What to do if you are concerned

You should not panic but you should seek professional advice as soon as possible. There may well be an application that can be made; even outside the Immigration Rules where the Home Secretary can exercise their discretion to normalise a resident’s status.

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Long Residence

 

If you have been residing in the United Kingdom for a lengthy period of time you may qualify for indefinite leave to remain under the long residence rules.

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People who have lived continuously in the UK for many years are becoming fretful as the UK’s obsession with illegal immigration is fuelled by the press etc.  It may well be that a person has very good reason to be in the UK but their immigration status was never previously regularised.

 

Anyone affected should check their position and all available options.  Capita (a company with a UK Government contract to force people, who are here without permission, to leave the UK) may start making contact and consequently time may become a serious issue.

 

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We are here to help you

John Atkins | Exclusively Immigration Long Residence
Long Residence

1591805632000

The 180-day absence rule doesn’t apply to people with a spouse or partner visa​

Many UK immigration categories impose a requirement that the visa holder must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period — that is, if the person wants to apply for indefinite leave to remain. and have explored the 180-day absence rule, and exceptions to it, before.  The good news is that this rule doesn’t apply to spouse and partner visa holders. But based on the volume of enquiries my firm receives from people worried they may have spent too much time outside the UK, many seem to be unaware of this. Full article here: https://www.freemovement.org.uk/the-180-day-absence-rule-doesnt-apply-to-people-with-a-spouse-or-partner-visa/ For help and advice contact John Now.​

1591805048000

Immigration appeals are much more likely to succeed if there’s an oral hearing​

A person whose immigration application to the Home Office has been refused sometimes has a right of appeal. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, people essentially had a choice. Their appeal could be heard in person, at court, in front of a judge who would listen to their evidence live (referred to as an “oral hearing”). Or they could opt for a judge to decide the outcome without a hearing, by only reading the documents in the case to reach a conclusion (a “paper disposal”).  The immigration tribunals want to decide a substantial number of appeals on the papers during the pandemic, as set out in a recent . Many practitioners fear this may be indicative of a change of approach even after the lockdown has ended. Whilst some may be suitable for paper disposal, in immigration cases the truthfulness of witnesses is often the central factor in dispute. It has been of concern that even in such cases, judges are canvassing whether representatives will give consent for matters to go ahead by paper consideration alone. Other areas of law are with issues of fairness in cases affected by the pandemic (in the family context, for example, see Re A (Children) (Remote Hearing: Care and Placement Orders) ). Case law the value and weight of oral argument in court. Statistical data obtained through a Freedom of Information request lend support to these observations. The figures cover 264,000 orals hearings and 17,000 paper disposals decided between 2014 and 2019. They show a marked disparity in outcome between the two forms of appeal.​Full Article here: https://www.freemovement.org.uk/immigration-appeals-are-much-more-likely-to-succeed-if-theres-an-oral-hearing/

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