The EU Settlement Scheme family permit is free, valid for six months, and allows unlimited entries with the right to work and study. It exists for family members of people the scheme protects — and its central condition is that the sponsoring relative was living in the UK by 31 December 2020.
Family Permits
The EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit
What the Permit Does
It is entry clearance for a family member of someone protected by the EU Settlement Scheme. It lets you come to the UK for up to six months, work and study while you are here, and come and go as many times as you want before it expires. It is free to apply for.
Free to apply, valid for six months, unlimited entries, with the right to work and study. You must be outside the UK to apply. Your family member must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, or be an eligible person of Northern Ireland. Once here, apply to the EU Settlement Scheme itself if you qualify — the permit is a travel document, not a status.
The Permit Is Not the Status
This is the distinction that causes the most difficulty. The permit gets you into the country. It does not give you settled or pre-settled status, and it expires after six months. The application that matters is the scheme application you make after arriving — see our page on EU citizens' rights.
EEA Family Permits Are the Predecessor
The older EEA family permit belonged to the free movement era and was issued under EU law. The EUSS family permit replaced it and is issued under UK immigration rules implementing the withdrawal agreement. Guidance and older commentary use both names, which is worth knowing when reading around the subject.
The Requirements
- You are outside the UK: the permit cannot be applied for from inside.
- A qualifying relationship: to an EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein citizen, or an eligible person of Northern Ireland.
- Your family member was living in the UK by 31 December 2020: the scheme's residence cut-off.
- Evidence of the relationship: marriage, civil partnership, birth certificates or dependency evidence.
- Your identity: a valid passport or national identity document.
Where the sponsoring family member began living in the UK after that date, the scheme does not apply and neither does the permit. The correct route is then the ordinary family system — a partner visa or a dependant application, with their fees, financial requirements and health surcharge.
Visiting Instead
Where the scheme does not apply and you only want to visit, an Electronic Travel Authorisation at £20 covers most European nationals for trips of up to six months. It permits no work and leads nowhere, but for family visits rather than family reunion it is the simpler answer.
Who Qualifies as a Family Member
The relationships covered follow the free movement definitions: spouses and civil partners, durable partners, children and grandchildren, and dependent parents and grandparents. Dependency has to be evidenced for the relationships where it forms part of the definition.
Retained Rights
There are provisions for people who have retained a right of residence — where the sponsoring family member has died, has left the UK, or where the relationship has broken down. These are technical and evidence-heavy, and they are the cases where advice most often changes the outcome.
Eligible People of Northern Ireland
A separate limb covers family members of an eligible person of Northern Ireland — someone Irish, British, or both, born in Northern Ireland to a parent holding the relevant citizenship. It reflects the position of people who may identify as Irish, British or both, and it gives their family members access to scheme terms rather than the ordinary family rules.
Joining Family Members Have Their Own Deadlines
The scheme's main deadline of 30 June 2021 applied to people already in the UK. Family members joining afterwards are treated differently: their deadline runs from their own arrival, provided the sponsoring relative was UK-resident by the end of 2020. That is why a permit application in 2026 can still be perfectly in time.
The practical consequence is that the clock you need to watch is your own, not the headline one. Arriving on a permit and then leaving the scheme application until the permit is nearly spent is the sequence that causes problems, because the deadline is tied to arrival rather than to the permit's expiry.
Evidencing the Relationship
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate: with a certified translation where needed.
- Birth certificates: establishing parentage through each generation for grandchildren or grandparents.
- Durable partnership evidence: cohabitation, joint finances and correspondence over time.
- Dependency evidence: regular financial support, and why it is needed, where the relationship requires it.
- Your relative's status: their scheme status, evidenced by a share code they generate.
How Long It Takes
The permit is entry clearance and follows the ordinary application mechanics: apply online, prove identity, and wait for a decision. Because it is free, applicants sometimes treat it as instantaneous — it is not, and travel should not be booked around an undecided application.
Where a decision is running late, the same considerations apply as to any application: keep the registered email working, answer any request exactly and by its deadline, and do not submit a second application. See our pages on processing after biometrics and delays.
Applying
- Your passport or national identity document: valid, for identity verification.
- Your family member's identity and status evidence: including their scheme status where they hold it.
- Relationship evidence: certificates, and dependency evidence where the relationship requires it.
- Evidence of their residence by 31 December 2020: employment, tenancy or official records.
- Certified translations: for anything not in English or Welsh.
There is no fee and no health surcharge on the permit itself. That makes it materially cheaper than the ordinary family routes, where entry clearance on the route to settlement costs £2,064 plus surcharge — see our spouse route page for the comparison.
