Question
I have lived in the UK for 11 years. I was on a Tier 4 visa for the first seven years, Four years ago I applied under EU law for a residence card as an extended family member based on my uncle who has the Greek passport. That application was refused after two years. I then applied on Human Rights as I have a child born in the UK that is British and was granted a two and a half year visa. I have now lived in the UK for over ten years and want to apply for ILR. Does the time wait on a residence permit count towards ten years?
Asked by Mr J.
Allan’s Answer
Dear J.
You do not meet the requirements for ILR on Long Residence (Ten years under Par 276 B of the Immigration Rules)
When you applied for a residence card, that application was under EU law, not UK Immigration law, Although there is discretion when considering ten-year applications to count time spend under EU law, the fact that you were refused that application means that you cannot rely on that period, even though you were waiting for a decision. The reason is that Section 3C that extends a persons visa (UNder UK Immigration law) does not apply to EU law – and therefore when the residence card was refused it was as if you had never had a visa for the entire period. You will have to continue in the current route as the parent of a British Child.
However, you will have been put on a ten-year route from now to ILR, and we can assist you in changing to a 5-year route if you want to book a ZOOM consultation with me.