Indefinite Leave to Remain and Long Residence
Are you aware that you can apply for Indefinite Leave if you have remained in the UK lawfully for 10 years?
When considering whether the 10 year lawful residence application is the right one for you there are two thing you must consider:
- Do you have continuous leave?
- Do you have lawful leave?
If you cannot satisfy this criteria, then you may want to consider other possible Immigration routes to obtain Further Leave or Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Assuming you can demonstrate that you have continuous leave and that leave is lawful, what other things will the Home Office take into account?
- You must have at least 10 years lawful residence in the UK.
- Having regard to the public interest the Home Office must have no reason to conclude that your presence would be considered undesirable for any of the following reasons:
- Your age
- Your strength of connections in the United Kingdom
- Your personal history, including character, conduct, associations and employment record
- Your domestic circumstances
- Compassionate circumstances
- Any representations made on your behalf
- Your application must not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal.
- You must be able to demonstrate that you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and sufficient knowledge about life in the UK, in accordance with Appendix KoLL in the Immigration Rules.
- You should not currently being in breach of the Immigration Rules.
- What happens if a valid application is submitted but fails to satisfy the requirements for ILR under the Long Residence rules?
Such applications will be treated as applications for limited leave to remain and you will be asked to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of immigration law.