20 Year Private Life

This is a Human Rights Application under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act and are essentially discretionary applications to the secretary of state for limited leave to remain and look at the applicants right to private life. London solicitors have detailed experience in Human Rights applications and will consider your application in light of relevant human rights case law.

What is a 20 Year Private Life Application

Under the 20 year rule a person does not have to have lived in the UK lawfully. Rather, they must have lived in the UK continuously over a period of 20 years. Individuals will be required to provide proof of this as part of their application.

Requirements

The 20 years long residence category is a 10 years route to settlement and an application for ILR can only be made once a person has spent 10 years in the UK continuously with leave to remain on the basis of 20 years long residence.

In order to apply for limited leave to remain in this category, the applicant must be:

18 or over, have spent less than 20 years in the UK and would have very significant problems living in the country you’d have to go to – for example, you do not speak the language and could not learn it

25 or over and you’ve been in the UK continuously for 20 years.
You must apply online and we can help you prepare information and documents to provide with your application. If you cannot pay the application fee, you can fill in the online fee waiver request form as well if you cannot afford to pay the fee because you:

  • do not have a place to live and you cannot afford one
  • have a place to live but cannot afford your essential living costs like food or heating
  • have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child’s wellbeing

As part of your 20 year long residence application, you’ll need to provide evidence which proves that you have lived in the UK continuously for 20 years. This can include:

  • Bank statements
  • Housing or accommodation records
  • Information on any voluntary activities for example for charities
  • Letters from friends of relatives
  • Any Doctors or dentist registration documents
  • Letters from religious organisations

This is a complicated area of law with a heavy documentation requirement and requires particular attention and expertise. At London Solicitors our specialist immigration solicitors can help you gather the necessary documents and create effective human rights applications. Remember the onus of proof in justifying that it would be unreasonable to expect you to leave the UK since you have formed significant family life here is on the applicant.

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