Joining Family Members under the EUSS

%%I:PEOPLE%%What is a joining family member under the EUSS?

A joining family member of a relevant sponsor is a close family member who was not resident in the UK as the sponsor's family member before the end of the transition period (11pm GMT on 31 December 2020), but whose relationship with the sponsor qualifies under Appendix EU. It lets a family member join, or stay with, an EEA citizen who was already living in the UK before 2021.

Family members resident by 2020 →

%%I:CHAT%%How ENS can help joining family members

Joining family member applications depend on getting three things right: the sponsor, the timing of the relationship and the deadline. We can check each before you apply.

%%I:PILLAR%%Who can be a relevant sponsor?

For applications made on or after 1 July 2021, a relevant sponsor is mainly an EEA citizen who was resident in the UK and Islands for a continuous qualifying period that began before the end of the transition period and who has been granted settled or pre-settled status on that basis, which has not lapsed or been cancelled, curtailed, revoked or invalidated.

The definition also includes:

• an Irish citizen resident before the end of the transition period who would have been granted settled or pre-settled status had they applied before 1 July 2021;
• a relevant naturalised British citizen or a relevant person of Northern Ireland meeting the specified conditions;
• a person exempt from immigration control who would have qualified for EUSS status; and
• a frontier worker.

A sponsor with pre-settled status can be a relevant sponsor — settled status is not required. The sponsor must not have died (except where the joining family member relies on the death provisions or a retained right), and must have remained a relevant sponsor throughout any period of residence the family member relies on.

%%I:SHIELD%%Who cannot be a relevant sponsor?

The guidance lists people who cannot in any circumstances be a relevant sponsor. If an application names one of them, it is not treated as a joining family member application at all. It is instead treated as subject to the 30 June 2021 deadline, and is likely to be rejected as invalid unless there are reasonable grounds for the delay.

• The applicant themselves, a fictitious person, or someone who cannot be identified from the information given.
• A non-EEA citizen (other than a British citizen) not shown to be an EEA citizen as well.
• An EEA citizen who has only a pending EUSS application or appeal and has not been granted status (save for specified exceptions such as Irish citizens).
• An EEA citizen whose own EUSS status was granted as a joining family member.
• An EEA citizen whose EUSS status has been cancelled, curtailed or revoked.
• A relative who can never be a sponsor for a joining family member, such as an uncle, aunt or sibling.

The list also covers some situations where the claimed relationship is impossible or unevidenced — for example, a sponsor already relied on by another spouse or partner, with no evidence submitted.

%%I:PEOPLE%%Which relationships qualify as a joining family member?

The joining family member categories are narrower than the general family member categories. The guidance lists:

Dependency for joining family members

A dependent child aged 21 or over must be dependent on the relevant sponsor, or on their spouse or civil partner, at the date of application. For a dependent parent, dependency is assumed only where the sponsor is over 18 and the application was made before 1 July 2021. For applications made on or after 1 July 2021, or where the sponsor is under 18, evidence of dependency must be provided — for example bank statements or money transfers from the sponsor, or evidence of a need for their personal care on serious health grounds.

The guidance's position that a dependent child over 21 or a dependent parent does not lose that status by working does not apply to joining family members.

%%I:CAL%%When must the relationship have existed?

In most cases, before the end of the transition period at 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020. The relationship with the relevant sponsor must have existed by then, and must usually continue at the date of application. The main exceptions are certain children born, adopted or placed under a qualifying order after that date, and the specified spouse or civil partner of a Swiss citizen.

Spouses and civil partners

The marriage must have been contracted (or the civil partnership formed) before the end of the transition period — or the applicant must have been the sponsor's durable partner before then, with the partnership still durable at that date. A couple who met before 2021 and married later can therefore qualify, but must provide evidence that the durable partnership was formed and was durable before 31 December 2020. The marriage or civil partnership must still exist at the date of application, unless the applicant relies on five years' completed residence, the sponsor's death or a retained right of residence.

Durable partners

The partnership must have been formed and durable before 31 December 2020, and must remain durable at the date of application. A joining durable partner can rely on a relevant document as the sponsor's durable partner, or on other evidence that satisfies the Home Office the partnership was formed and was durable before that date and remains so. What makes a partnership durable is explained on our family members page.

Specified spouse or civil partner of a Swiss citizen

This category is different: the marriage or civil partnership must have been entered into after the end of the transition period and before 1 January 2026, with a Swiss citizen relevant sponsor who is not also a British citizen. The marriage or civil partnership must continue to exist at the date of application, subject to the same exceptions as above.

Children and dependent parents

For a child or dependent parent, the family relationship must have existed before the end of the transition period and must continue to exist at the date of application (or have done so for the period of residence relied on) — unless the child falls within the later-born or later-adopted provisions below.

%%I:HOME%%Can a child born or adopted after 2020 join an EEA parent?

Yes, in specified circumstances. A child who was born after 31 December 2020, adopted after that date under a recognised adoption decision, or who became a child of the family under a qualifying guardianship order after that date, can be a joining family member where one of the following applies:

• both of the child's parents are relevant sponsors;
• one parent is a relevant sponsor and the other is a British citizen who is not a relevant sponsor; or
• one parent is a relevant sponsor who has sole or joint rights of custody of the child under the applicable family law.

For a child of a Swiss citizen (or of their spouse or civil partner), the Swiss citizen or their spouse or civil partner must be a relevant sponsor. The child cannot qualify through the specified spouse or civil partner of a Swiss citizen.

A child born or adopted in the UK on or after 1 April 2021 has its own deadline: the application must be made within 3 months of the birth or adoption — see deadlines.

