Guidance

EU Settlement Scheme: child born on or after 1 July 2021

Published 3 June 2025

Version 1.0

About, EU Settlement Scheme: child born on or after 1 July 2021

This guidance tells HM Passport Office staff about passport applications for customers born on or after 1 July 2021 to a European Economic Area (EEA) citizen parent (or the family member of an EEA citizen) who was granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme. It also tells them how to deal with the passport application.

From 1 July 2021, it is not possible to exercise EU Treaty rights in the UK. However, some EEA parents may have acquired an automatic right to permanent residence by completing a period of qualifying activity in line with the Withdrawal Agreement. For the purposes of this guidance, any reference to parents exercising Treaty rights after 1 July 2021, means a qualifying activity in line with the Withdrawal Agreement.

This guidance includes references to:

• settled status, which must be read to include EUSS:
  • indefinite leave to remain (ILR); or,
  • indefinite leave to enter (ILE)
• pre-settled status, which must be read to include EUSS:
  • limited leave to enter (LLE); or.
  • limited leave to remain (LLR)
• EEA citizen and when it does, it must be read to include European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) citizens and Swiss citizens
• ‘Withdrawal Agreement’ which:
  • means the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK and to the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement; and,
  • they do not apply to the UK, Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement as Swiss citizens cannot acquire a right of permanent residence but they can apply for settled status

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

• version 1.0
• published for Home Office staff on 3 March 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This is new guidance.

EUSS: child born on or after 1 July 2021

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff how to process passport applications for children born on, or after 1 July 2021 in the UK mainland or the Isle of Man, to a European Economic Area (EEA) citizen parent (or the family member of an EEA citizen) who UK Visas and Immigration granted status to under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). 

From 1 July 2021, it is not possible to exercise EU Treaty rights in the UK however, some EEA parents may have acquired an automatic right to permanent residence by completing a period of qualifying activity in line with the Withdrawal Agreement. For the purposes of this guidance, any reference to parents exercising Treaty rights after 1 July 2021, means a qualifying activity in line with the Withdrawal Agreement.

When dealing with an application for a child born on, or after 1 July 2021 in the UK, British overseas territory or the Isle of Man to an EEA (European Economic Area) citizen (or the family member of an EEA citizen), their claim to British nationality will depend on:

• if and when their parent made an application to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS); and,
• the outcome of their parent’s EUSS application

Children born in the UK or a British overseas territory after 1 July 2021 to an EEA citizen (or to the family member of an EEA citizen) will be British if their parent:

• was granted settled status under the EUSS before they were born; or,
• had a Withdrawal Agreement right of permanent residence through exercising Treaty rights for 5 continuous years (or less if they met an exception) in the UK before their child was born (these parents must have held EUSS status at the time of their child’s birth)

Some parents may have been granted EUSS pre-settled status and then granted EUSS settled status when they made a new application to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Before you consider if the parent had a Withdrawal Agreement right of permanent residence, you must consider if the child has a claim to British nationality because their parent was granted settled status.

You must access UKVI (UK Visa & Immigration) systems to check if the parent made an application to the EUSS and if they did, what the outcome was (see How to do an EUSS check). If the customer applied through the EUSS in the Isle of Man, you must raise a guidance query to request information from the Isle of Man authorities.

EUSS check: parent granted settled status

If the parent was granted settled status under the EUSS, you must check if their settled status was either:

• held at the time the child was born
• granted after the child was born but UKVI received the EUSS application on or before 30 June 2021
• granted after the child was born but UKVI received the EUSS application on or after 1 July 2021

If you notice a parent has been granted settled status twice, you must use the date they were first granted it, providing there is no evidence to suggest they lost it, or it is no longer valid.

