Early Indefinite Leave to Remain Concession for Young Adult Private Life Applicants

On 20th October 2021, the Home Office released new guidance in relation to a concession for young adult private life applicants aged between 18 and 24 to make an application for early indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if they fulfil certain criteria. Click here to view the guidance.

Prior to the release of this separate guidance, there was a section in the Family Life (as a partner or parent), private life and exceptional circumstances guidance providing details of the discretion open to the Home Office to grant a longer period of limited leave to remain or early ILR. However, the criteria to meet was the more vague condition of “particularly exceptional or compelling reasons” which was not clearly described. With this new concession, the Home Office has fleshed out the bones of this discretion, albeit with reference to a rather small subsection of individual applicants.

The concession will apply to any applicant in the 18-24 age bracket who entered the UK as a minor and has current leave to remain on the 10-year route to settlement either within or outside the family and private life rules.

It provides that in certain circumstances, the policy factors requiring an individual to complete 10 years of residence on the 10-year route to settlement before being granted indefinite leave to remain, are less relevant. A simple example of this is that if the applicant entered the UK as a minor and is now aged between 18-24 (and therefore a young adult), they should not be held responsible for any previous non-compliance with immigration laws when they were a minor and reliant on their parents or other responsible adults to regularise their immigration status.

The Home Office can assess whether it is proportionate to require the applicant to complete 10 years leave on the 10-year route, or whether they can take into consideration a completed period of 5 years leave.  

If the individual is applying as a dependent of their parent, guardian or family member under Appendix FM, they will be unable to use this concession to apply for early ILR even if they meet all the other requirements, as they will be granted leave in line with their parent, guardian or family member.

For children under the age of 18, they will be considered as dependents of their parents and therefore also ineligible to rely on this concession.

Requirements to meet 

To be eligible for consideration under this concession an applicant must (at the date of application):

• Be aged 18 years or above and under 25 years of age and has spent at least half of his/her life living continuously in the UK (discounting any period of imprisonment);

• Have either been born in or entered the UK as a child;

• Have held five years limited leave; and

• Be eligible for further leave to remain on the grounds of private life (para 276ADE(1) of the Immigration rules) and have made an application to the Home Office for this.

Representations on the basis of this concession should be made at the time that the applicant is making an application for further leave to remain on the basis of private life. Where an argument for early ILR is presented, the Home Office must take into consideration all relevant factors before making a decision.

As it is a Human Rights-based application, the Home Office must also then balance factors in favour of granting the applicant early ILR, with the public interest considerations of the Home Office policy requiring a 10 year probationary period (on the 10-year route) prior to a grant of ILR.

The Guidance offers a list of potential factors (see below), that they would consider relevant in assessing an application made under this concession. The list is not exhaustive, however, and the Home Office must take into consideration any relevant factor for an individual’s case:

• the person’s age when they arrived in the UK

• the length of their residence in the UK (including unlawful residence)

• the strength of their connections and integration to the UK

• whether unlawful residence in the past was the result of non-compliance on the part of the applicant or their parent/guardian whilst the applicant was under the age of 18

• efforts made to engage with the Home Office and regularise status

• any leave currently held and length of continuous lawful leave

• any period of any continuous leave held in the past

• whether (and the extent to which) limited leave to remain will have a detrimental impact on the person’s health or welfare

In terms of who this concession will apply to, it is clear that the group of eligible individuals will be quite narrow. However, it is helpful to have flesh on the bones of what used to be a more vague provision allowing early grants of ILR in cases where there were exceptional or compelling factors.

If you would like advice on making this kind of application, or indeed any other application for leave to remain on the basis of private and family life, please do contact either our Edinburgh or Glasgow offices:  Immigration@drummondmiller.co.uk and one of our experienced solicitors will be able to assist you.