Private Life Visas
The “Private Life” rules are part of the Immigration Rules. The Home Office has, confusingly, taken the term “Private Life” from the language of Article 8 ECHR (the right to a private and family life).
These rules provide a route for migrants who are unlawfully in the UK to regularise their status and obtain settlement. Such a migrant might be an illegal entrant, or they might have come legally to the UK on a visa but subsequently overstayed, or they might have been born in the UK without any right to immigration status.
The rules provide a mixture of detailed mathematical requirements – based on the length of time the applicant has lived in the UK, either legally or partly illegally, and their age – and discretionary principles.
So, for example, an adult might need to have lived in the UK for at least 20 years before they can take advantage of the scheme but in other cases they only must show that they have lived in the UK for at least half of their life. In other cases, applicants who have been in the UK for less than the prescribed period may be able to submit an application on a discretionary basis.
A child born in the UK can be the main applicant’s dependant and if the application is successful, they should be granted the same period of leave as the main applicant. Leave can be granted for either 30 months or 60 months, depending on the case, and there is a route to settlement after five or ten years, also depending on the case.
A child born in the UK who has lived in the UK for at least seven years may be able to apply for immediate settlement. Children’s applications are always decided on a discretionary basis and are likely to be dependent on their parents’ situation.
There is no English language requirement but there are standard English language and Life in the UK Test for settlement applications.
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PRIVATE LIFE VISAS
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