Family Immigration
You may be eligible to remain in the UK on the basis of your family life in the UK with a family member. The family member or partner can either be a British Citizen, be settled in the UK or be a partner who has asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK.
You may also be eligible to remain with in the UK as the parent of a child if the child is not British but has lived in the UK for at least 7 years.
This is provided for under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules via two routes to settlement:
The 10-year route as a partner or parent is applicable to Applicants who meet all suitability requirements but are unable to meet certain eligibility requirements.
10-year partner Route
An Applicant who is in the UK may be eligible to apply for leave to remain in the UK as the partner of person who is:
- British or settled in the UK or
- in the UK with limited leave as a refugee or granted humanitarian protection
In order to qualify for a grant of leave to remain under the 10-year partner route, an Applicant will need to meet the requirements below:
- both the Applicant and their partner must be present in the UK;
- the application made must be valid;
- (i) the Applicant must not fall for refusal under suitability requirements for leave to remain; and
- (ii) the Applicant must meet the relationship requirements as set out in the Immigration Rules
Applications for leave on the 10-year routes to settlement can only be made from within the UK.
If an application is successful, the Applicant will be granted leave to remain for a period of 30 months (2 ½ years). Applicants will be required to extend their visa for a further 30 months on each occasion. Upon completing 120 months, the Applicant will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK (provided they meet the requirements)
Applicant’s granted under this category are permitted to work and study. However, they are prohibited from receiving public funds.
If an Applicant fails to meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules under the family or private life route, the Home Office will be under duty to assess any exceptional circumstance on the basis of the Article 8. Any leave granted would be granted outside of the Immigration Rules.