At the Border
A permit lets you travel; permission to enter is still granted on arrival. Carry the permit, your passport and the evidence of your relationship and your family member's status, and be able to explain the position simply. Border Force officers see far fewer of these than ordinary visas, and a clear account shortens the conversation.
If the Permit Is Refused
Read the notice for the reason. The recurring ones are the residence cut-off — the sponsoring relative not having been in the UK by 31 December 2020 — insufficient relationship evidence, and dependency not being made out where the relationship requires it. The first is fatal to the route; the other two are evidential and usually fixable.
Because the application is free, a better-evidenced second application costs nothing but time, which makes it the obvious first move where the refusal was evidential. Where the refusal turns on the residence date, the question becomes which ordinary family route applies instead.
What to Do After You Arrive
Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme itself if you are eligible. The permit gives you six months; the scheme gives you status. Leaving it until the permit is close to expiring is the mistake that turns a straightforward position into a difficult one.
Scheme status is digital from the outset — there is no card. You prove it by generating a share code, valid for 90 days, which the person checking uses along with your date of birth. See our page on share codes and digital status.
From there the ordinary progression applies: pre-settled status, then settled status after five years' continuous residence, then citizenship if you want it. See our pages on settlement and naturalisation.
Why the Permit Is Worth So Much
Family Permit and the Ordinary Family Route
| Feature | EUSS family permit | Ordinary partner route |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | Free | £2,064 for entry clearance |
| Health surcharge | Not payable | £1,035 a year, upfront |
| Financial requirement | None | £29,000 minimum income or savings |
| English requirement | None | A1 at entry, rising through the route |
| Work and study | Permitted | Permitted |
| Leads to | Scheme status, then settlement | Settlement after five years |
Source: GOV.UK family permit and family visa pages, and the Home Office fee table, 8 April 2026. Checked 22 August 2026.
The gap explains why establishing eligibility for the scheme is worth real effort. A family that qualifies avoids a five-figure cost over the route to settlement, along with the income threshold that stops many ordinary family applications before they start.
Routes That Have Closed
Surinder Singh
The Surinder Singh route allowed British citizens who had exercised free movement rights in another EEA state to return with family members on EU law terms rather than under the UK family rules. It closed on 8 August 2023, and applications relying on it are no longer possible.
Zambrano
The Zambrano route protected the primary carer of a British citizen child or dependent adult where requiring the carer to leave would force the British citizen to leave the UK. It also closed on 8 August 2023.
Where either route would once have applied, the position now falls to be considered under the ordinary rules or on human rights grounds. Those are different applications with different tests and different fees — take advice rather than assuming the old analysis still works.
Sources: the GOV UK EU Settlement Scheme family permit pages, the Home Office EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance and the scheme pages. Verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Family Permit Questions
How much does the family permit cost?
Nothing. It is free to apply for, and no health surcharge is payable on the permit.
How long is it valid?
Six months, with as many entries as you want during that period, and the right to work and study while you are here.
Can I apply from inside the UK?
No. You must be outside the UK to apply for the permit.
Does the permit give me settled status?
No. It is entry clearance. Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme itself after arriving if you are eligible — that is what gives you status.
What if my relative moved to the UK after 2020?
The scheme does not apply and neither does the permit. The ordinary family routes apply instead, with their fees, financial requirements and health surcharge.
Which relationships are covered?
Spouses and civil partners, durable partners, children and grandchildren, and dependent parents and grandparents, following the free movement definitions.
What if my sponsoring relative has died or we have separated?
There are retained rights provisions covering death, departure and relationship breakdown. They are technical and evidence-heavy, and worth taking advice on.
Is the Surinder Singh route still available?
No. It closed on 8 August 2023, as did the Zambrano route. Cases that would once have relied on them fall to the ordinary rules or human rights grounds.
Do I get a card when I arrive?
No. Scheme status has always been digital. You prove it with a share code, valid for 90 days, plus your date of birth.
Why is the permit so much cheaper than a partner visa?
Because it implements the withdrawal agreement rather than the ordinary family rules. There is no fee, no health surcharge, no income threshold and no English requirement.
What if my permit is refused?
Read the reason. Evidential refusals are usually fixed by a better-evidenced second application, which costs nothing. A refusal on the 31 December 2020 residence date means the ordinary family routes apply instead.
Do I still have a deadline if I am joining family now?
Yes, but it runs from your own arrival rather than from June 2021, provided your relative was UK-resident by the end of 2020. Apply to the scheme soon after arriving.
Can I travel in and out on the permit?
Yes, as many times as you want before it expires. Apply to the scheme itself well before that point rather than close to expiry.