Court of Appeal allows appeal on EU Settlement Scheme dependency rules

3 January 2025

The Court of Appeal has concluded that a child, who is over 21 and has rights of residence based on dependency on their EU citizen parent, does not lose those rights if they start working and are no longer financially dependent on the parent.

Essentially, dependency is now determined at the date of application and once that has been established, the right to work takes precedence over the requirement for ongoing dependency.

The leading authority case is R (Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1546.

We would like to remind our readers that previously, dependent children above 21 years old who applied under the EU Settlement Scheme, were always advised to refrain from working or, if needed to work – work part-time only, in order not to lose financial dependency granted on the basis of their EU citizen parent.

It is unclear how many people will be affected by this decision, but it will be good news for many.

The Home Secretary is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, so this may not be the final word on this point.

For further advice and assistance with EU Settlement Scheme applications, or any other immigration matters, please contact our immigration team by emailing Robert Sookias at RobertSookias@cartercamerons.com.