Submitting documents as evidence of residence

When you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme you will not need to provide evidence for your entire UK residence – just enough to show whether you qualify for settled or pre-settled status. You should only need to provide one document dated in the last 6 months to be granted pre-settled status.

If you’re applying as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you’ll need to show they started living in the UK by 31 December 2020.

All the documents you submit as evidence, of your residence in the UK by 31 December 2020, must be dated and have your name on them.

You should only provide one piece of evidence to cover each month or longer period of time.

You can upload a maximum of 10 documents to show evidence of UK residence. Each document must be no more than 6MB in size. We’ll contact you if we need further information.

Use documents that cover longer periods of time if you can, such as annual bank statements, council tax bills or university letters and certificates. This means you will not need to submit as many documents.

A document with a single date on will count as proof of residence for that month only, for example a monthly electricity bill, an official letter or a GP appointment card.

The lists of evidence below are not exhaustive. We may consider other forms of evidence on a case-by-case basis.

Evidence that covers longer periods of time

Documents that cover a longer period of time between 2 dates include:

• annual bank statement or account summary, showing at least 6 months of payments received or spending in the UK
• employer letter confirming employment and evidence that the employer is genuine, for example, their Companies House number
• council tax bill
• letter or certificate from your school, college, university or other accredited educational or training organisation showing the dates you enrolled, attended and completed your course
• invoice for fees from your school, college, university or other accredited educational or training organisation and evidence of payment
• document showing a UK address from a student finance body in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland or from the Student Loans Company
• residential mortgage statement or rental agreement and evidence of payment
• letter from a registered care home confirming your residence there
• employer pension contributions
• annual business account of a self-employed person
• a P60 for a 12-month period – your P60 shows the tax you’ve paid on your salary in the tax year (6 April to 5 April). We may ask you for additional evidence to confirm that you were resident here for at least 6 months of that period.
• a P45 showing the length of your previous employment. You should get a P45 from your employer when you stop working for them.

Evidence that covers shorter periods of time

These documents count as evidence for one month if they have a single date on them. They can be used to cover a longer period of time if they have a start and end date covering longer than a month.

• bank statement showing payments received or spending in the UK
• payslip for a UK-based job
• water, gas or electricity bill showing a UK address
• landline or mobile telephone, TV or internet bill showing a UK address
• domestic bill, such as for home repairs, vet’s services or insurance, and evidence of payment
• card or letter from your GP, hospital or other healthcare professional confirming appointments you have made or attended
• letter from a government department, public service or charity that show you dealt with them on a particular date or for a particular period (for example Job Centre Plus or Citizens Advice)
• passport stamp confirming entry at the UK border
• used travel ticket confirming you entered the UK from another country
• invoice for work you have done in the UK and evidence of payment

Documents you cannot use as evidence

The documents you use should be from an official or impartial source.

You cannot use:

• photos and videos
• letters or references from family and friends
• greeting cards, for example birthday cards
• postcards sent or received
• personal scrapbooks

If you do not have enough evidence

If you do not have enough evidence in your own name, we’ll work with you to confirm when you’ve been resident in the UK based on all the evidence available.