The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), gives EU citizens and their family members a new immigration status following the UK’s departure from the European Union. This report examines the challenges that some residents with pre-settled status face to secure settled status, and identifies several features of the EUSS that impact the ability of vulnerable residents to upgrade their status:

• A double application process with multiple individual deadlines.
• A digital application process and only-digital status.
• A more onerous application process for settled than for pre-settled status.
• Uncertainty about the level of support that will be available in the future, including interpretation and translation services.
• Breaks in continuous residence.

Published in March 2022 by the Migration Observatory.