Official Statistics

EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, December 2023

Updated 7 March 2024

1. Introduction

In line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements, the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) enables EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by the end of the transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020, as well as their family members, to obtain a UK immigration status. Further information about the EUSS, including eligibility requirements and details regarding making a late application, can be found on the GOV.UK EU Settlement Scheme webpage.

This publication provides statistics on applications to the EUSS, and the outcomes of those applications. It covers the period from the launch of the first private beta scheme on 28 August 2018 to 31 December 2023.

There have been 7.7 million EUSS applications made since the scheme launched. These applications relate to 6.2 million people (some people will have multiple applications). 5.7 million people had obtained a grant of status through the scheme (3.7 million settled status and 2 million pre-settled status).

Figure 1: EU Settlement Scheme: Total and cumulative number of applications received and concluded by quarter since the start of the scheme

Source: Table EUSS_MON, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

Figure 1 shows the total applications and conclusions by quarter since the start of the scheme. Applications and conclusions were high at the start of the scheme, particularly Q3 (July to September) and Q4 (October to December) of 2019, during the key EU negotiation period. There were further peaks between Q4 (October to December) 2020 and Q2 (April to June) 2021 which reflect the applications before the 30 June 2021 deadline.

2. Applications received

As of 31 December 2023, 7.7 million applications had been received. Applications since 30 June 2021 have remained steady, averaging 55,700 per month.

In total, since the scheme opened there have been 7.0 million applications received from EU nationals, 72,840 received from other EEA and Swiss nationals and 644,800 received from non-EEA nationals. The 3 nationalities with the highest number of applications received were, Romanian (1.7 million), Polish (1.2 million) and Italian (670,310).

Non-EEA nationals may be eligible for the EUSS as the family member of an EU, other EEA or Swiss citizen who was resident in the UK by the end of the transition period and (with some exceptions) has pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS. The highest number of applications from non-EEA nationalities were Indian (101,330), Pakistani (87,490) and Brazilian nationals (72,600).

EUSS family permits enable family members of EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens to join them in the UK. The EU, other EEA or Swiss citizen must have been resident in the UK by the end of the transition period and (with some exceptions) have pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS. Once here, the family member can apply to the EUSS for the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK. (See section 6.2 for more information on EUSS family permits).

89% of applications were received from applicants in England, 5% in Scotland, 2% in Northern Ireland and 2% in Wales^{[footnote 1]} . Applications to the EUSS were made from all 374 UK local authorities^{[footnote 2]} with Birmingham having the highest number of applications. Further figures on applications by UK local authorities can be found in data Tables EUSS_LA_01 and 02

2.1 Applications made after the 30 June 2021 deadline

1.7 million applications have been made since 30 June 2021, an average of 55,700 per month since 30 June 2021

Applications from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023 show:

• there were 630,250 late applications

• 645,320 applications were from repeat applicants (including those moving from pre-settled to settled status)

• 381,960 applications were from joining family members

• 12,690 applications were from derivative rights applicants (see section 5 for more information on these)

Romanian nationals accounted for a third (34%) of all applications received from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023.

Figure 2: EU Settlement Scheme: Applications submitted after 30 June 2021, by type of application, 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023

source: Table EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

Figure 2 shows the number of applications post 30 June 2021 by quarter with Q3 (July to September) 2021 having just under 84,000 late applications submitted to the scheme. This has decreased (down 17%) to almost 70,000 late applications submitted in Q4 (October to December) of 2023.

3. Applications concluded

Applications concluded relate to all applications. Some individuals may have multiple applications, for example an initial application granting pre-settled status and a subsequent application to switch to settled status. Statistics on the number of people with settled status and pre-settled status can be found in the ‘repeat applicants’ section.

7.6 million applications had been concluded up to 31 December 2023 49% (3.7 million) were granted settled status, 37% (2.8 million) were granted pre-settled status and 14% had other outcomes (including 666,470 refused applications, 189,080 withdrawn or void applications, and 198,750 invalid applications).

Of the refusals, 99% were refused on eligibility grounds (such as not being continuously resident in the UK for the relevant period) and less than 1% were refused on suitability grounds (such as being subject to a deportation order). Full definitions of eligibility and suitability can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide.

There were 6.9 million concluded applications from EU nationals, 71,850 from other EEA and Swiss nationals, and 621,390 from non-EEA nationals. Non-EEA nationals had a greater proportion of pre-settled status outcomes (52%) than settled status outcomes (29%), compared to 35% pre-settled status and 51% settled status for EU nationals.

