Problems with your settled status decision

If your letter doesn’t say you applied for settled status, you might have applied for or accepted pre-settled status by mistake when you applied online. Contact the EU Settlement Scheme Resolution Centre to find out if you did this.

If you accepted pre-settled status by mistake, you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme again to change it to settled status.

Applying to change pre-settled status to settled status

You should apply to change your status if you can:

• give new information - for example, other names you’ve been known by or different spellings of your name

• provide new evidence to show you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row

It’s free to apply and there’s no limit on how many times you can apply. Check what evidence you can use to apply again. 

You can get help from your nearest Citizens Advice before you apply again.

If the date on your decision letter is before 5 October 2023

If you don’t have new evidence and you think the Home Office made a mistake, you should ask for an administrative review. 

You have 28 days from the date on your decision letter to ask for a review. An administrative review costs £80. You’ll get a refund from the Home Office if they change their decision because they made a mistake.

It’s worth asking for an administrative review if you think you should have got settled status because you:

• are retired and you’ve lived in the UK for less than 5 years

• stopped work because you were ill or injured and you’ve lived in the UK for less than 5 years

• uploaded evidence that shows you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row and you think the Home Office made a mistake

If you’ve missed the 28-day deadline to ask for an administrative review, you should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme again. It’s free to apply again and you can apply as many times as you need.

Get help from your nearest Citizens Advice before you ask for an administrative review.

Find out more about asking for an administrative review on GOV.UK.

Appealing the decision to give you pre-settled status

If you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme after 11pm on 31 January 2020, you can appeal the Home Office's decision to give you pre-settled status instead of settled status. If you applied before this time, you can’t appeal but you can apply again.

If the date on your decision letter is before 5 October 2023, you can also ask for an administrative review.

A written appeal costs £80 or an appeal hearing costs £140. The Home Office will refund your fee if you win the appeal. Appealing can take a long time, so it’s usually best to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme again - or ask for an administrative review if you can. 

You should consider appealing if:

• you applied for an administrative review and your application was refused

• you don’t have documentary evidence, but you have witnesses or other evidence

• the Home Office doesn’t accept it got the law wrong

If you’re in the UK, you have 14 days to appeal from the date on your decision letter. You can appeal from inside the UK online or by using form IAFT-5 on GOV.UK. You’ll be appealing a decision to ‘vary the length or condition of your stay under the EU Settlement Scheme’.

If you’re outside the UK, you have 28 days to appeal from the date you received your decision letter. You can appeal from outside the UK online or by using form IAFT-6 on GOV.UK. You’ll be appealing a decision to ‘vary the length or condition of your stay under the EU Settlement Scheme’.

Get specialist immigration advice if you need help with your appeal. You can:

• contact your nearest Citizens Advice for a recommendation

• search for an immigration adviser near you

• search for a solicitor near you

Find out more about appealing an immigration decision on GOV.UK.

Your decision letter will tell you why you’ve been refused. You can appeal the decision. If the date on your decision letter is before 5 October 2023, you can also ask for an administrative review.

You can also apply to the EU Settlement Scheme again - but your application will usually be refused if the deadline to apply to the scheme has passed. The deadline has passed for anyone who lived in the UK by 31 December 2020.

Get help from your nearest Citizens Advice if you’ve been refused any status.