New Long Residence Guidance

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Hi and welcome to this latest immigration law update. In this video, I'm going to cover the new long residence guidance. So, this is updated long residence guidance in the light of the new appendix long residence in the immigration rules.

I'm recording this at the end of April 2024, so do check the guidance to see if there's been any updates. If you're interested in more training on this issue in May 2024, I'm doing a couple of live in-person training events in London and in Birmingham. And if you scan this QR code or go to this link, you can see details of my upcoming training events along with loads of free resources. And I'd encourage you to get the free resources available on this link.

So, this is version 20 of the long residence guidance. This was updated on the 11th of April 2024 when the new immigration rules came into force. So, look at the introduction to this guidance. And what I've done on the slides, I've put selected extracts from the guidance. So, this is not the whole of the guidance but just selected extracts.

So, it says this appendix long residence replaced provisions in part seven, so that's 276a to 276d of the immigration rules on the 11th of April 2024. The long residence route is for a person who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years or more. The person can count time with permission on most, remember that word most, routes towards the 10-year qualifying period. A person may apply for immediate settlement if they meet all of the requirements for settlement or may apply for temporary permission to stay, that's 24 months, if they meet the suitability qualifying and continuous residence requirements but not both the English language and the knowledge of life in the UK requirements.

Now, I've covered the rules themselves in another video and I'll put a link to that video at the end of this video and in the description. So, have a look at my other video to go through the rules themselves. A person who's lived in the UK for a long period but is not lawfully and continuously resident for 10 years and may be eligible to apply under appendix private life. Notice that there is no provision within the immigration rules for an applicant to include dependence on a long residence application. Dependents must make their own application if they can satisfy the 10-year long residence rules.

So, these rules have now been updated, sorry, the guidance have now been updated to reflect the new appendix long residence rules. So, what are the qualifying period requirements for settlement on the long residence route? So, the guidance refers to LR 11.1 to 11.4 of appendix long residence. Have a look at that other video that I've done. And you've got to have a continuous qualifying period of 10 years lawfully in the UK during which one or a combination of the following applies: you've got to have permission to stay, be exempt from immigration control, or have a right under the EA regulations.

But look at that first bullet point in relation to permission to stay. That doesn't include permission as a visitor, short-term student, English language, or a seasonal worker or any of their predecessor roots. Also, notice that it says time spent on immigration bail, temporary admission, or temporary release do not count towards the qualifying periods for the long residence route. No periods of overstaying disregarded or otherwise are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period.

So, even if some overstaying is disregarded, it doesn't positively count towards the 10-year qualifying period. We know that from the case of Afzal, and that's been included in the appendix long residence. No periods of exceptional assurance, this is relating to COVID now between 1st September 2020 and 28th February 2023, are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period. However, any extensions of leave granted under the Coronavirus Extension Concession and the following grace period, which covers 24th January to 31st August 2020, count towards the qualifying period requirement.

So, you're going to have to be careful now checking that you or your client satisfies the qualifying period of 10 years continuous lawful residence, checking what you can take into account and what you can't even though they form part of the common travel area. Time with permission spent in the Republic of Ireland or the Crown Dependencies, so that's the Isle of Man and the Channel Isles, do not count in the calculation of the qualifying period for the purposes of long residence.

Now, this is important because appendix continuous residence now apply. So when you're preparing an application under long residence, check you meet the requirements of appendix continuous residence. In my upcoming in-person training events, I'm going to go through appendix continuous residence. The guidance says paragraph CR 6.1 of appendix continuous resident sets out that the continuous residence periods will be calculated by counting back from the relevant date. This means that an applicant cannot rely on a historic 10-year qualifying period outside of the limits defined in CR 6.1, and you need to cross-refer to the continuous residence guidance.

Now, this final paragraph on this slide represents a change. So the applicant must also have had permission on their current immigration route for at least 12 months on the date of application or have been exempt from immigration control within the 12 months immediately before the date of application. But there are transitional provisions because this requirement does not apply where the applicant's current permission was granted before the 11th of April 2024.

What about treatment of time spent in the UK as a visitor, short-term student, or seasonal worker? So any periods of time with permit with permission in the following routes are not counted in the qualifying period for the purposes of long residence and will break continuous residence for the purposes of the qualifying period for long residence. They don't count, and they break continuous residence.

Visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker. Time spent with entry clearance or permission as a visitor does not count in the qualifying period. This includes time granted under appendix V visitor and any previous visitor rules. Similarly, time spent with entry clearance or permission as a short-term student does not count in the qualifying period. And then finally, also, time spent with entry clearance or permission as a seasonal worker does not count in the qualifying period. Each of these roots is defined in paragraph 6.2 in the introduction to the immigration rules.

What about time awaiting a decision which leave that is extended by virtue of section 3C of the 71 act does count as lawful presence for the purposes of long residence? Time spent with the right to reside under the EA regulations will see from this guidance also count. And look at the final one on this slide, time spent in the UK as a British Citizen. And I've recently been asked a question about this by somebody or the representative of somebody who'd renounced their British citizenship. Time spent as a British citizen must be counted in the qualifying period. People may have spent time in the UK as a British Citizen and since renounced their British citizenship. Time spent as a British citizen in the UK would still count in the qualifying period for 10-year long residence applications.

And what about the continuous residence requirements? The continuous residence requirements, that's LR1 12.1, are set out in appendix continuous residence. So you've got to cross-refer to those. The following periods break continuous residence: immigration bail, temporary admission, and temporary release. Permission as a visitor, short-term student, or seasonal worker. Overstaying which is not disregarded. The following periods will not break continuous residence: overstaying which is disregarded. Time spent in the common travel area.

Appendix continuous residence recognizes that its provisions are different from the previous long residence rules at paragraph 276a and makes transitional arrangements specifically for long residence application applicants. And this is important. These transitional arrangements preserve those that continuous residents will be broken if an applicant has been absent from the UK for more than 184 days at any one time or for more than a total of 548 days overall where the absence started before the 11th of April 2024. This means that any single absence started before 11 of April 2024 must be longer than must be no longer, sorry, than 184 days. A 10-year period completed before 11th April 2024 must not have total absences of more than 548. But look at this for 10-year periods which extend beyond the 11th of April 2024, there is no 548 day limit.

Third bullet point: From the 11th of April 2024, the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 month period. Paragraph CR 4.1 D3 also preserves the position in the rules as of 10th of April 2024 for applicants who had permission when they left the UK and returned to the UK with a valid permission provided they do not exceed the limit of permission permissible absence. For more detail, see the continuous residence guidance.

So, I hope that is helpful to you and do check the guidance and check for any updates. Do cross-refer to appendix continuous residence when you make your long residence applications under the new appendix long residence. As I've said, this link and QR code will get you to my updates but also to some in-person training where we can cover these issues in some more details. I hope that's helpful to you.