Parents of EEA children in education

You are the parent of an EEA national child in education with a right to housing and benefits until the child completes their course if:

• both you and the child have EU pre-settled status, or you both made applications on time to the EU Settlement Scheme which have not yet been decided; and
• the child started a course of education in the UK, such as attending primary or secondary education or beginning a college or university course; and
• a parent of that child has been, at some time when the child was resident in the UK, an EEA worker (including work while registered on the Worker Registration or Worker Authorisation Scheme).

Note that the child’s parent needs only to have been a worker during any time while the child was resident here, it is not necessary for the child to have started their course by then.

The child has the right to reside while finishing the course of education, and the parent or parents with care of the child (whether EEA citizens or not) also have the right to reside. There is no requirement that the child or parent/s in this case be self-sufficient.

For children in school, finishing a course of education means completing their compulsory school education.

When a child completes five years with this right to reside they get the permanent right to reside (for more on this see here for England and Wales and here for Scotland).