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A person who has been residing legally in the UK for 10 years can apply to the Home Office for Indefinite Leave to Remain (also known as permanent residency or settlement). This is also known as an application under the Long Residence provisions.
To qualify, the applicant must have been “continuously resident” for 10 years in the UK, in any immigration category, or a combination of different immigration categories. “Continuous residence” means residence in the United Kingdom for an “unbroken period”. For the purposes of this category, a period shall not be considered to have been broken where an applicant is absent from the United Kingdom for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided that the applicant in question has existing limited leave to enter or remain upon their departure and return.
Continuous residence will have been broken, however, not only if the applicant has exceeded the 6 month rule referred to above, but also if they have spent more than 540 days in total outside the UK throughout the full 10-year period. It will also be deemed to have been broken in a number of other situations, for example if the applicant has been convicted of an offence and received a prison sentence, or has left the United Kingdom and shown a clear intention not to return (the full list of situations in which continuous residence will be broken is set out in Part 7 of the Immigration Rules).
As with Indefinite Leave to Remain under other routes, the applicant will have to pass the Life in the UK test and provide evidence of sufficient English language skills.
Family members cannot be included in an application, however they can apply to remain in the UK as the partner or child of a settled person if the application is successful.
This route is most relevant to individuals who have been in the UK on visa routes that do not lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years, such as the Tier 4 categories, or to individuals who have been in the UK for 10 years in different visa categories.
An applicant granted Indefinite Leave to Remain under the Long Residence provisions is free from immigration time restrictions. They will not lose their Indefinite Leave to Remain status unless they are absent from the UK for more than two years or commit a serious offence.
Gherson has extensive experience in dealing with Indefinite Leave to Remain applications under all routes. Should you require any assistance or advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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