Business Immigration Solicitors

Children born in the UK who have been a continuous resident for at least seven years can now apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on the basis of private life, under new rules introduced by the Government.

This change simplifies the process and removes the need for children or their parents and carers to repeatedly apply for visa extensions.
The rule is important for children whose parents have settled or ILR status because children born to them in the UK do not have any right of UK nationality conferred on upon them.

The UK Government has helpfully published a 205-page Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, including significant changes to the rules involving children’s route to settlement.

But if you want to avoid wading through that, it may be time to call our expert business team for simple, clear advice on how to apply.
ILR gives people the right to live, work and study here for as long as they like, and apply for benefits where necessary – and ILR can be used to apply for British citizenship.

What were the previous rules?

If a child (regardless of whether born inside/outside the UK) had lived in the UK continuously for 7 years, the child was able to apply for leave to remain under the 10 years’ child route to settlement.

So what has changed?

Paragraph 276ADE (1) of the Immigration Rules, which governs permission to stay on private life grounds, has been replaced by a new ‘Appendix Private Life’.

What does this mean?

Children born inside the UK

1. A child who is born and has lived in the UK continuously for 7 years will now be able to apply for settlement immediately instead of limited leave to remain. This avoids the need for children to apply for extensions repeatedly.


2. A child born in the UK who has lived in the UK for less than 7 years,may be added as a dependant to a person on a private life route in certain circumstances to allow them to regularise their immigration status.

1. Other applicants on the private life route will still need to complete 10 years’ residence in the UK after being granted permission before they can get settlement. Moreover, applicants can now combine time on family and private life routes towards the qualifying period, rather than having to ‘reset the clock’ on the qualifying period if their circumstances change (though they will need to complete at least 1 year in their current route). The previous rule was that 10 years’ continuous leave has to have been spent just on the private life route.


2. Applicants will now be able to rely on their GCSEs, A Levels or equivalent Scottish Higher qualifications in English language following education in a UK school to show they meet the English language requirement for a settlement application.


British Citizenship

Children (regardless of whether born inside/outside the UK) will be able to apply to register as British citizens after 12 months of obtaining their settlement status. Citizenship provides a number of significant benefits, including the ability to travel freely outside the UK and apply for a British passport. Here are some key requirements to acquire UK citizenship for your child.


• Have lived for at least 5 years in the UK and have held ILR for 12 months


• Provide a full birth certificate


• Provide the passport used to gain entry to the United Kingdom if applicable, and any subsequent passports


• Provide the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate of the parents


• Provide evidence of guardianship (i.e., a deed, will, or court order) if applicable


When do the changes take effect?

These changes are now if force. Any applications made before 20 June 2022 will be considered under the previous rules.

How can Duncan Lewis help?

At Duncan Lewis, our immigration solicitors specialise in all aspects of settlement, including helping children and young adults gain ILR through the private life route. Our immigration Solicitors can:

Check your eligibility (or that of your child) for earlier ILR under the private life route

• Advise on any routes to ILR available to you, such as the EU Settlement Scheme


• Advise how to overcome any eligibility problems with your ILR application


• Handle your private life ILR application on your behalf (or of your child)


• Deal with the Home Office on your behalf


• Guide you through the process of gaining British citizenship


About the author: Amrit Raindi is a solicitor at Duncan Lewis working in the business immigration department specialising in asylum applications, applications for leave to enter or further leave to remain as a spouse, fiancé, unmarried partner, or other dependant relative, entry clearance, visitor visas, immigration appeals and much more. Contact him for advice on any matter via email at amritpals@duncanlewis.com or by telephone on 020 7275 2650.

Amrit works under business immigration director Tamana Aziz who is has experience in wide variety of immigration law cases, including business immigration under the Points Based System (PBS), advising high-net-worth and skilled individuals on extending Tier 2 (General) visas, spousal applications and applications for British citizenship. Contact Tamana for advice via email at tamanaa@duncanlewis.com or via telephone on 020 3114 1130.