Private Life Claims

Private Life Claims

The private life route is currently integrated within the Immigration rules. The relevant paragraphs of the Immigration rules for the consideration of Article 8 claims include paragraph 276ADE to decide the private life factor of an Article 8 claim and Appendix FM to decide the family life of an Article 8 claim.

Eligibility for leave on Private Life grounds

In order to make a private life claim within the Immgiration rules, the applicants must satisfy one of the below requirements.

• Lived in the UK continuously for 20 years (discounting any period of imprisonment)
• Under the age of 18 and have lived in the UK continuously for 7 years and it would be unreasonable to expect the person to leave the UK
• Aged between 18 and 24 and lived in the UK continuously for at least half of that life (discounting any period of imprisonment)
• Aged 18 or over, have spent less than 20 years (discounting any period of imprisonment) in the UK and would have very significant obstacles to integrate into the country required to go from the UK

In addition to this, it is also essential for applicants to meet the suitability requirements designed to meet public interest and legitimate aims and includes Criminal convictions, failure to pay litigation costs and NHS Debts. THe private life application can be made by anyone; whether they have valid leave to remain or an overstayer. It is also worth noting that there is no English Language proficiency or minimum income requirement. The merits of each application are considered on an individual basis and depth of integration to the UK will always be a key factor. An application can also be made on the basis of family life if the applicant has a parental relationship with a child who is settled in the UK or is British, or the applicant has a genuine and subsisting relationship with a UK partner and there are insurmountable obstacles to family life with that partner continuing outside the UK. Any leave granted under the Private life route, the applicant must spend 120 months under that route to obtain settlement. It is also possible to make a leave to remain application for other purposes not covered by any application forms under FLR (HRO).

How can we assist?

Our Immigration lawyers at City Legal have immense experience in assisting clients on human rights, family and private life visa applications. We can undertake a detailed assessment of the applicant’s circumstances and identify if the refusal would breach any human rights and prepare necessary legal submissions on that basis and in accordance with up-to-date case laws . We are a multi award winning law firm and pride ourselves in being approachable, innovative and always going that extra mile to make sure our clients receive the individual attention they deserve. Our Immigration team maintains a high reputation and is committed to provide clear, transparent and reliable advice to our clients.