Permanent Residence Cards

An EEA national can currently apply for a permanent residence document if that individual lived in the UK for 5 years.

You don’t need a permanent residence card to confirm your residence status in the UK unless:

• you’re an extended family member of someone from the European Economic Area or Switzerland and are yourself not an EEA or Swiss national
• you want to apply for British citizenship
• you want to sponsor your partner’s visa application under the Immigration Rules

Your residence card won’t be valid after the UK leaves the EU. A new scheme will be available for EU citizens and their family members to apply to stay in the UK after it leaves the EU.

You’re eligible if both of the following apply:

• you’ve lived with your EEA family member in the UK for a continuous 5 year period
• your EEA family member has been a ‘qualified person’ throughout the 5 years or has a permanent right of residence

You can also get permanent residence if you’ve lived in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years:

• as the extended family member of an EEA national and you’ve held a valid EEA family permit and a residence card throughout
• first as the family member of an EEA national and then with a retained right of residence
• as the family member of a British citizen, if you entered the UK under the EU law after living in another EEA country (‘Surinder Singh’ route)

You can get permanent residence before 5 years if either:

• you were living with your EEA national family member, who was working or self-employed in the UK, immediately before their death
• your EEA national family member was working or self-employed in the UK but has ‘ceased activity’ (stopped work or self-employment because of retirement or permanent incapacity, or because they’re now working or self-employed in another EEA state but are still resident and return to the UK at least once a week)

There are other conditions you need to meet to get permanent residence.