Born outside the UK?

If you are under the age of 18 and you are living in the UK but do not have a legal immigration status, you may be able to apply for limited leave to remain (LLR) under paragraph 276 ADE of the Immigration Rules.

You may qualify if:

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

Please note, any time spent in prison while here is discounted.

If you are aged 18 to 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 limited leave to remain (LTR).

You may qualify under the following two categories of paragraph 276 ADE of the Immigration Rules:

• private life (in most cases, a 10-year route to settled status)
• family life (in most cases, a 10-year route to settled status).

If you were born in the UK and you were not born British, you can also make an application for LTR. The requirements may differ depending on the length of time you have lived in the UK but the principles remain similar.

Please note, any time spent in prison while in the UK is discounted.

1. Evidence

You will need to submit lots of evidence to prove you’ve been in the UK for the period you are claiming. You should also make sure you have a valid passport from your country of birth. It is your lawyer’s job to go through your case with you in detail and to help you get the evidence you need to send in with your application.

2. The length of leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain

It would be normal for the Home Office to grant leave to remain (LTR) on a 10-year route to a settled status. This means it would take 10 years continuous residence for a person to acquire Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), usually involving four immigration applications for 30 months LTR to achieve this.

However, the Home Office would consider granting longer periods of LTR (more than 30 months) or consider granting ILR where a person has already resided in the UK for 5 years with an immigration status.

This would be considered, for example, where the child was not responsible for the immigration non-compliance of their parents and should not be punished with a 10-year route to settlement. Or, the child has already achieved 5 years of residence with an immigration status and it would be detrimental to their health or welfare if they cannot acquire ILR earlier.

Please seek advice from an immigration lawyer about applying for longer periods of LTR or ILR.

3. Costs

When you’re applying for status, you must pay a fee of £1,033 (as of 6 April 2018). You must also pay the NHS surcharge, currently £624 per year based on the duration of the residence permit you are applying for. This fee must be paid before you send your application to the Home Office, otherwise it may be rejected. You can pay the NHS surcharge online, where you’ll be given an NHS surcharge number for your application form.

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

• Home Office guidance: Private life applications
• Home Office guidance: Concession to the family Immigration Rules for granting longer periods of leave and early indefinite leave to remain