It is important to be aware of the particular requirements for your immigration category. Most, for example, require you to provide evidence of continuous lawful residence; a certain number of days’ away from the UK are acceptable, but there are strict limits, and the way the Home Office calculates absences can be tricky to understand.
Consequently, if you’re looking to apply for settlement in the UK, you should ensure that you have good legal support. Settling means you can stay in the UK without any time restrictions; you will retain that status unless you leave the UK for a continuous 2-year period, or commit serious criminal offences. Latitude Law specialises in applications for settlement,and has had great success handling indefinite leave (ILR) applications on behalf of our clients.
Latitude’s specialist lawyers can advise you on the particular settlement requirements in your immigration category. You will have to prove:
When you are applying for a settlement visa in the UK, it’s extremely important you do everything correctly. That’s why it is recommended that you seek expert legal guidance before you start your application for indefinite leave to remain.
Depending on your background, UK settlement applications can be complicated, and it’s critical that you seek expert advice. Latitude Law is a leading law firm for settlement applications, specialising in all aspects of immigration law. Whether you need help compiling the necessary documents, drafting submissions to the Home Office, or guidance on the appeals or administrative review process if your application has been refused, our team of specialist lawyers are on hand to help.
Our solicitors are driven to help through the complexities of immigration rules in the UK. We constantly update our knowledge of Home Office policy as well as the case law which guides the courts and tribunals. Thanks to our passion for this area of law, we have achieved huge success for clients looking to secure indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
If you are a non-EU citizen, you should not notice any difference in the way your settlement application is processed after Brexit. The same Immigration Rules will continue to apply to you.
Fees for settlement visas have increased steadily over the years and currently stand at over £2300 for standard postal processing. You may wish to consider using a UKVI premium service, which will increase government fees by approximately £600. Your dependants all pay the same fees – there are no discounts for children, for example. One positive of applying to settle is that you no longer have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Every applicant for settlement aged between 18-65 must pass the Life in the UK test; exemptions are awarded on serious health grounds, but are rare. English language testing is required, to level B1 CEFR, for every applicant who is not from a majority English-speaking country, or who does not hold a recognised degree taught in English.
This is a requirement that applies across most UK immigration categories. In general, you must ensure that you have been outside the UK for less than 180 days in any 12-month period. The way this is calculated by UKVI can be confusing; if in doubt, we recommend you seek specialist advice from a member or our legal team.
If you are approaching 5 years in the UK as a recognised refugee or person with humanitarian protection, you will be considering submitting an application for settlement, which you can make up to 28 days before your visa is due to expire. So long as you haven’t travelled back to your home country, obtained a new passport, committed any serious criminal offences, or been involved in other behaviour likely to call your good character into question, your application will normally be approved without further enquiry by UKVI. However, you must remember that such settlement applications are subject to “active review”, which means you can be refused if the Home Office believes you are no longer in need of protection.
By the time you apply for settlement, your family will usually already have joined you in the UK. Their cases will have been considered under the dependant rules for your category of residence, for example, PBS. If you are granted ILR, things can change, in ways which can be complicated. You are strongly advised, before applying for settlement yourself, to get expert advice on the implications for your partner and children. This is especially true if you are applying to settle on long residence grounds after 10 years in the UK. Taking that step can harm your family’s cases, since they are not permitted to apply for ILR as your dependants. Children who are over 18 by the time you apply are particularly vulnerable in such cases, so think twice before you submit your own application.
Anyone granted settlement in the UK will usually retain that status so long as they don’t live abroad for more than 2 years. If you do leave for that length of time, for example because you start a job overseas, you can retain your ILR by returning to the UK for the purpose of settlement within 2 years, or after more than 2 years abroad if you have good reasons why you’ve been away so long. The Immigration Rules for returning residents are complicated, so if you are planning to live abroad for an extended period after being granted ILR, seek expert advice on how this will affect your UK immigration status. Note it is not usually a good idea to simply travel back to the UK if you’ve been away more than 2 years, and try to deal with things at the airport. You run the risk of being landed as a visitor, which can cause you problems when seeking to re-assert your settled status.
You will need to provide the usual documents when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain; English language and Life in the UK papers are required by all applicants. Thereafter it depends on the category in which you seek ILR. If you’re applying on long residence grounds, proof of your continuous lawful residence is required. If applying as a Tier 2 migrant, confirmation of your salary and that your employer still requires your services are essential. You are best advised to seek specific legal advice to ensure that your settlement application is processed successfully.
If you are eligible to use a premium service, you may find out on the day if your settlement application has been successful. If applying postally, a decision is likely to take several months. Remember that your passport and BRP will be with UKVI for this time, and you are not therefore able to travel abroad while your case is being considered.
If you haven’t yet passed a specified English test, or the Life in the UK test, your particular category may permit you to simply extend your leave further, to give you more time to do gain these results. If your issues are more serious – for example, you’re in Tier 2 and your salary is below the settlement threshold, you need to secure legal advice on your options well in advance of your leave expiring.
