EU Settlement Scheme

Except in a few cases, you need to apply if:

• you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, but your family member is (or is an eligible person of Northern Ireland)

The EEA includes the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

This means you need to apply even if you:

• were born in the UK but are not a British citizen - you can check if you’re a British citizen if you’re not sure
• have a UK ‘permanent residence document’
• are a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who does not need to apply - including if they’re from Ireland
• are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen with a British citizen family member

If you have children, you need to apply for them separately.

If you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and you have a family member who is an eligible person of Northern Ireland, you may be able to choose which way you apply.

Who else can apply

You may be able to apply if you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen but:

• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK (but you’ve separated, they’ve died or the family relationship has broken down)
• you’re the family member of a British citizen and you lived outside the UK in an EEA country together
• you’re the family member of a British citizen who also has EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship and who lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you have a family member who is an eligible person of Northern Ireland
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or the child’s primary carer

Please refer to the guidance notes above on how to apply if you're not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.

You may be able to apply if:

• you’re a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the family member of a British citizen and you lived outside the UK in an EEA country together
• you’re the family member of a British citizen who also has EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship and who lived in the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
• you used to have an EU, EEA or Swiss family member living in the UK
• you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland
• you’re the primary carer of a British, EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• you’re the child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who used to live and work in the UK, or the child’s primary carer

More detailed information on each of these situations can be found on the UK Government webpage here

If you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme successfully, you’ll be able to continue living and working in the Isle of Man after 30 June 2021.

You’ll be given either:

• indefinite leave to remain
• limited leave to remain

Successful applications to the Isle of Man EU Settlement Scheme will get either a indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain in letter form.

Successful applications to the UK EU Settlement Scheme will have their status letter emailed them confirming their indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain. This “digital status” will allow you to view your status or prove it to someone else online. You will not usually get a physical document.

Which status you get depends on how long you’ve been living in the Isle of Man when you apply. Your rights will be different depending on which status you get.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

You'll usually get indefinite leave to remain which is also known as settled status if you've:

• started living in the Isle of Man by 31 December 2020
• lived in the Isle of Man for a continuous 5-year period (known as ‘continuous residence’)

Five years’ continuous residence means that for 5 years in a row you’ve been in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least 6 months in any 12 month period. The exceptions are:

• one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting)
• compulsory military service of any length
• time you spent abroad as a Crown servant, or as the family member of a Crown servant
• time you spent abroad in the armed forces, or as the family member of someone in the armed forces

You can stay in the Isle of Man as long as you like if you get indefinite leave to remain. You’ll also be able to apply for British citizenship if you’re eligible.

Limited Leave to Remain

If you do not have 5 years’ continuous residence when you apply, you’ll usually get limited leave to remain. You must have started living in the Isle of Man by 31 December 2020.

You can then apply to change this to indefinite leave to remain once you’ve got 5 years’ continuous residence. You must do this before your limited leave to remain expires.

If you’ll reach 5 years’ continuous residence at some point by 30 June 2021, you can choose to wait to apply until you reach 5 years’ continuous residence. This means that if your application is successful, you’ll get indefinite leave to remain without having to apply for limited leave to remain first.

You can stay in the Isle of Man for a further 5 years from the date you get limited leave to remain.

Your rights with Limited Leave to Remain and Indefinite Leave to Remain

You’ll be able to:

• work in the Isle of Man
• use the NHS for free, if you can at the moment
• enrol in education or continue studying
• access public funds such as benefits and pensions, if you’re eligible for them
• travel in and out of the UK

If you want to spend time outside the UK

If you have indefinite leave to remain, you can spend up to 5 years in a row outside the Isle of Man, UK and Channel Islands without losing your status.

If you’re a Swiss citizen, you and your family members can spend up to 4 years in a row outside the Isle of Man, UK and Channel Islands without losing your indefinite leave to remain.

If you have limited leave to remain, you can spend up to 2 years in a row outside the Isle of Man, UK and Channel Islands without losing your status. You will need to maintain your continuous residence if you want to qualify for indefinite leave to remain.

Each child must have an application and they can be included on a parent's application form or they can apply using their own application form.

Your child is eligible for indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain if they’re under 21 and either they’re:

• an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
• not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, but you are - or your spouse or civil partner is

If your child was born in the Isle of Man, UK or Channel Islands but is not a British citizen, they will still need to apply. You can check here if they’re a British citizen if you’re not sure.

What proof you need

You’ll need proof of your relationship to your child when you make their application. You’ll also need to prove your child’s identity.

You will not need to provide proof of your child’s residence in the UK with their application. However we may ask you for proof of residence before making a decision.

If you’re eligible for the scheme, make your own application first so that you can link your child’s application to yours. 

If you’re not eligible for the scheme but your child is, you can still apply for them. For example, if they live in the Isle of Man and you do not.

You’ll need to provide proof:

• of your child’s identity
• of your child’s Isle of Man residence
• that your child has 5 years’ continuous residence in the Isle of Man

If your child does not have 5 years’ continuous residence

If your child does not have 5 years’ continuous residence when they apply, they’ll usually get limited leave to remain. They must have started living in the Isle of Man by 31 December 2020.

They can stay in the Isle of Man for a further 5 years from the date they get limited leave to remain.

You can apply to change this to indefinite leave to remain once they have reached 5 years’ continuous residence. You must do this before their limited leave to remain expires - this will be 5 years after the date they got limited leave to remain.

If they’ll reach 5 years’ continuous residence by 30 June 2021, you can choose to wait until they reach 5 years’ continuous residence before applying. If their application is successful, they’ll get settled status without getting limited leave to remain first.

If you have children after applying

If you get indefinite leave to remain, any children born in the UK while you’re living here will automatically be British citizens.

If you get limited leave to remain, any children born in the UK will be automatically eligible for limited leave to remain. They will only be a British citizen if they qualify for it through their other parent.

You do not need to apply for indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain if you’re an Irish citizen.

However, if you’re an Irish citizen and your child is not a British citizen, they’ll be eligible for either:

• the same status that you could get, based on how long you’ve lived in the Isle of Man
• indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain, based on their own residence

This also applies if you’re from Northern Ireland and have Irish, British or dual British and Irish citizenship, and your child does not have Irish, British or dual citizenship.

If you're the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland

You can apply if you have a family member who is an eligible person of Northern Ireland, whether you’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or not.

To be eligible, the person of Northern Ireland must:

• be a British, Irish or dual British and Irish citizen
• have been born in Northern Ireland
• at the time of their birth, have at least one parent who held British, Irish or dual citizenship (or was without any restriction on their period of residence)
• be living in the Isle of Man by 31 December 2020

Indefinite leave to enter or remain (ILR) are types of immigration status.

You can continue to live in the Isle of Man without applying to the EU Settlement Scheme if you have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the Isle of Man.

However, if you choose to apply (and meet all the other conditions), you’ll get ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’ - also known as settled status.

This means you should be able to spend up to 5 years in a row outside the Isle of Man, UK and Channel Islands without losing your indefinite leave to remain (instead of 2 years with the indefinite leave to enter or remain you have now).

If you’re a Swiss citizen, you and your family members can spend up to 4 years in a row outside the Isle of Man, UK and Channel Islands without losing your settled status.

You will not have to prove you have 5 years’ continuous residence.

EU Settlement Scheme statistics 1 April 2019 - 30 November 2020