Recent guidance published by the Home Office sets out the concession made to the family Immigration Rules, particularly relating to young adult applicants (aged 18 or above and under 25 years, as in the Private Life rules).
This new concession essentially means that applicants will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after receiving their visas for two continuous periods of 30 months (2.5 years) Leave to Remain, even if they are on the 10-year route. Prior to this concession, applicants on the 10-year route would need to extend their visas every 30 months (2.5 years) before they would be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The concession is expected to prevent applicants who are eligible for Leave to Remain under the private life rules and who have been living here continuously since childhood from completing the full length of the 10-year route to settlement.
To apply, applicants should not submit an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain and instead use the private life Leave to Remain forms. It is open for applicants to apply for a fee waiver, should they meet the eligibility to have the appropriate fees waived. Applicants who pay the fees for the appropriate application would be refunded the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fee if Indefinite Leave to Remain is granted.
The applicant must be applying under private life rules, and not as adult dependants of an adult or part of a family unit. The applicant should also request for consideration of their application under this concession to ensure this is considered as it is not a requirement in all cases. Further, it is to be noted that although this guidance is aimed at young adults, the guidance confirms that the applicant’s age does not need to be under 25 years. Additionally, applicants who meet all the criteria except for having held limited leave for a continuous period of five years may be granted limited Leave to Remain for 30 months, on a 5-year route to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The criteria for applications to be considered under this concession is that the application must, at the date of application:
- Be aged 18 years or above and have spent half of their life living continuously in the United Kingdom (not including any period of imprisonment);
- Have either been born in or entered the United Kingdom as a child;
- Have held limited leave on the basis of family life or private life, for a continuous period of five years; and
- Be eligible for further leave to remain under paragraph 276ADE(1) of the Immigration Rules and have made an application under those rules.
At Elaahi & Co Solicitors, we specialise in understanding complex legal rules and providing you with clear, sound and straightforward advice on how they apply to your case. If you need advice on a whether you may be eligible under this concession, contact our expert team of immigration lawyers a call on 020 3930 3831. We are here to help you.
