Extension Of Stay – 20 Years Long Residence

You can apply for renewal of leave to remain which was previously granted for 30 months on the basis of 20 years long residence before your leave expires. An application for renewal of such leave to remain is made under 10 years route to settlement using application form FLR (FP). You can apply for extension of your leave 28 days before the expiry of your leave.

You cannot apply for extension of 20 years long residence leave from outside the UK and such application can only be submitted from inside the UK. The 20 years long residence route is a 10-year settlement route. There is no 5-year route to settlement for those who seek to rely on their 20 years long residence to remain in the UK.

Eligibility Requirements For Extension Of Leave To Remain On The Basis Of 20 Years Long Residence

Paragraph 276ADE(1)(iii) sets out the criteria to be applied, together with the other requirements of the rules, in assessing whether to grant leave to remain to an applicant on the basis of 20 years’ continuous residence.To meet this requirement, an applicant must have lived continuously in the UK for at least 20 years at the date of application, discounting any period of imprisonment.

To qualify for extension of leave to remain for 30 months on the basis of 20 years long residence, the applicant must satisfy the following eligibility requirements:

• The applicant must have current leave to remain granted on the basis of his 20 years long residence in the UK;
• The applicant must meet the suitability requirement as evisaged under paragraph 276ADE(1)(i), and the application of the applicant must not fall for refusal under S-LTR: Suitability;
• The applicant must have lived continuously in the UK for at least 20 years (discounting any period of imprisonment).

Continuous Residence

Continuous residence’ is defined in paragraph 276A(a) of the Immigration Rules as:“continuous residence” means residence in the UK for an unbroken period, and for these purposes a period shall not be considered to have been broken where an applicant is absent from the UK for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided that the applicant in question has existing limited leave to enter or remain upon their departure and return, but shall be considered to have been broken if the applicant:

• has been removed under Schedule 2 to the 1971 Act or section 10 of the 1999 Act, has been deported or has left the UK having been refused leave to enter or remain here; or
• has left the UK and, on doing so, evidenced a clear intention not to return; or
• left the UK in circumstances in which he could have had no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that he would lawfully be able to return; or
• has been convicted of an offence and was sentenced to a period of imprisonment or was directed to be detained in an institution other than a prison (including, in particular, a hospital or an institution for young offenders), provided that the sentence in question was not a suspended sentence; or
• has spent a total of more than 18 months absent from the United Kingdom during the period in question.

‘Lived continuously or living continuously’ is defined in paragraph 276A(c) of the Immigration Rules as:“lived continuously” and “living continuously” mean “continuous residence”, except that paragraph 276A(a)(iv) shall not apply.

Super Priority Service (Decision Within 24 Hours) For Extension Application

As the expert immigration solicitors based in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Super Priority Service (SPS) for your application whereby decision on your application will be made by the Home Office UKVI within 24 hours of the enrolment of biometrics at a designated service centre.

Our immigration solicitors can prepare and submit your application to the Home Office, UKVI through Super Priority Service (SPS) and get decision on your immigration application within 24 hours. This way, you will not have to wait for the decision on your application for months (sometimes years).

How Can We Help For Extension Of 20 Years Long Residence?

Our specialist team of long residence solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal services for your application for extension of 20 years long residence from inside the UK. As your appointed legal representatives for 20 years long residence extension application, our work can include the following:

• assessing your eligibility for extension of 20 years long residence by considering all the relevant eligibility requirements;
• advising on relevant documents to be submitted in support of the application;
• assessing the documentary evidence to ensure that the documents are in line with the Home Office UKVI requirements for extension of 20 years long residence leave to remain;
• completing online application form for extension of 20 years long residence leave to remain;
• preparing a detailed cover letter in support of your application to explain in detail how all the relevant requirements for extension of your leave to remain under 20 years long residence have been satisfied by the applicant;
• submitting the application online, paying the Home Office UKVI fees for 20 years long residence extension application and booking applicant’s appointment with the UKVCAS application centre;
• uploading all the supporting documents online in support of the application;
• doing all the follow up work including responding to any queries raised by the Home Office UKVI until decision is reached on your extension application.

Our Fee For 20 Years Long Residence Extension Application

Unless your matter is very complicated, our fees for providing expert legal help and assistance with 20 years long residence extension application from inside the UK are given in the fee table below:

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the application for extension of 20 years long residence leave to remain and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee for helping with an application for extension of 20 years long residence leave to remain, the applicant will also have to pay the Home office UKVI fees for the application.