Young Londoners

If you are undocumented, you can face many problems including:

• you may be stopped from attending further education and university, or experience administrative problems with your school
• your bank accounts may be closed, or you may be unable to open one
• you will find it hard to rent property (anyone renting a property to you has a legal duty to check your immigration status - this is called a ‘right to rent’ check)
• you may have to pay for some medical treatment
• you will be unable to work. If you are working, this is considered a crime
• restrictions on travel:
  • you may not be able to travel outside the UK without documentation – for example, a valid passport
  • if you do leave the UK and travel abroad, you may be unable to return if you don’t have a legal immigration status
• the government could try to send you to the country of your nationality.

You should check your immigration status to understand its details and conditions. This includes the expiration date (if it is temporary), and the rights and entitlements you have (such as the right to work).

If you have a biometric residence permit, you can check the immigration status details displayed on it.

If you have digital proof of status, you should also check the accompanying grant of status letters that were sent to you.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are unsure of your immigration status or the details contained in it, the best thing to do is to contact a qualified immigration lawyer for advice.

You can try to find a lawyer via the Law Society, or see our section about advice and support below.

If you do not have legal immigration status in the UK, then you might be able to make an application to the Home Office to grant you a legal immigration status. There are different application ‘routes’ for people in different circumstances. Some routes will lead to permanent legal status, but others will lead to temporary legal status which needs to be renewed. Some children and young people may apply to become British citizens straight away.

Here is a summary of some of the main application ‘routes’ for children and young people without legal immigration status:

• Apply to register as a British citizen 
• Apply for status based on your private life 
• Apply for status based on your family life 
• Other routes.

It is possible to be born British if at least one parent is British or has a permanent immigration status. If you were not born British, you may be able to apply to be registered as British. There are many circumstances in which you can register to become British. These include:

• You were born in the UK, you are under 18, and one of your parents has become British or they have a permanent immigration status
• You were born in the UK, and you have lived in the UK for the first 10 continuous years of your life
• You were born outside the UK, your family have now lived in the UK for three years, and one of your parents is a British citizen
• You would have become British automatically, or been entitled to be registered as British,  if your mother was married to your father (immigration law previously discriminated against unmarried women)
• There are other circumstances in which you might be able to register as British and, in some cases, can request registration by discretion. This means that there are other good reasons, not listed above, why you should become British.

It is important to confirm your British citizenship or register as British if you can do so. You can find more information about registering as British via the charity Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizen’s (PRCBC) website 

Registration is complex and there are many different scenarios in which you may be able to register as British. If you are not sure you can contact the charity PRCBC for advice or speak to a qualified immigration lawyer. Find an immigration lawyer.

If you do not meet the requirements to register as British, you may qualify for permission to remain in the UK based on your age and circumstances. This is known as the private life route.

I am under 18 and I was born in the UK

If you were born in the UK, you can apply for permanent legal status (known as indefinite leave to remain) immediately after spending the first seven years of your life here. You can do this even if you have never had any immigration status in the past.

You may qualify if you meet all of the following criteria:

• you are under 18
• you were born in the UK
• you have lived in the UK for at least seven years
• you can show that it would not be reasonable for you to be asked to leave the UK.

Details about applying are available on the government website.

I am under 18 and I was born in another country

If you have been in the UK for seven years but you were not born in the UK, you cannot apply for indefinite leave immediately. You will need temporary status first (known as limited leave to remain).

You may qualify for this route if you meet all of the following criteria:

• you are under 18 
• you have lived in the UK for at least seven years  
• you can show that it would not be reasonable for you to be asked to leave the UK.

You can choose whether to apply for 30 months’ or 60 months’ leave to remain in the UK. There are no additional requirements if you wish to choose 60 months’ leave, but the application fee will be higher.

If you are granted leave to remain through this route, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years with this type of status.

Please note, any time spent in prison or a young offenders’ institute while in the UK is not counted as part of the seven-years you must have lived in the UK. You also should not be absent from the UK for a period of 6 months or more at any one time or 550 days in total during your seven-years.

