If you are returning to Poland "for a while". After five years, settled status expires on its own.

There is one date circulating in groups: two years. For most Poles, the EU Settlement Scheme is bad.

Settled status is lost if you are outside the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies five years in a row. Swiss: four. Ordinary ILR, granted outside an EU programme: two years. These are three different counters. Confusing them costs you your right of residence.

Pre-settled works differently. To switch to settled status, you need to prove your residence. In 2025–2026, the Home Office simplified the rule: at least 30 months in the UK in the last 60 years is enough. Some pre-settled people receive settlement automatically, without an application. If the system cannot confirm this, the pre-settlement is extended for five years. You can still apply yourself once the threshold is met.

He stays with his parents in Poland for half a year. Selling a flat in Greenford and living in the country since 2019 with no return - after five years the status disappears on its own, without a reminder letter.

Benefits don't come in a suitcase. Child Benefit and part of UC cease when the UK ceases to be a place of residence. You take your GHIC card for a holiday, not for a move. The S1 form is for people who move their living center and the insurance stays in the UK. Duty-free furniture: Transfer of Residence procedure, minimum 12 months of residence here, Council Tax bills as proof.

Before you hand over the keys "for a year, we'll see" - write down the date of departure. After four years and eleven months, there is no rest week. You check the status in your UKVI account, not from memory.

Sources: GOV.UK settled status; GOV.UK ILR rights; Home Office, EUSS automation update 2026.