%%I:PLANE%%What if the family member lived in the UK before 2021?

Earlier UK residence does not always rule out the joining route, but for durable partners the guidance sets specific conditions. In broad terms, a joining durable partner (without a relevant document) must not have been resident in the UK as the durable partner of that same EEA citizen before the end of the transition period — or, if they were resident here before then, their continuous residence must have been broken (and they must not have resumed residence before the end of 2020).

The events that can have broken earlier residence for this purpose include absences exceeding a total of 6 months in any 12-month period (unless a specified exception applies), a sentence of imprisonment, or an absence of more than 5 consecutive years.

Durable partners already in the UK

This matters most for unmarried partners. The guidance explains that a person who was living in the UK as the durable partner of an EEA citizen before the end of the transition period without a relevant document, and without any other lawful basis of stay, cannot qualify as a joining family member unless they first break their continuity of residence. In that case, their continuous qualifying period as a joining family member can only start on or after 1 January 2021.

Where the partner did have another lawful basis of stay (for example as a student), they may apply as a joining family member, but only the period of lawful stay before 2021 is considered when assessing whether the partnership was durable before the end of the transition period.

Where a joining family member is later found to have been resident by the end of the transition period and to have kept continuity since, they may be granted settled status as a family member of a relevant EEA citizen instead, when they apply for it.

%%I:CLOCK%%What is the deadline for a joining family member?

For applications made on or after 9 August 2023, the application must be made by the required date. For a joining family member whose first arrival in the UK after 31 December 2020 was on or after 1 April 2021, that is generally within 3 months of the date they first arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020. The deadline that applies depends on the circumstances, as at guidance version 32.0:

Showing you applied in time

A joining family member who says they are applying within 3 months of arrival is expected to provide evidence, such as an inbound travel ticket stamped on arrival, an e-ticket with supplementary evidence of presence in the UK after arrival, or a stamped passport page. The Home Office may also check its own records. If the evidence is missing and cannot be verified, the applicant may be given 14 calendar days to provide it; otherwise the application is rejected as invalid. For a child born or adopted in the UK, the birth certificate (or adoption certificate) is enough to show the deadline is met.

Missed the deadline?

A late application can still be accepted where there are reasonable grounds for the delay. The guidance gives a specific example for joining family members: someone who visited the UK after 31 December 2020 and left without applying, who now wishes to stay with their sponsor, will normally have reasonable grounds if they apply as soon as they reasonably can (and, where they have returned to the UK, within 3 months of their latest arrival). Late EUSS applications and reasonable grounds →

%%I:WARN%%What validity checks apply to joining family members?

For applications made on or after 9 August 2023, a joining family member's application must be rejected as invalid if the applicant is a “specified enforcement case” — an illegal entrant or an irregular arrival — or if they entered, or sought to enter, the UK in breach of a deportation order. These checks are made against the application and Home Office records.

Separately, the former requirement that a joining family member must not be in the UK as a visitor was removed for applications decided from 6 October 2021, so being in the UK as a visitor does not by itself prevent an application.

Any history of illegal entry, irregular arrival or a deportation order makes a case complex. We will say so after an initial assessment and direct you to the appropriate next step.

%%I:DOC%%What evidence does a joining family member need?

A joining family member usually needs evidence of the family relationship, the relevant sponsor's identity and nationality, the sponsor's residence or status, and, where relevant, dependency and the date of arrival. The relationship evidence is the same as for other EUSS family members, with the extra timing evidence described above for partners.

A joining family member can apply from outside the UK where they have the required proof of entitlement to apply from outside the UK. Otherwise, a family member can apply for an EUSS family permit to travel and then apply to the scheme once in the UK — see GOV.UK: family permits. The EUSS application process →

%%I:ARROW%%Will a joining family member get settled or pre-settled status?

Usually pre-settled status first. A joining family member who meets the requirements but has less than 5 years' continuous qualifying residence (beginning after the end of the transition period) is eligible for 5 years' limited leave — limited leave to remain if applying in the UK, or limited leave to enter if applying from outside — provided no supervening event has occurred in respect of the relevant sponsor.

Routes to settled status

• Five years' residence: a continuous qualifying period of 5 years, beginning after the end of the transition period, as a joining family member (or with a retained right of residence, or a combination), with no supervening event since.
• Child under 21: a child under 21 of a relevant sponsor with settled status (or of the sponsor's spouse or civil partner, where that spouse or civil partner has settled status and meets the specified conditions) can qualify with less than 5 years.
• Sponsor has ceased activity: for example where the sponsor retired from work in the UK after the specified periods, or stopped working through permanent incapacity.
• Sponsor has died: where the sponsor was a worker or self-employed person at death, had at least 2 years' continuous residence immediately before (or died through a work accident or occupational disease), and the family member lived with them in the UK after 2020 and immediately before the death.

Time spent in the UK with another form of leave, or while exempt from immigration control, after arriving as a joining family member can count towards the continuous qualifying period. Once 5 years have been completed, the relationship may be in the past at the date of the settled status application.

EU settled status →   EU pre-settled status →   If the relationship ends: retained right →

%%I:WARN%%What if a joining family member application is refused or rejected?

A rejection as invalid (for example, for a missed deadline or invalid sponsor) and a refusal on eligibility are different outcomes, and the right next step depends on the reasons. Don't assume you can simply reapply. ENS does not provide appeal or tribunal representation; start with our immigration help page.

%%I:CHEV%%Related ENS guidance

%%I:Q%%Frequently asked questions