Initial Application Under 7 Years Child Residence Route

You can apply for initial leave to remain for 30 months or 60 months under the 7 years child residence route if you are a child under the age of 18 who was born outside the UK and has lived in the UK for at least 7 years continously. An application for an initial leave to remain as a child under the 7 years child residence route is made in accordance with requirements as set out in Appendix Private Life of the Immigration Rules. The qualifying child who has completed 7 years residence will be granted leave to remain for 30 months or 60 months, as requested, under 5 years route to settlement which means the child can apply for ILR after 5 years of continuous residence under this route.

A child born in the UK who has been continuously resident for 7 years may qualify for immediate settlement on this route.

Family Members Of The Child Who Has Completed 7 Years Residence

Parent and minor siblings of the qualifying child who has completed 7 years residence can also apply for leave to remain in the UK either at same time or after the child has been granted stay under 7 years child residence route. The family members will be granted leave to remain for 30 months under 10 years route to settlement which means they will qualify for ILR after they have completed 10 years of lawful residence in the UK under Appendix Private Life of the Immigration Rules. A child born in the UK to a person who has permission on the Private Life route can apply for permission for the same duration as their parent.

Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors and the high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of fully qualified and experienced immigration solicitors is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide fast, friend reliable and fixed fee immigration advice and legal representations in relation to your application for initial leave to remain as a child who was born outside the UK and has lived in the UK continuusly for 7 years.

Ask a question to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation session with one of our immigration lawyers concerning your application for initial leave to remain as a child who born outside the UK and lived in the UK for 7 years continuously.

Requirements For Initial Leave To Remain Under 7 Years Child Residence Route

A child applying for initial leave to remain on the basis of living continuously in the UK for 7 years should meet the following requirements of the Immigration Rules as set out in Appendix Private Life:

Valid Application

The applicant must submit a valid application for leave to remain as a child who was born outside the UK and lived in the UK for 7 years continuously in accordance with requirements for a valid application as set out in Appendix Private Life of the Immigration Rules.

Suitability Requirements

The applicant's application for initial leave to remain as a child must not fall refusal on suitability grounds as set out in the Immigration Rules.

Residence Requirement

The applicant must have lived continuously in the UK since their entry in the UK for at least 7 years at the date of application.

The period of continuous residence may include time spent in the UK with or without permission. The period of continuous residence does not include any period during which the applicant was serving a sentence of imprisonment or was detained in an institution other than a prison.

The period of continuous residence is broken (i.e. is no longer continuous) if any of the following apply:

the applicant has been absent from the UK for more than 6 months at any one time; or
the applicant has spent a total of 550 days or more absent from the UK during the relevant period of continuous residence of 7 years; or
the applicant has been removed, deported or has left the UK having had an application for permission to enter or stay in the UK refused; or
the applicant left the UK with no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that they would lawfully be able to return.

Not Reasonable To Expect The Child To Leave The UK Requirement

The decision maker must be satisfied that it is not reasonable to expect the applicant to leave the UK. In accordance with the findings in the case of AB Jamaica (Secretary of State for the Home Department v AB (Jamaica) & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 661), consideration of whether it is reasonable to expect a child to leave the UK must be undertaken regardless of whether the child is actually expected to leave the UK.

In the caselaw of KO (Nigeria) and Others [2018] UKSC 53, with particular reference to one of the appellants NS (Sri Lanka), the Supreme Court found that ‘reasonableness’ is to be considered in the real-world context in which the child finds themselves. The parents’ immigration status is a relevant fact to establish that context. The determination sets out that if a child’s parents are both expected to leave the UK, the child is normally expected to leave with them, unless there is evidence that that it would not be reasonable.

In relation to children whose parents do not have permission to stay, there is not a presumption in favour of them, and their parents, being granted permission to stay. It remains necessary in each case to evaluate all the circumstances in order to establish whether it would be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK with their parents. If it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK, then the family as a whole may be entitled to remain.

The above assessment must consider the child’s best interests as a primary consideration. The Home Office UKVI should carefully consider all the relevant points raised in the application and carefully assess any evidence provided. Decisions must not be taken simply on any assertions about the child, but rather on the basis of an examination of all the evidence provided. All relevant factors need to be assessed in the round.

Super Priority Service For Decision Within 24 Hours

As specialist immigration solicitors based in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Super Priority Service for initial application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route whereby decision on your application will be made within 24 hours if you submit your application through Super Priority Service. This way, you may not have to wait for the decision on your application for months (sometimes years).

How Can We Help?

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis in relation to your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route. Our fixed fee for your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route will entail the following:

Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route to succeed.
Advised on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route;
Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route are in accordance with the requirement of the Immigration Rules.
Completing application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form for your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.
Submitting application through Priority or Super Priority Service: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route through priority or super priority service to get faster decision on your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After the online submission of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route, our immigration lawyers will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route explaining how all the legal requirements are met for the approval of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload online all the supporting documents to be considered in support of your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.
Follow up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow up work until decision by the Home Office UKVI on your application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.

Our One-Off Services For Immigration Applications

Our immigration solicitors can also provide a wide range of one-off legal services for UK visa and immigration applications. Using our one-off services can help those who do not want to use our full service for the immigration application. You can use one of the following one-off legal services offered for UK visa and immigration applications:

Our Fixed Fees For Your Application For Leave To Remain Under 7 Years Child Residence Route

Our immigration solicitors will charge a fixed fee ranging from £1,500 to £3,000 (no VAT) for your initial application for leave to remain as a child born outside the UK and lived continuously in the UK for at least 7 years since date of first entry. The agreed fixed will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of work involved in the application for leave to remain under 7 years child residence route.
Our fixed fee for the application does not cover any disbursements e.g. UKVI fee for the application and the applicant has to separately pay the Home office UKVI fees for the application.