Settled status held at the time of the child’s birth

If the parent was granted settled status before their child was born, the child will automatically be a British citizen from birth. In these cases, you must:

1. Add a case note to show the actions and decisions you made and record the mandatory case note:

 ‘EUSS01 settled status granted at time of birth under EUSS child is BC 1(1)(b) BNA 81 OTBD parent granted settled status [date parent granted settled status]’

2. Issue the child’s passport (in line with current guidance).

Settled status granted after child born: EUSS application received on or before 30 June 2021

The child will be a British citizen from the date their parent was granted settled status, if:

• the child was born in the UK mainland; and,
• the parent was granted settled status after their child was born; and,
• the parent’s application for status under the EU Settlement Scheme was received on or before 30 June 2021

In these cases, you must:

1. Add a case note to show the actions and decisions you made and record the mandatory case note:

‘EUSS02 settled status granted after child’s birth under in time EUSS application child is BC 10A BNA 81 OTBD from [date UKVI granted their parent settled status]’

2. Issue the child’s passport (in line with current guidance).

Settled status granted after child born: EUSS application received on or after 1 July 2021

You must check if the parent would have been issued settled status before 1 July 2021 if:

• their child was born in the UK mainland; and,
• they were granted settled status after the child’s birth; and,
• they submitted their settled status application on or after 1 July 2021

The child will have claim to British citizenship (from the date UK Visas and Immigration granted the parent’s settled status) if UKVI would have granted settled status to the parent on 30 June 2021 if the parent had:

• applied for settled status by 30 June 2021; and,
• been continuously resident in the UK for the relevant period of time; and,
• was in a subsisting relationship with an EEA citizen, if they themselves were not an EEA citizen for the relevant period of time

To check if a parent has been continuously resident in the UK for the relevant period of time, you must ask your operational team leader (OTL) to check the parent’s details on the Residence Proving Service (RPS).

The OTL must case note the results of the RPS check and you, the examiner, must deal with those results in line with current guidance, which may include asking for further evidence from the customer. See How to check if a parent would have been granted settled status on 30 June 2021.

If the RPS shows, in line with the above criteria, that UKVI would have granted the parent with settled status on 30 June 2021, you must:

1. Check the settled status provided by the parent is genuine using the UKVI system (if you have not already done it). If the customer applied through the EUSS in the Isle of Man, you will not be able to check if it is genuine. In these cases, you must send a guidance query to the Quality, Examination Support team (who will check if it is genuine with the Isle of Man authorities).

2. Add a case note to show:

• the actions and decisions you made; and,
• the reasons why the parent would have been granted settled status on 30 June 2021; and,
• the date the parent was granted settled status

3. Add the mandatory case notes:

‘EUSS03 settled status granted after child’s birth under late EUSS application, RPS system shows UKVI would have granted settled status on 30 June 2021. Child is BC 10A BNA 81 OTBD from [date UKVI originally granted their parent settled status].’

4. Add a case note to show:

• the actions and decisions you have made
• when the parent was granted settled status

5. Issue the child’s passport (in line with current guidance).

If you decide the parent would not have been granted settled status on 30 June 2021, you must check if they held pre-settled status before the child was born. If they did, you must refer to EUSS application: customer granted pre-settled status.

If the parent did not hold pre-settled status before the child was born and UKVI confirm they would not have granted the parent settled status on 30 June 2021, you must:

1. Add a case note to record your decisions and actions and add the mandatory case note:

‘EUSS04 no claim as settled status granted after child’s birth under late EUSS application. RPS system shows UKVI would not have granted the parent settled status on 30 June 2021 because [reason]’.

2. Refuse the child’s passport application (see Refusing passport applications and passport facilities).

3. Send letter 683 to explain why we refused the passport application.

This is because UKVI must have granted the parent status under the EU Settlement Scheme status before they can be considered to:

• be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement
• have acquired permanent residence by exercising a Withdrawal Agreement right

EUSS outcome: parent granted limited leave to remain

You must refer to EUSS application: customer granted pre-settled status (for children born on or after 1 July 2021) if the outcome reason code shows they were only granted limited leave to remain.

EUSS outcome: parent’s EUSS application is ongoing

If the parent’s EUSS application is still ongoing, you must:

1. Complete the EUSS referral – EUSS application not yet processed referral form and send it to the EUSS team, from your team mailbox.

