From 8 October 2026, the Home Office changed the EU Settlement Scheme rules in three areas at once: the deadline for applying after returning to the UK, keeping presettled status after a divorce, and gaining status through a child enrolled in a British school.
In short
- From 8 October 2026, the three-month application deadline is counted from the most recent, not the first, lawful entry after Brexit.
- An application for status as a joining family member can only be submitted once — re-entering after a refusal does not create a new attempt.
- Presettled status obtained through marriage is no longer automatically withdrawn after a divorce.
- If a child with presettled status attends a British school, the parent caring for them and other children in her care can obtain presettled status for the first time.
Change #1: the application deadline is now counted from the last entry, not the first entry after Brexit
Before the change, the rule worked like this: if an applicant had already visited the UK before, left, and later applied for status as a joining family member, the three-month clock started from their first entry into the country after Brexit. In practice, this created a trap. Say someone left in 2018, then came back for the first time after Brexit in 2022 to visit a parent — the three-month clock started right from that date. If no application was filed at that point, and the person later visited again in 2023 purely as a tourist, then decided to apply only in 2026, they were refused: technically, the three-month window from the first post-Brexit entry had already run out. It was sometimes possible to argue that earlier visits had been tourist or guest visits, but that required separate evidence and didn’t always work.
they were refused: technically, the three-month window from the first post-Brexit entry had already run out
From 8 October 2026, this rule changed — the Home Office itself calls this the main change among all the updates. The three-month deadline is now counted not from the first, but from the most recent lawful entry into the UK. How many times someone visited before — in 2021, 2022, 2023 — no longer matters: only the date of the last lawful border crossing counts. An applicant simply needs to submit the application within three months of that most recent lawful entry.
Which entry starts the three-month application clock
Before 8 October 2026, the deadline was counted from the first entry after Brexit; now it’s counted from the most recent lawful entry.
- Which entry starts the 3-month count
From 8 October 2026, the three-month application deadline is counted from the most recent, not the first, lawful entry into the UK after Brexit.
Who qualifies for status as a joining family member, and what the process looks like
Eligibility for status as a joining family member remains limited to a specific set of relatives: father, mother, son, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, partner, and spouse. That means the application can still be filed not only by a spouse of a UK citizen or resident, but also by an adult child, a grandchild, or a parent — the 8 October changes did not narrow this group.
The process depends on whether the applicant already holds status at the point of entry. If not, the lawful route is to first obtain an EU Settlement Family Permit: this is a permit specifically to travel to join a family member already in the country, not settled status itself. After entering on this permit, the application for settled or presettled status must be filed within three months of that entry.
Separately, there’s the ETA — an electronic travel authorisation. It is neither a visa nor a permission to enter: an ETA only allows someone to board a flight to the UK, while the actual decision on letting them through the border rests with Border Force on arrival. For that reason, an ETA is not suitable for someone travelling to stay with a relative — an EU Settlement Family Permit is needed for that instead.
The exception is when someone enters on an ETA with no intention of staying — say, a two-month holiday — and decides during that lawful trip to apply for status. Such an application is accepted without issue, even if the applicant had already visited the country after Brexit before.
An ETA is not a visa and not a status. To stay with a relative, you need an EU Settlement Family Permit — otherwise entry can be refused at the border.
How many times you can apply for status as a joining family member
An application for status as a joining family member can only be made once. If the first attempt ends in refusal, it is no longer possible to reapply under this same route.
The three-month deadline after entry, discussed above, only applies to those applying for the first time. The one-attempt rule also applies to anyone who has already been refused once: leaving the country briefly and re-entering does not open a new three-month window and does not create a right to reapply. The Home Office closed this loophole separately, specifically so it couldn’t be used by applicants with an already-refused application.
leaving the country briefly and re-entering does not open a new three-month window and does not create a right to reapply
An application for status as a joining family member can only be submitted once. After a refusal, leaving and re-entering does not give you a right to apply again.
Change #2: presettled status can survive a divorce
Since October, holders of presettled status have gained extra protection in case their family circumstances change after the status was granted. This covers situations where presettled status was obtained through a family member — for instance, through marriage — and that marriage later ends.
Before the change, the rule was straightforward: if the basis for the status disappeared — the marriage was over — the status was withdrawn. Formally, the premise on which it had been granted no longer existed, and that alone was enough to revoke it.
After the change, presettled status can now be retained following a divorce. This isn’t an automatic guarantee — it’s a possibility rather than a mandatory rule — but a status holder is no longer stripped of it purely because of a divorce, as long as they continue to lawfully live and work in the country.
The general timeline still applies afterward: after 5 years of holding presettled status, a person can apply for settled status, provided they have lawfully lived and worked in the UK throughout that period.
Presettled status obtained through marriage is no longer withdrawn automatically after a divorce, as long as the person continues to lawfully live and work in the UK.
Change #3: status for a parent and other children through a child enrolled in a British school
If a child already holds presettled status and attends a British school, the mother who cares for that child can obtain presettled status for the first time — even if she never held any status before. The basis is the simple fact that the child is enrolled in school: the child cannot be deprived of the right to continue their education, which means the parent caring for them also gains a route to legalise their own stay. As a result, the child keeps an uninterrupted right to remain and, down the line, a route to settled status.
the child cannot be deprived of the right to continue their education, which means the parent caring for them also gains a route to legalise their own stay
This rule also extends to other children in the same family. If the mother has another child in her care who also has no status, that child can obtain presettled status on the basis that their sibling attends a British school — even if neither the mother nor that child ever held status before.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if an application for status as a joining family member was already refused before?
It’s not possible to reapply under the same route — an application for status as a joining family member can only be made once. Leaving the country and re-entering after a refusal does not open a new three-month window and does not create a right to try again: this loophole was closed separately.
Do I need to submit a new application if I left and returned to the UK several times before applying?
No, only the date of the most recent lawful entry matters — that’s the date the three-month application deadline is counted from. How many times someone visited before no longer matters, but this rule only applies to first-time applicants.
Can I get status as a joining family member if my relative in the UK only holds presettled status, not settled status?
The basis for the application is the family relationship with a status-holding relative; the process for obtaining entry permission and later applying for status doesn’t depend on whether that relative holds presettled or settled status.
Can I apply directly for settled status, skipping presettled status?
No, the right to apply for settled status only arises after five years of lawfully living and working in the UK with presettled status — it’s the next stage, not an alternative route from the start.
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