Closure of the Surinder Singh Route
The High Court has confirmed that the Home Office acted lawfully in closing the Surinder Singh route under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to new applicants on the 9th of August 2023. The judgment in R (Lin & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] provides important clarification on the limited protections available to this category of applicants following Brexit.
The Surinder Singh route, derived from EU free movement law, allowed British citizens returning to the UK after living in another EEA country to bring non-EEA family members under more favourable rules. After Brexit, it was incorporated into the EUSS as the “family member of a qualifying British citizen” category. However, unlike other EUSS routes, it was not protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, meaning the government could lawfully amend or close it.
Although the main deadline for applications passed on the 29th of March 2022, the Home Office initially allowed late applications. This position changed on the 9th of August 2023, when the route was formally closed to new applicants. After this date, individuals could no longer apply from within the UK under this category, and there was no general provision for late applications based on reasonable grounds. Limited exceptions remained for those who had already obtained EUSS family permits.
The claimants in this case were family members of a British citizen who had exercised free movement rights in Ireland. They held EEA residence cards but had not applied to the EUSS before the closure of the route. They argued that their residence cards demonstrated continuing lawful residence and that they had been treated unfairly compared to those holding EUSS family permits, who were still able to apply after the deadline.
The High Court rejected these arguments, finding that residence cards issued under EU law did not provide a continuing right to stay in the UK after Brexit. EU law rights ended on the 31st of December 2020, with only limited extensions under UK law until the 30th of June 2021. As a result, the claimants could not rely on those documents to support an application under the scheme.
The court accepted that there was a difference in treatment between individuals already in the UK without EUSS status and those holding EUSS family permits. However, it found this difference to be justified. The Home Office’s aim of aligning the Surinder Singh route with the wider family migration system was considered legitimate, and the approach taken was proportionate. The court also noted that those already in the UK had sufficient opportunity to apply before the deadline.
The judgment confirms that strict deadlines under the EUSS apply, especially for those not protected by the Withdrawal Agreement. Surinder Singh applicants who missed the deadline have very limited options, even if they previously held EU law documents. While legally sound, the ruling means some people who once qualified under EU law may now be without status and may need to rely on more restrictive and costly immigration routes.
By: Hanna Barzinji