Can I Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain After Ten Years?
One of the most common questions immigration solicitors are asked is ‘when can I apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?’ For many, the years on a UK visa and being subject to Immigration controls and the hostile environment, the wait for ILR can seem painfully slow. In this blog we look at whether you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after ten years in the UK.
Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitors
The specialist Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitors are experts in sorting out ILR applications, however tricky or complex your case is. The ILR solicitors are dedicated to getting the best results. For advice on a ten year ILR application call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us using our online enquiry form
OTS Solicitors are recommended for immigration law in the two leading law directories, The Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession. Our committed ILR solicitors will look at your best route to UK settlement. Call us on 0203 959 9123
When can I apply for ILR?
To successfully apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain you have to meet the eligibility criteria including the residence requirement. The length of the residence requirement depends on the type of visa you entered the UK on. The length of the residence requirement can vary from:
• Three years – for some people in the UK on an Investor Visa or on an exceptional talent visa or global talent visa
• Five years – for some people who have stayed on one type of visa such as a Tier 2 (General) visa or family visa or Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa
• Ten years – if you have switched certain types of visa whilst staying in the UK with entry clearance
• Twenty years
ILR Immigration solicitors say that it is best to check the earliest date you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain as you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you can apply for ILR after three or five years.
Generally, Immigration solicitors advise that if you meet the eligibility criteria it is best to consider applying for ILR rather than waiting as, for example, the government could change eligibility criteria rules so that you find you don’t meet the criteria when you decide that you want to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitors
For advice on when you will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain call the ILR solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or click here.
Qualifying for ILR on the ten-year route
To meet the criteria to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain on the ten year route you have to be able to show that:
• You have lived in the UK for at least ten years and that during the ten-year period you had leave to enter or to remain in the UK (in other words you are not an overstayer on a visa)
• You have been living continuously in the UK over the ten-year period. (you can't rely on the ILR ten-year route if there are significant gaps in your visas)
• You are not in breach of Immigration Rules and have complied with your visa conditions (for example if you entered the UK on a student visa and were only allowed to work for a restricted number of hours per week you must have complied with the visa condition)
• You must meet the English language requirement (by either passing the English language test or being exempt from taking the test) and you must pass the Life in the UK test
• It must not be ‘against the public good’ to grant your Indefinite Leave to Remain application
• You must not meet any of the general grounds for the refusal of Indefinite Leave to Remain
Can I apply for ILR after ten years on different visas?
Unlike other Indefinite Leave to Remain routes to UK settlement you don’t have to have been lawfully in the UK on a single type of visa over the ten year period. That means your ten year residence requirement can be met by your being granted entry to the UK on a student visa and then switching to a Tier 2 (General) visa or a family visa
The visa flexibility over the ten-year period is what makes this ILR route so attractive to many ILR applicants who want to settle in the UK.
Have I been continuously resident in the UK for ten years?
Very few people will have not left the UK over a ten-year period so you will be pleased to hear that the residence requirement doesn’t mean that you can't have left the UK during the ten years.
The Immigration Rules say that to meet the continuous residence rule you can leave the UK during the ten-year period provided the absences are within the allowable periods of absence. The rules say you can leave the UK for up to six months but over the ten-year period of your residence in the UK your total UK absences should not exceed:
• Eighteen months or
• 540 days in total
Travel days do not form part of the Home Office absence allowance so it is best to carefully calculate your absences if you are nearly at the Home Office limits.
Can I apply for ILR if I have been absent from UK for over six months?
If you leave the UK for six months or more then the likelihood is that the Home Office will say that you have not been continuously resident in the UK for the requisite period of ten years. An Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitor can assess whether your best option is to:
• Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain when you have ten years in the UK without a break in the residence requirement or
• Ask the Home Office to exercise discretion and grant your Indefinite Leave to Remain application despite the fact that you were out of the UK for over six months (for example due to a bereavement or the ill health of a member of your family).
If you need to ask the Home Office to exercise discretion over your absence from the UK then it is best to use a specialist ILR solicitor to make the best case for you, and to advise on the supporting paperwork you will need in support of your application for discretion to be exercised in your favour.
Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitors
The Indefinite Leave to Remain team at OTS Solicitors are experts at what they do best; advising on your route to UK settlement and sorting out the paperwork for you as well as dealing with the Home Office on your behalf.
OTS Solicitors are specialists in immigration law and settlement applications. If you need help with your Indefinite Leave to Remain application call us on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
London based OTS Solicitors are recommended for Immigration law in the two leading law directories, The Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession. OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors status as trusted specialists in Immigration law. Call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or click here to make an enquiry.