The 3 nationalities with the highest number of applications granted (settled and pre-settled status) were, Romanian (1.2 million), Polish (1.1 million) and Italian (310,895).

The highest number of grants (settled and pre-settled status) for non-EEA nationalities were Indian (85,530), Pakistani (72,850) and Brazilian nationals (49,540).

The volume of conclusions by local authority have remained stable over the course of the scheme. Please see EU Settlement Scheme local authority tables for further information.

3.1 Concluded applications by type, post 30 June 2021

Of the 1.7 million applications received from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023, 1.6 million have been concluded by 31 December 2023.

Of which:

• 566,700 were from late applicants (with 37% granted status)

• 611,960 were from repeat applicants (with 90% granted status)

• 372,290 were from joining family members (with 49% granted status)

• 12,210 were from derivative rights applicants (with 41% granted status)

Figure 3: EU Settlement Scheme: Concluded applications submitted after 30 June 2021, by type of application, 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023

Source: Table EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

Applications concluded as invalid have increased since August 2023 following changes to the validity criteria. More information on the changes is available in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide.

Of the 91,610 applications found to be invalid from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023, 44,460 (49%) have been decided under the revised validity criteria, the large majority of which were late applications without reasonable grounds for delay. (Table EUSS_POST_30_JUNE EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables).

4. Repeat applicants

Individuals who have made repeat applications to the EUSS are referred to as ‘Repeat applicants’ within this report. These include people moving from pre-settled to settled status, those granted pre-settled or settled status after another outcome and those to whom no status is granted status (see EUSS_RA_01 table 5). Additional detail on repeat application data can be found in the About these statistics section and in section 5.2 and 5.3 in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide. Where this report references ‘people’, this refers to individual applicants, including ‘repeat applicants’ and those who have made only one application.

There have been 1.2 million repeat applications since the scheme opened, meaning an estimated 6.2 million people have applied to the scheme since it began in 2018^{[footnote 3]}. The vast majority (80%) made just one further application. It is estimated that a total of 5.7 million EEA nationals and 495,600 non-EEA national applicants had applied to the scheme.

Of the repeat applicant cohort, as of 31 December 2023:

• 88% (1.1 million) of repeat applicants had received a grant of status

Of which:

• 60% (745,980) had moved from pre-settled to settled status

• 10% (127,070) were granted settled status following an other outcome

• 17% (215,620) were granted pre-settled status following an other outcome

Additionally,

• 12% (144,890) were refused, invalid, void or withdrawn, and

• 0.2% (2,660) were awaiting an outcome

Figure 4: EU Settlement Scheme: Repeat applicants moving from pre-settled to settled status by month, 28 August 2018 to 31 December 2023

Source: Table EUSS_MON, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

Figure 5 shows the number of applicants who have moved from pre-settled to settled status per month since the launch of the scheme. There has been a steady increase in numbers from December 2019 onwards, with October 2023 seeing the largest number of people moving from pre-settled to settled status (29,130 applicants), followed by September 2023 (26,110). December 2021 and April and December 2022 saw dips in these figures, which reflected the low number of applications overall for those months. There has been an average of 22,976 applicants moving from pre-settled to settled status in Q4 (October, November and December) of 2023. However, this is lower than Q3 (July, August and September) 2023 (23,610) which saw the largest average number of applicants moving status.

As of 31 December 2023, there were 1.1 million EEA national repeat applicants, with Romanian nationals (360,100) submitting the highest number of repeat applications (29%) with just over a quarter (196,470, 26%) moving from pre-settled to settled status. 116,550 (9%) of repeat applicants were non-EEA nationals. Figures on repeat applicants by nationality can be found in data Table EUSS_RA_01- EUSS_RA_04 EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables. More detail on repeat applicants definitions and methodology can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide.

5. Applications based on a derivative right to reside

Derivative rights applicants are applicants who did not qualify for a right of residence under the Free Movement Directive but may have had a right to reside in the UK before the end of the transition period derived from other EU law. Derivative rights applicants can apply to the EUSS under one of the following routes:

• Chen
• Ibrahim and Teixeira
• Family Member of a British Citizen (Lounes and Surinder Singh)
• Zambrano

The Surinder Singh and Zambrano routes were generally closed to new applications at 11:59pm on 8 August 2023. More information on these routes and their eligibility requirements can be found in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide.

