EUSS Zambrano Right to Reside

What is a Zambrano right to reside under the EUSS?

A Zambrano right to reside came from EU law, not the Free Movement Directive. It allowed the carer of a dependent British citizen to live in the UK where refusing that right would force the British citizen to leave the EU, the EEA and Switzerland altogether. The name comes from the court judgment of that name.

A Zambrano right to reside in the UK ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020. These cases are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement or the other citizens' rights agreements. The UK decided, as a more generous domestic provision, to give people who had this right by the end of the transition period access to the EU Settlement Scheme from 1 May 2019 — until the route closed to new applications on 8 August 2023.

How ENS can help with a Zambrano case

Most people still able to use this category already hold pre-settled status as a Zambrano carer or dependant. We can review your history and tell you what the next step looks like.

Who can still apply as a Zambrano carer or dependant?

The Zambrano category closed on 8 August 2023 to people applying on this basis for the first time. From 9 August 2023, an application relying on it is valid only in the situations below; otherwise it will be rejected as invalid.

• You applied as a person with a Zambrano right to reside by 8 August 2023.
• You hold pre-settled status on this basis that has not lapsed or been cancelled, revoked or invalidated — there is no deadline to apply for further status, usually settled status.
• You entered the UK with an EU Settlement Scheme family permit granted on the basis that you were a Zambrano “specified EEA family permit case” — you can apply before the leave to enter from that permit expires, or later if there are reasonable grounds for the delay.

Applications in this category use the required paper application form. Family permits are outside the scope of this page — see GOV.UK family permits. On reasonable grounds for delay, see our late applications guide.

Who is a person with a Zambrano right to reside?

There are two groups: the primary carer of a British citizen, and certain dependants under 18 of that primary carer. In both cases, every condition must be met throughout a continuous qualifying period of UK residence that began before 11pm on 31 December 2020 — not just on the day you apply.

The guidance notes that an EEA citizen could rely on their own residence, so a person needing the Zambrano provisions is likely to be a non-EEA citizen.

Does holding other UK leave affect a Zambrano application?

Not for any period in which you held it. A Zambrano right to reside is only for someone with no other lawful basis of stay. You cannot meet the definition while holding leave under another part of the Immigration Rules (such as Appendix FM), Discretionary Leave or Leave Outside the Rules — unless it was EUSS leave, leave extended by section 3C, or EUSS family permit leave on the specified basis.

Following a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that a Zambrano right does not arise where a person holds leave to remain, the Home Office announced on 13 June 2022 that it would keep this rule in Appendix EU. A later Upper Tribunal decision in 2023 confirmed that someone holding non-EUSS leave at the relevant date cannot be a person with a Zambrano right to reside.

If earlier leave ended before 31 December 2020, a continuous qualifying period as a Zambrano carer can start from the date it ended, provided the other criteria are met. Leave extended by section 3C because of a pending in-time application does not, on its own, exclude you.

Who is an “exempt person”?

• Someone who had a right to reside under the former EEA Regulations other than a derivative right — for example as an EEA citizen or their family member. Other EUSS categories are then considered instead.
• Someone with the right of abode, such as a British citizen — the application is treated as void.
• Someone exempt from immigration control.
• Someone with indefinite leave to enter or remain — who may instead qualify for settled status on the basis of that existing leave.

Who counts as the British citizen in a Zambrano case?

The person cared for must be a British citizen who lives in the UK. British citizenship must have been acquired before 11pm on 31 December 2020 (or, for a relevant EEA family permit case, before 11:59pm on the date of arrival), and the British citizen must have lived in the UK throughout the continuous qualifying period the carer relies on.

Documents that will normally show British citizenship include a current British passport, a certificate of registration or naturalisation, a UK birth certificate (with evidence of a parent's status for births on or after 1 January 1983), a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode, or a derivative residence card issued on this basis. British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British Nationals (Overseas), British subjects and British protected persons are not British citizens for this purpose.

If the British citizen stops living in the UK, the carer's continuous qualifying period is broken — even if the carer never left and the British citizen later returns. A short absence, such as a two-week holiday, does not end residence.

What is the primary carer test?

A primary carer is a direct relative or legal guardian of the British citizen who either has primary responsibility for their care or shares that responsibility equally with one other person. Paying towards someone's care is not enough on its own. Both parts — the relationship and the caring responsibility — must be shown.

Direct relative or legal guardian

The accepted direct relatives are an exhaustive list: parent, grandparent, brother or sister, spouse or civil partner, child, or grandchild of the British citizen. A step-parent is not a direct relative unless there is also an adoption order or legal guardianship order, and the partner of the child's parent in a durable partnership is not one unless there is a guardianship order. If you are not a direct relative, you must be the British citizen child's legal guardian under a valid guardianship or special guardianship order; other family court orders are considered case by case.

Primary responsibility for care

• A parent who lives permanently with the child and does not share their care is accepted as having primary responsibility. The Home Office will ask about the other parent's whereabouts and immigration status.
• Two people can share responsibility equally even if the child spends more time with one — for example, a child living with one parent in the week and the other at weekends. Parents who live together with the child are usually treated as sharing equally, even if only one works.
• Where there are two primary carers, both can qualify only if they took on equal care responsibility at the same time. If one already held a derivative right or EUSS status as a primary carer before the other took on care, only the first may be eligible.

Where the British citizen is an adult

An adult British citizen is generally assumed to be able to meet their own needs. The carer must show that the adult cannot meet most of their own care needs and that the carer meets most of them. The evidence required is higher than for a child — usually showing a severe physical or mental disability or impairment, or a serious long-term illness. Evidence may include a signed letter on headed paper from the consultant or specialist involved. An 18 to 21-year-old at university, living at home or seeking work is generally treated as meeting their own needs unless there is clear and compelling evidence otherwise.

