Ten-year continuous residence and applications for indefinite leave to remain
Many people assume that after ten years continuous residence in the UK they will be able to apply to the Home Office for Indefinite Leave to Remain. top London immigration solicitors will tell you that depending on individual circumstances you may need to be able to establish ten years of continuous residence before you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The best London immigration solicitors think it is important that migrants understand the difference between the five-year continuous residence route to obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain and why, in some situations, applicants ten years of continuous residence to be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
top London immigration solicitors also say it is vitally important that applicants understand the complexities of the rules surrounding continuous residence so that they do not fall foul of the rules and have to “restart the clock”.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors are specialist in Immigration law matters and recommended for Immigration law in the Legal 500. OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.
For advice on applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years or ten years of continuous residence or to challenge the refusal of an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain please call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our experienced London immigration solicitors.
What is the difference between a five-year continuous residence and a ten-year continuous residence Indefinite Leave to Remain application?
Why wait for ten years if you do not need to do so. You may however have no choice but to wait if you cannot show that you have been living in the UK on the same visa for five years continuous residence.
However, the best London immigration solicitors will tell you that for the purposes of calculating your 5-year period of continuous residence in the UK, time spent in the country on a student visa does not count towards the five years of continuous residence.
Student Visas and continuous residence requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain applications
If you have been in the UK for five years on a Tier 4 student visa, you will not be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. To be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain after being on a student visa, you need to switch visa to a different visa after you have completed your studies.
For example, an applicant could switch to a Tier 2 (General) Visa, or to a UK partner visa. They would then need to stay in the UK on the new type of visa for another five years and apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The definition of ten-year continuous residence in the UK for an Indefinite Leave to Remain application
top London immigration solicitors advise that the rules on continuous residence are complicated. It is vital that applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain get advice at an early stage in the visa process so that they comply with the continuous residence requirements. Failure to do so may mean that their Indefinite Leave to Remain application is rejected or that they have to delay submitting an application, having “reset the clock” on their period of continuous residence.
To qualify for the 10-year continuous residence route, an applicant for Indefinite Leave to Remain must have had continuous residence (with no breaks in between visas) in the UK for 10 years.
The best London immigration solicitors also advise that to qualify for ten years continuous residence you cannot have:
• Spent more than 180 days (at any one time) out of the UK; and
• Spent more than 540 days (eighteen months) outside of the UK during the entire ten-year continuous residence period.
If an applicant exceeds the 180 or 540-day rules, then the Home Office can be asked to exercise discretion. However, for the Home Office to agree to exercise discretion there has to be a serious or compelling reason for non-compliance such as serious illness.
Lawful residence
Applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain based on ten years continuous residence do not just have to have lived continuously in the UK for a ten-year period. The best London immigration solicitors advise that the period of continuous residence has to be “lawful residence”.
If there has been a relatively short break in lawful continuous residence than the top London immigration solicitors advise applicants to take legal advice on whether they should still apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain and ask UK Visas and Immigration to exercise discretion. It is important to take specialist advice on the prospects of UK Visas and Immigration exercising discretion prior to submitting the Indefinite Leave to Remain application.
Breaks in visa periods
If an applicant had breaks in their visa dates, then this will not create a problem with their period of continuous residence if they submitted the application for a new visa before their visa/leave ran out. The important point is that the visa application was pending with the Home Office.
The best London immigration solicitors therefore advise that anyone who has submitted an application for a visa late takes advice on their period of continuous residence. If an applicant has, at any point during the ten-year period, been classed as an overstayer this will break the period of lawful continuous residence.
However, close attention to the Immigration Rules show that even if an applicant has overstayed their application for Indefinite Leave to Remain may still be successful if the visa applications were made out of time by no more than 14 days. This is provided there was good reason for the delay in submitting the visa application. Furthermore, the Home Office will consider exceptional circumstances when the period of overstay was longer than 28 days if it took place prior to the 24 November 2016.
Additional eligibility requirements for applicants applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain after ten years continuous residence
It is not sufficient to have lawfully lived in the UK for ten years. In addition to ten years continuous residence in the UK an applicant for Indefinite Leave to Remain must show that:
• There are no reasons why granting Indefinite Leave to Remain is against the public good; and
• They have passed the Life in the UK test; and
• They have passed the English test.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors are specialist firm of London based solicitors who are recommended for Immigration law in the law directory, Legal 500. OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.