defined with precision: applicants must not have been absent from the UK for more than six months in any rolling twelve-month period, save for a single absence of up to twelve months for an “important reason” such as pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training, or an overseas posting. Any breach of this rule risked breaking the continuous residence period and could thereby prevent progression to settled status.
This rigid formulation has long drawn criticism from legal practitioners, migrant rights organisations, and the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA). It has been widely acknowledged that the rule failed to account for the complexity of modern migration patterns and the realities of transnational life. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inherent inflexibility of the rule, with many individuals stranded abroad or forced to prioritise family responsibilities, thus breaching the permitted absence thresholds through no fault of their own.
The 2025 Amendment: A Cumulative Residence Test
Statement of Changes HC 836 responds directly to these challenges. From 16 July 2025, the new rule dispenses with the six-month rolling absence limit and replaces it with a cumulative test: applicants must now demonstrate that they have been physically present in the United Kingdom for at least thirty months out of the most recent sixty-month period. This revised test for continuity will apply to both individuals applying for settled status manually and those automatically upgraded through the Home Office’s automation process, as confirmed in paragraphs 5.15 and 5.16 of the Explanatory Memorandum to HC 836.
Policy Rationale and Treaty Compliance
The policy rationale underpinning this change appears to be twofold. First, it introduces a more flexible and realistic metric of residence, one that better accommodates the varied and often disrupted patterns of movement experienced by many EUSS participants. Second, it ensures greater compliance with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement, which guarantees residence rights to qualifying EU citizens and their family members and prohibits overly restrictive conditions that might undermine those rights.
Implications for Applicants
The shift to a cumulative presence model will have profound implications. It will allow applicants who were previously ineligible due to absences to re-enter the settlement pathway. For example, an applicant who spent two years outside the UK caring for a relative abroad, but who was otherwise resident in the UK for three years, would now meet the thirty-month threshold and become eligible for settled status. Similarly, individuals who work in industries requiring periods of travel or cross-border flexibility will benefit from this more accommodating approach.
Crucially, this change also reopens the door for those who were refused settled status solely on the grounds of absences. Depending on their circumstances, these individuals may now be able to request a reconsideration, submit a fresh application, or pursue an appeal if still within time. It is likely that this revision will lead to a wave of renewed applications and queries, particularly among applicants who were previously deemed non-compliant with the continuous residence requirement.
Professional Considerations and Evidentiary Strategies
For legal advisers and regulated representatives, this amendment invites a thorough reappraisal of client eligibility. Practitioners should now assess not only whether a client’s absences breached the prior six-month rule, but whether the total time physically spent in the UK within the last five years meets or exceeds the thirty-month threshold. This may require collation and cross-referencing of documents such as bank statements, tenancy agreements, utility bills, employment records, and NHS correspondence to evidence presence in the UK.
Reception by the Legal and Oversight Community
The Independent Monitoring Authority, which previously initiated legal action against the Home Office for non-compliance with the Withdrawal Agreement, has welcomed the change. It described the amendment as an important step towards ensuring the scheme functions in a fair and proportionate manner. Legal commentators, including those at Free Movement, have similarly noted that this simplification of the permitted absences rule brings much-needed clarity to an area of law that was often misunderstood by applicants and misapplied by caseworkers.
Wider Implications and Policy Direction
Although the change is specific to the EU Settlement Scheme, it may also prompt broader reflection on the concept of continuous residence across other parts of the Immigration Rules. The introduction of cumulative presence as a measure—rather than a rigid rolling absence test—marks a notable shift in Home Office thinking. It arguably reflects an evolving approach to immigration policy: one that recognises and accommodates the increasingly fluid, international lives led by migrants.
Conclusion
At Quastels, we are already advising clients on how these changes may impact their immigration position. Our team is available to assist with eligibility assessments, applications for settled status, and challenges to previous refusals. We welcome this development as a measured, legally sound, and human-centred reform that will bring the EUSS back in line with its original purpose: to safeguard the rights of those who built their lives in the United Kingdom before Brexit.
Sources and Citations:
- Home Office, Statement of Changes HC 836 (24 June 2025)
- Home Office, Explanatory Memorandum to HC 836, Paragraphs 5.15–5.16
- Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) Press Release, June 2025
- Free Movement: “Statement of Changes HC 836 sees changes to permitted absences for EU Settlement Scheme” (24 June 2025)
- Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules, as amended
