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Home > Benefits Guides > Right to Reside > Initial Right of Residence

Right to Reside - Initial Right of Residence

Your right to reside is your legal right to live in the UK. There are lots of different rights to reside and you may have more than one.

  1. 1. What is the right to reside?
  2. 2. Types of right to reside
  3. 3. Settled Status Scheme and benefits
  4. 4. Permanent right of residence
  5. 5. Worker
  6. 6. Retained worker
  1. 7. Self-Employed
  2. 8. Retained Self-Employed
  3. 9. Initial Right of Residence
  4. 10. Jobseeker
  5. 11. Derived Right to Reside
  6. 12. Returning British Citizen

Initial Right of Residence

Which benefits?

If your only right to reside is an initial right of residence, you will not be able to claim any benefits yet.

Do I have an initial right of residence?

If you are an EEA national who moved to the UK before 31 December 2020, you have an initial right of residence for the first three months that you are in the UK. 

You may have another right to reside at the same time.  For example, if you start working as soon as you arrive in UK, you may have a right to reside as a worker as well as an initial right of residence. 

You can check whether you have another right to reside on our Types of Rights to Reside page.

How long do I have an initial right of residence?

Your initial right of residence lasts for three months from the date that you arrived in the UK.


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