Would the British citizen be unable to live in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland?

This is the heart of every Zambrano case. The Home Office asks what would actually happen if the carer were required to leave the UK indefinitely: would the British citizen be more likely to stay in the UK, or to leave with the carer? The assessment must be based on the real facts, not on a hypothetical or assumed situation.

It looks at the position during the continuous qualifying period relied on and, where 5 years have not been completed, at the date of application — not at the date of the decision.

Where the British citizen is a child

Where you are the sole primary carer and the child lives full-time in a single-adult household with you, the Home Office will usually accept that the child would leave the UK with you. Where care is shared, it considers whether the child would leave with you or stay in the UK with the other primary carer, looking at:

1. The other carer's circumstances — for example whether they live lawfully in the UK. The child is not expected to stay with a carer who is in the UK unlawfully or has no right to live here, or who is unsuitable because of child protection concerns. Inconvenience, lack of money or unwillingness alone does not make a carer unsuitable.
2. The child's age — for example a baby, a child at nursery or primary school, or one preparing for exams.
3. The child's physical and emotional development.
4. Emotional ties to each carer, starting from who the child lives with, and the child's best interests — a primary consideration, but not the only consideration.
5. The risk to the child's stability from separation, based on evidence rather than assumptions.
6. Any other relevant factor raised in the application.

Where the British citizen is an adult

The question is whether the adult would be compelled in practice to leave with the carer — not what they would prefer. The Home Office considers the care provided, whether another direct relative could take over, whether local authority or private care could meet their needs, and whether medical treatment in the UK means they could not, or would not, travel.

Could the British citizen live in the EEA or Switzerland instead?

If either the British citizen or the carer has a right to live in an EEA country or Switzerland — for example through citizenship, a residence card or status under the citizens' rights agreements — the carer must show, on the balance of probabilities, that the British citizen could not lawfully live there with them, or would in practice live with them somewhere else. If neither has such a right, the application will not be refused on this point.

Can the primary carer's other children qualify?

Yes, in some cases. A dependant under 18 of a Zambrano primary carer — often the British citizen's non-British sibling — can qualify where the British citizen's primary carer is also their primary carer, meets the Zambrano carer definition, and would in practice be prevented from living in the UK if the child left the UK indefinitely.

• Age: under 18 before 31 December 2020 and at the date of application, unless already granted pre-settled status on this basis while under 18.
• Relationship: the carer must be the child's parent, grandparent, brother or sister (an exhaustive list), or legal guardian. Step-parents do not count unless there is an adoption or guardianship order.
• Carer's status: usually shown by the carer's own EUSS grant on the Zambrano basis, for example by giving their application number.
• Practical effect: the same kind of fact-based assessment as above, looking at whether the carer would leave the UK with the child or stay without them.
• No other leave, on the same basis as for the primary carer.

Where guardianship ends because the child turns 18 before completing 5 years, the guidance disregards that if the child already had pre-settled status on this basis granted on an application made while under 18.

What date and residence conditions apply?

Your continuous qualifying period as a Zambrano carer or dependant must have begun before 11pm on 31 December 2020 and been continuing at that time. It must then either still be continuing when you apply, or have ended only when you completed 5 years. A new qualifying period cannot be started after 31 December 2020.

Absences and what breaks continuity are covered on our EUSS continuous residence page. That is a different framework from Appendix Continuous Residence, which applies to other settlement routes.

How do Zambrano carers move from pre-settled to settled status?

By applying for settled status once a 5-year continuous qualifying period is complete. The Home Office does not generally revisit why pre-settled status was granted, but it will check that you did not hold other leave at 31 December 2020 or when you first applied. If you did, the settled status application will be refused.

• Other leave after your first EUSS application — most often Appendix FM leave — can end your Zambrano qualifying period, depending on the order and dates of the applications. The guidance sets out four scenarios and how to treat each one.
• The British citizen must not have lost British citizenship (by renunciation, deprivation or nullification) and must have continued to live in the UK.
• You must have remained the primary carer from your first application to the current one, or to the 5-year point if earlier. If the British citizen has turned 18, this includes whether you are still a direct relative or guardian and whether they have a severe disability or impairment requiring a primary carer.
• The practical test must have continued to be met over the same period.
• A dependant does not need to still be under 18, provided they were under 18 before 31 December 2020 and when they first applied.

EU settled status in full →

What evidence supports a Zambrano application?

Evidence has to cover each stage across the whole qualifying period: the British citizen's nationality and UK residence, your relationship and caring role, and why the British citizen would in practice have to leave if you did. Copies are accepted, but the Home Office can ask for originals where it has reasonable doubt.

What outcome can a Zambrano applicant expect?

If the Zambrano definition is met, the outcome depends on the length of the continuous qualifying period. With 5 years and no supervening event since, the applicant is considered for settled status. With less than 5 years, they are considered for pre-settled status (5 years' limited leave). Both are subject to the EUSS suitability requirements.

A supervening event includes an absence of more than 5 consecutive years since completing the 5-year period, or certain deportation, exclusion or removal decisions. See also EUSS suitability and cancellation and curtailment.

Why Zambrano cases often need individual advice

Zambrano decisions turn on detailed facts — who does the caring, what any other carer would do, past leave and the exact sequence of applications. Small differences in the history can change the result. If your case involves shared care, an adult British citizen, Appendix FM leave at any point, or a previous refusal, it is likely to need careful individual advice before you apply.

If an application is refused

A refusal letter will explain the reasons and the options available. Get advice promptly. ENS does not provide appeal or tribunal representation; start with our immigration help page.

Related ENS guidance

Frequently asked questions