Regularising all kinds of overstayers

An overstayer is somebody who has remained in the UK beyond the period of their visa or leave to remain in UK. For example, a person comes to the UK on a six-month visitor visa but for whatever reasons he/she remains in the UK after the six-month period, or a student or any other migrant remains in UK beyond their leave, then he/she becomes an overstayer.

Any applicant who is applying for leave to remain must not have remained in the UK after the expiry of their original grant of leave, on the date of their application. Remaining in the UK after leave has expired is commonly known as overstaying.

If you have overstayed your visa or you are an illegal immigrant, then you may be somebody who is in the UK unlawfully. It is crucial for any overstayer or illegal entrant to consider making an application to regularise their legal status in the UK immediately, or travel back to theirhome country and make a new visa application to return to the UK.

You may wish to remain in the UK because:

• you have established a private and/or family life.
• you haveworked in the UK and made tax contributions.
• you have been in the UK for a number of years and are well integrated into British society.
• you have family/friends in the UK; or
• you simply feel that you cannot return to your home country for a personal reason.

Situations in which it is possible to regularise your status are:

• If you have children who have a right to live in the UK –that is, children who are British or who have Indefinite Leave to Remain.
• If the children are here illegally or have visas but are not settled in the UK, they need to have lived in the UK for at least seven years and you need to show that it would not be ‘reasonable’ to expect the child to leave the UK.
• Citizens of the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) are not subject to UK immigration law, and neither are their family members – instead, their immigration status in the UK is regulated by EEA law. If your partner is an EEA national, you can benefit from EEA Law to regularise your stay in UK.
• Young people aged between 18 and 25 can apply if they have lived in the UK for at least half their lives.
• People who have lived in the UK for at least 20 years can also apply.
• People who have lived in the UK for less than 20 years can apply on the basis of their private life, but only if they can show that they have no ties at all with their home country.

These are very evidence-based applications, and so the more documents you have to show that you have lived in the UK for this length of time, and the more ties you can show to the UK, the greater the chance of your application being successful.

If you are in such a situation, you should consider submitting an application to the Home Office for leave to remain outside of the immigration rules and ask that you be granted leave to remain in the UK.

If your application is successful, the Secretary of State can grant you the right to become a lawful resident in the UK, which is initially granted for a period of 2.5 years and renewable thereafter to a maximum of 10 years after which you will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, which can then lead to British citizenship.

Our immigration solicitors have an outstanding track record in helping overstayers and illegal entrants in regularising their legal status in the UK. Our clients enjoy continued success in obtaining legal status, even when they have been in the UK unlawfully for days, weeks, months or for many years.

Our solicitors are experienced in dealing with complex cases, delivering innovative solutions with empathy and sensitivity. Our work in this sector includes advising all kind of overstayers, those who have entered the UK without permission, separated families, elderly dependants and individuals from all walks of life.

From the planning stage through to the to end, we are able to assist with the application and we help clients navigate the complex application process. Accordingly, please do not hesitate to get in touch for expert advice if you require any assistance or would like toapply.