Wrong visa, right outcome: How our EU client was granted settled status

When Maria (not her real name) came to us, she was worried about whether she would be able to stay in the UK to build her life. She had applied for a student visa to study a degree in the UK not realising that as someone with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), she may not have needed to. Her immigration issue begged the question ‘Is it possible to hold immigration status in the UK with both a Student visa and pre-settled status?

Her confusion is not unusual. The EUSS was designed to provide EU citizens and their family members who were living in the UK before Brexit with a straightforward route to secure their residence rights. In practice, the rules are complex, and conflicting guidance online makes it hard to follow. At Seraphus, we work with individuals in this situation every day, supporting them with expert advice to clear any uncertainty about their current status and what immigration routes are available to them.

Maria was a child when she arrived in the UK prior to the UK leaving the EU on 31 December 2020. As a result, she was able to apply for pre-settled status under the EUSS. 

When she decided to study her degree in the UK, she did research into her rights and whether she needed to make any type of immigration application in order to study in the UK. As a result of the wide range of guidance and advice online regarding the EUSS and other immigration routes, Maria concluded that she would need some form of leave as a student to study her degree in the UK. Maria applied for leave to remain as a student which was successful. 

When she came to us, Maria wanted advice of how she could remain in the UK on a long term basis, given she now had status as a student. She was concerned that it would be a complicated process to apply for future leave under different immigration routes because student leave in the UK is time limited and does not lead to settlement. She was facing the prospect of having to make repeated costly applications to remain in the country she had grown up in, in order to qualify for permanent residence. 

Our first approach was to carry out a detailed review of Maria’s immigration history and residence in the UK to assess her options. What we found was good news for her situation but it took expert knowledge and understanding of the EUSS to see it. 

Despite now having status as a student, she had never lost her pre-settled status. She had been holding both statuses at the same time which meant the route to settled status under the EUSS was still open to her. During our thorough review, we were also able to identify that Maria was close to completing  the five year qualifying period of residence which is required to make an application for settled status. Once she reached that point, she would be able to make an application for settled status under the EUSS. 

Once Maria had completed her continuous qualifying period of five years’ residence, we prepared her application for settled status under the EUSS. As part of our preparation, we made thorough representations to confirm that Maria continued to hold her pre-settled status at the same time as her student status and that as as a result, she could use the new residence requirements allowing a person to meet these requirements as a pre-settled status holder who has been resident in the UK for at least 30 months in the last 60 month period before the application. Based on these arguments, we made Henrietta’s application for settled status. 

Maria’s application was successful. She now holds settled status in the UK with no further immigration applications required. 

During our first meeting with Maria, she thought that she may have to stay on her leave as a student without prospects of submitting an application under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, as a result of receiving expert legal advice regarding her pre-settled status, she was then able to make an application for settled status as soon as she qualified through her continuous residence. This avoided her having to make expensive and unnecessary applications for further leave to remain under different immigration routes. 

Maria has now gained security in being a permanent resident of the UK. She is able to focus on her studies without worrying that she will need to make a new application on completion of her studies, but can continue building her life in the UK without having to consider the implication of her immigration status. 

Maria’s case points to a wider issue. Many EU citizens and their family members who hold pre-settled status are unaware of how it interacts with other immigration routes, what their rights are or how to prove and navigate these. While Maria had a positive outcome, the consequences and stress of that confusion can be significant. Without specialist immigration advice, Maria could have spent years navigating costly visa applications without ever reaching the permanent residence she was entitled to. Getting the right legal advice at the right moment is what made the difference.