Children in UK education and their primary carers who can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme must use a paper form, under Home Office guidance updated on 8 October 2026.
Key facts
- Who: people who can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme as the child (in education in the UK) of an EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein national who used to live and work in the UK, and their primary carers; also other paper-only applicants listed below
- From: 8 October 2026 (date the guidance was updated)
- Source: Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by post
The Home Office has updated its guidance on applying to the EU Settlement Scheme by post. The deadline for most people to apply was 30 June 2021, but the guidance says that in some cases people can still apply after that date.
Applicants who can still apply must use a paper form, not the online service, if they apply as:
- the family member of a British citizen they lived with in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein by 31 December 2020, and returned with to the UK
- the family member of a British citizen who is also a citizen of one of those countries, and who lived in the UK as a citizen of that country before becoming British
- the child, in education in the UK, of someone from one of those countries who used to live and work in the UK
The online service also cannot be used by a child, or by a primary carer, who relies on being the primary carer of one of the following:
- a British citizen by 31 December 2020, where the carer had no other type of permission to stay in the UK
- a child of someone from one of those countries who used to live and work in the UK, where the child was in education in the UK by 31 December 2020
- a self-sufficient child from one of those countries
Paper forms are also available where an applicant has significant difficulty with the online process that the assisted digital provider cannot resolve, or does not hold a valid passport or national identity card and wants to rely on alternative evidence of identity and nationality, or of entitlement to apply from outside the UK. The guidance notes that applicants with an expired passport or identity card can still apply online using alternative evidence.
To get a form, contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre. Send the completed form and supporting documents by post to: EU Settlement Scheme, PO Box 2076, Liverpool, L69 3PG. Write your full name on the outside of the envelope and include a covering note with your full name, address and date of birth, listing every document enclosed. The guidance recommends recorded delivery. Do not return the form by email unless the Resolution Centre has told you to.
What this means for applicants
If you are a child in education in the UK, or the primary carer of one, and you can still apply, you cannot use the online service. Contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre for a paper form, then post it with your documents and a covering note to the Liverpool address above. Do not email the form unless the Resolution Centre tells you to. The guidance says anyone who is able to apply online is strongly encouraged to do so.
Related guide
Sources
- Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by post, UK Visas and Immigration, Home Office, updated 8 October 2026