Details about applying are available from the government website.

I am aged 18 to 24 and I have lived more than half my life in the UK

If you are aged between 18 and 24 and have lived in the UK continuously for more than half your life, but do not have a legal immigration status, you may be able to apply for an immigration status.

You do not have to have been born in the UK, so long as you arrived in the UK as a child and have lived more than half your life here.

You can choose whether to apply for 30 months’ or 60 months’ leave to remain in the UK. There are no additional requirements if you wish to choose 60 months’ leave, but the application fee will be higher.

Please note that any time spent in prison while in the UK is not counted as part of the time you must have lived in the UK. Again, you should not be absent from the UK for a period of 6 months or more at any one time or 550 days in total during your time in the UK.

Details about applying are available from the government website.

I am aged 18 or over but I have not lived half my life in the UK

It may be possible to apply for an immigration status even if you do not fit into the above categories. For example, if you are aged 18 or over but have not lived half your life here or have other serious reasons for needing to stay in the UK.

You can apply if you have obstacles to your integration in your country of origin, for example, an inability to live safely there due to your sexual identity. Or if you there are harsh consequences to you or your family leaving the UK, for example, separation from important unique healthcare in the UK.

There may be other reasons you can put forward, so we recommend speaking to a lawyer before applying. Find an immigration lawyer.

You may be able to apply under the family life route if you meet either of the following requirements:

• You have a partner who is British or has permanent status in the UK. This means you should be married; be in a civil partnership; or have been living together for 2 years. You will need to show that there would be difficulties in your family life continuing outside the UK. Details about applying are available from the government website.
• You have a genuine and ongoing relationship with a British child, or a child who has lived in the UK for 7 years or more. You will need to show that it is not reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK. Details about applying are available from the government website.

Please note the family life route can also be pursued by those aged 25 and over. We recommend speaking to a lawyer before applying. Find an immigration lawyer.

If you are a young Londoner and you do not fit into any of the categories above, it is still worth considering an application for status in the UK. Before you do this, it is important to speak to an immigration lawyer first. Find an immigration lawyer.

Even if you do not fit into one of the categories listed above, you can choose the route that most closely matches your experiences.

The Home Office will have to consider whether there are exceptional circumstances in your case. This means they will need to consider whether a refusal would have a harsh impact on you and the people in your life which cannot be justified. They will also need to consider whether a refusal would breach your human rights.

For example, if you had a long-term illness and had a good relationship with your medical team in the UK, this would be considered during assessment of your case. It could count as an exceptional circumstance, which could result in a successful application to stay.

It may also be possible to apply for asylum to become a recognised refugee in the UK. This route is for people who would fear for their life if they returned to their country of origin or nationality.

More information on applying for asylum as a young person is available in this guidance by Right to Remain.

Most immigration applications consider a person’s character. This includes whether they have followed the law or have any criminal record, or any unpaid NHS debt.

If you have broken the law, have a criminal record, or served a prison sentence, it may affect the type of leave you can get. It may affect when (or if) you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain or become British.

If you think something in your past may cause you problems with your immigration application, we recommend speaking to a lawyer before applying. Find an immigration lawyer.

You will need to submit lots of evidence to prove that you have been in the UK for the period you are claiming. Things like your GP records, and your school records and certificates, will be very helpful. You should also make sure that you have a valid passport from your country of birth or nationality.

It is your lawyer’s job to go through your case with you in detail, and to help you gather the evidence you need to send in with your application.

People normally get nationality at birth. Most people get their nationality from their parents. But sometimes people find that they are not legally a national of any country. This might be because the country their parents are from does not let them inherit their parents' nationality for some reason. For example:

• some countries do not accept children as nationals if they were born outside of that country and do not register with their embassy within a set amount of time
• some countries do not let women pass on their nationality to their children
• sometimes countries change their borders or new countries are created, and people are left unable to prove what country they belong to.

People who are legally not a citizen of any country can apply to stay in the UK as a 'stateless' person. If you think you might be stateless you should check your status, and then read Coram Children's Legal Centre's fact sheet for more information about what to do next.