Table 1: EU Settlement Scheme: Derivative Right to Reside applications by route and outcome type, 28 August 2018 to 31 December 2023

	Chen	Family Member of a British citizen	Ibrahim/Teixeira	Zambrano
Applications received	2,390	13,900	490	15,300
Applications concluded	2,310	13,560	460	14,940
of which
Settled	620	4,930	200	1,390
Pre-settled	1,080	7,070	120	860
Refused	520	1,110	120	11,950
Withdrawn or Void	60	270	20	410
Invalid	30	200	*	340

Source: Table EUSS_DR_01, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

Notes

1. Lounes and Surinder Singh applications are recorded as Family Member of a British citizen in the statistics.

Table 1 shows that Zambrano applications accounted for 87% (11,950) of total refusals (13,700).

6. About these statistics

The findings presented here are based on data collected from Home Office administrative systems. These systems hold records of individual applications that have been received to the EU Settlement Scheme and their outcomes (settled or pre-settled status, and other outcomes). As these are sourced from live operational systems, numbers may change and may not precisely reflect other published statistics produced at a different point in time. The majority of applicants to the scheme are EEA nationals, but non-EEA nationals are eligible to apply in some cases. Non-EEA nationals who have submitted an application to the scheme are included in these statistics.

Due to developments in underlying systems, the number of applications from ‘Joining family members’ in the last 6 months of 2023 may be subject to revision in future releases.

The EU Settlement Scheme statistics were designated as ‘Official Statistics’ from May 2022. For more information please see Section 3 in the EU Settlement Scheme user guide

Figures in this publication refer specifically to flows of applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme, including repeat applications as people transition from pre-settled to settled status. These figures cannot be directly compared with estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. Figures in this report include non-EEA national family members, eligible EEA nationals not resident in the UK and some who may have subsequently left the UK. These are not usually included in estimates of the resident EU/EEA population, or the census where they are not in the UK. Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.

6.1 Repeat applications

The data in this report account for the number of applications to the system, including individuals making applications on more than one occasion. An individual who has been granted pre-settled status can make a new application at a later stage for settled status. As these are separate applications with separate outcomes, they are counted separately in the statistics. There are several case working systems used to administer applications to the scheme, with each application having a unique application number but not a single person identifier to distinguish repeat applicants. Analysis using probabilistic data matching methods have been developed to better understand the number of repeat applicants to the scheme. This allows us to provide more accurate figures on the number of people who have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme overall, including their outcomes. More information regarding the methodology is provided in section 5.3 of the EU Settlement Scheme user guide

6.2 Other related data

The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permit enables family members of EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by the end of the transition period (and who, with some exceptions, have pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS), and (where the application was made before 9 August 2023) of qualifying British citizens returning to the UK after living in the EEA or Switzerland, to join them in the UK. Once here the family member can then apply to the EUSS for the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK. Data on EUSS family permits are published as part of the quarterly Home Office “Immigration System Statistics” and are covered in the chapter ‘Why do people come to the UK? For family reasons’. The latest quarterly Immigration Statistics report was published on 29 February 2024.

7. Feedback

We welcome feedback on the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ publications. Additionally, we’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems, or have any feedback relating to accessibility or otherwise, please contact us by emailing MigrationStatsEnquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please include the words ‘EUSS PUBLICATION FEEDBACK’ in the subject of your email.

8. Data tables

Further data on the EU Settlement Scheme for the period 28 August 2018 to 31 December 2023, is available in:

• EUSS_01 to EUSS_05, EUSS_DR_01, EUSS_POST_30_JUNE, EUSS_RA_01 to EUSS_RA_04 , EUSS_MON, EUSS_Non_EEA_01 and EUSS_Non_EEA_02 EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables

• EUSS_LA_01 to EUSS_LA_03, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly local authority tables

9. Upcoming publications

The next quarterly EU Settlement Scheme release is due for publication on 23 May 2024.

1. The EUSS user guide (section 3.6) provides information on applications where location data is not available or in an analysable format from live systems. This proportion (3.1%) includes applications associated with a non-UK address. ↩

2. Local Authority Districts (August 2022) Names and Codes in the United Kingdom ↩

3. Figures in this publication refer specifically to applications made to the EUSS, including repeat applications as people transition from pre-settled to settled status. These estimates cannot be directly compared with estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK. Please see the EUSS user guide (section 6.1) for more information. ↩