20 Years Long Residence

20 Years Long Residence

Previously the immigration rules allowed you to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain if you could show you had been in the UK continuously for 14 years – including if some or all of that time was without leave to remain.

The immigration rules now require 20 years’ continuous residence if some or all of that residence was not ‘lawful‘ – because you did not have leave to remain. 

The requirements under the 20 year rule are as follows: 

• You must apply using the correct application form
• You must make a valid application for leave
• You must not be refused under the ‘suitability requirements’
• You must have lived in the UK continuously for at least 20 years

The 20 year long residence rule does not lead directly to settlement, but it allows you to enter the 10 year route to settlement. This means if your application is successful using the 20 year rule, you will be granted leave to remain for 2.5 years, and will then need to have four periods of this on the 10 year route before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Continuous residence requirement

‘Continuous residence’ means you have been living in the UK without significant breaks. 

You may ‘break’ continuous residence in a number of ways, including: 

• If you are away from the UK for longer than 6 months 
• If you are away from the UK for a total of 550 days in the 20 years
• If you are deported during  the 20 year period
• If you leave the UK in circumstances which mean you cannot return lawfully

Time spent in prison cannot be counted towards the 20 years spent in the UK, but does not break the period of continuous residence (you can use the time you spent in the UK before you were in prison, and add it to time spent in the UK after release from prison).

Evidence to prove long residence in the UK

• Passports: Current and expired, including any passports, ID cards or visas you used to enter the UK.
• Official letters: Try to find official documents such as employment contracts, payslips, letters from HMRC, letters from landlords, bank statements which are addressed to you and have your date and address.
• Medical records: Do you have medical records (doctor, dentist, hospital visits, clinics)? These will have dates and evidence of your location. 
• School/educational records. If you attended school or another educational institution, try to gather records of your attendance. Maybe you have a certificate for a course you attended which you could use.
• Bills: Even if you didn’t have a bank account, you may have paid for utilities (phone, internet, gas) with cash. Any receipts or payment records with your name and address can be helpful.
• Community involvement: Participation in community organizations, religious institutions, or volunteering activities can be used to show your residence, such as membership rolls, attendance lists, or photos.
• Charities: If you attended any charities for support, you can try contacting them for proof of your attendance. 
• Perhaps you had contact with social services, and they have proof of your contact with them.
• Witness statements: Statements from individuals who can independently verify your residence in the UK throughout the years, with specific details and dates. This may be from family or friends.
• Digital footprint: If you used any online services or social media while in the UK, timestamps and location data could be used to show your location.
• If you are having difficulty proving residence for some years, consider doing a Subject Access Request. This is a request to see personal information that is held by an organisation or body, for instance the Home Office. It usually takes some time until the information is returned to you, but it may bring up some additional evidence. For example, if you were reporting at the Home Office reporting centre, this would come up in a Subject Access Request. 
• If you have a criminal record, maybe you can request a police record (PNC). This can be used to confirm dates of your residence and is a good way to preempt (this means to take action to prevent) any grounds for refusal. 

Suitability criteria and exclusions

There are ‘suitability’ requirements to meet the criteria for a private life application. This means that the Home Office might refuse your application if the following apply to you: 

• You have a criminal conviction which led to a sentence of more than 12 months
• The Home Office has evidence relating to your ‘bad character’, possibly regarding other immigration applications
• You have unpaid NHS debts

If any of the above apply to you, it is a good idea to provide additional evidence. This may help in pre-empting a refusal on suitability grounds.

How Privity Legal Can Help

The 20 years long residence rule does include a lot of requirements, and candidates must be informed of all the regulations and exceptions that may disqualify them. Nevertheless, these are not impossible to overcome, and those who follow the guidelines will succeed.

The applications are complicated. As immigration lawyers, we can help you to encounter significant obstacles and prepare the supporting documents.

We are immigration lawyers which are expert in relevant immigration rule to obtain indefinite leave and help you to be successful applicants.