It is important to maintain a continuous legal immigration status until you get permanent immigration status or become a British citizen. You may have to make more than one application to maintain your status.

If you have a temporary status, then you will need to apply for a further status before your current one runs out. If you have a biometric residence permit, you can check the immigration status details displayed on it, including the expiration date. If you have digital proof of status, you should also check the accompanying grant of status letters that were sent.

If you do not apply for further leave before your current leave runs out, then you will be in the UK without an immigration status. This will leave you vulnerable to being removed from the UK. It will also interrupt your rights and entitlements. For example, you will not be entitled to work or access benefits.

If you have permanent status (‘indefinite leave to remain’), or you have become a British citizen, then you will not need to reapply.

To make sure you can obtain the longest and most secure immigration status, please seek advice from an immigration lawyer about applying for longer periods of leave to remain, indefinite leave to remain or British citizenship. Find an immigration lawyer.

The current fee is £1,048 for applications for ‘limited leave to remain’ under the private life or family life routes. You must also pay the NHS surcharge, currently £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for children.

The total amount will depend on the duration of the residence permit you are applying for. If you cannot afford to pay the fees for this application, you can apply to the Home Office for a fee waiver. Fee waivers are available for this type of application for looked after children, those who can prove they are destitute and for those on a very low income where paying the fee would harm a child’s wellbeing.

The fee is higher for applications for ‘indefinite leave to remain’. The current fee is £2,885. There is no fee waiver for indefinite leave to remain applications. If you cannot afford the fee for an indefinite leave to remain application, you can consider applying for further limited leave to remain because you can obtain a fee waiver for this type of application. You can delay the application for indefinite leave to remain when you are able to afford it.

The current fee for a child to register as a British citizen is £1,214. If you cannot afford the fees for registering as a British citizen, you can also apply for a fee waiver. This is available where the fee is unaffordable because paying it would compromise the child’s essential living needs. Further information about children’s citizenship fees can be found on our page about British Citizenship.

Government funding (called ‘legal aid’) is available for certain immigration applications, but it is not generally available for private or family life applications. If you need legal aid, you or your lawyer may be able to obtain it using an ‘Exceptional Case Funding’ application. You will need to show that you cannot present your case effectively without a lawyer. For example, this could be because your case is too complicated, and you need a lawyer to help. You can also apply for legal aid funding if your case is important. This could be because it breaches your right to family life.

Legal aid is available for children who are separated from their parent(s) or guardian(s) to cover costs for immigration applications.

Important: The application fee normally changes every April. In the past few years, the fee has always increased. The NHS surcharge can also change without much warning. You should always check the current fee before you apply.

Yes. You are strongly encouraged to seek qualified legal advice if you wish to make any of the above applications. You can try finding a lawyer via the Law Society.

You can also search for lawyers via the Legal Aid Agency if you can access legal aid or Exceptional Case Funding.

See also our page, What you can expect from Immigration Lawyers.

Every parent, guardian, or family member will need to make an application in their own right if they do not have immigration status.

They will not automatically gain status because this has been granted to a child or young person. It is recommended that they find an immigration lawyer if they are not sure of their options. Find an immigration lawyer.

Get help from someone who understands your situation. Organisations you can contact include:

• We Belong: a group of young migrants, who are proud to call the UK home. Their aim is for all migrants to have the chance to contribute fully to British society. 

Get free, independent legal advice for your situation. Organisations to contact include:

• Coram Children’s Legal Centre: provides direct support to migrant children and families and the professionals who support them.
  • Online resources: please look at these resources before you contact the advice line.
  • Contact: [email protected]
  • The Migrant Children’s Project’s advice line: 0207 636 8505 (open between 10am - 12pm Tuesday to Thursday)
• Just for Kids Law: client-led support to help children and young people.
  • Contact: 020 3174 2279, [email protected]
• Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC): the only organisation to focus directly on children and young adults and their right to British citizenship.
  • Contact: 020 7354 9631, [email protected]