2. Store the passport application.

3. Carry out an EUSS check every 2 weeks to check the outcome of the EUSS application.

4. Process the application using either:

• settled status granted after the child’s birth (if UKVI grant settled status)
• EUSS outcome: parent’s EUSS application was unsuccessful (if the EUSS application is unsuccessful)

EUSS outcome: unsuccessful reason codes

A parent may not have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS for a number of reasons. You must deal with the customer’s application using the following guidance:

• British citizenship guidance if UKVI decided the parent was already a British citizen or had Right of Abode in the UK; or,
• Queries: the guidance referral process to ask how to deal with the application if UKVI used the reason code EUEVEIC

If the parent’s EUSS record shows a reason code of EUEREJBIO, EUEREJID, EUEREJFEE, EUERSCNAR, EUERERSNAR, EUERERLNAR, EUEWAPP or EUEVAD you must check when the parent made their EUSS application and apply the following guidance:

Unsuccessful EUSS application

The Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 automatically extended the parent’s right of permanent residence beyond 1 July 2021, until UKVI processed their EUSS application and until final determination of any EUSS appeal.

This means that a child may still have a claim to British nationality if their parent exercised Treaty rights for 5 continuous years (or meets an exception) before they were born, even if their EUSS application is ultimately unsuccessful.

If the parents EUSS application was unsuccessful, you must refer to the application to the dedicated resource team (DRT) who will deal with it in line with the Treaty rights guidance (see How to deal with a first time Treaty rights passport application).

If the parent has (or had) a right of permanent residence through exercising Treaty rights, you must:

1. Add a case note to show the actions and decisions you made and to record:

• the date UKVI received the EUSS application and the date they made their decision and the outcome; and,
• how the parent has (or had) a right of permanent residence (including adding the mandatory Treaty rights case note if the parent exercised Treaty rights)

2. Add mandatory case notes showing:

‘EUSS06 settled status not granted under EUSS application, child has claim as parent had a right of permanent residence through exercising Treaty rights.

Parent did not lose their right to permanent residence on 1 July 2021 in line with the Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

British nationality status is BC 1(1)(b) BNA 81 OTBD from birth.’

3. Issue the passport (in line with current guidance).

If the child does not have a claim to British nationality through their parent exercising Treaty rights, they will not be a British citizen. You must:

1. Add the mandatory case note:

‘EUSS05 no claim as settled status not granted under EUSS application and parent had not acquired a right of permanent residence through exercising Treaty rights.’

2. Refuse the child’s passport application (see Refusing passport applications and passport facilities guidance).

3. Send letter 684 to explain why we refused the passport application. When you do, you must:

• include phrase 684C; and,
• not include phrase 684D or 684E

EUSS outcome: parent has not made an EUSS application

If the child was born in UK mainland or the Isle of Man, and the parent has not made an EUSS application HM Passport Office will tell them:

• to make an EUSS application to UKVI within 7 weeks; and,
• we will keep their passport application open until UKVI make a decision on their EUSS application.

You must:

1. Not refuse the application.
2. Send letter 681, to explain what they must do and how the passport application will be dealt with.
3. Store the application for 4 weeks to allow time for the parent to make an application to the EUSS (use the on hold function on DAP (Digital Application Processing), and pigeon hole on AMS (Application Management System)).

After 4 weeks, carry out an EUSS check to check the outcome of the EUSS application and deal with the passport application as shown in this guidance.  

If the EUSS check shows the parent has not made an application to the EUSS, you must:

1. Send reminder letter 002 and include a copy of letter 681.
2. Store the application for another 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, carry out an EUSS check to check the outcome of the EUSS application.

If the EUSS check shows the parent has not made an application to the EUSS, 8 weeks after our first letter, you must:

1. Add the mandatory case note:

‘EUSS09 no claim parent not made EUSS application’

2. Refuse the child’s passport application (see Refusing passport applications and passport facilities guidance).

3. Send letter 682 to explain:

• why we refused the passport application; and,
• we recommend they try to make an application to the EUSS