10-Year Route Based on Private Life and Human Rights

10-Year Route to Settlement Under Private Life and Human Rights

The private life route to settlement in the UK applies to individuals who have laid down deep roots in the UK. It is also relevant where being forced to leave the UK would be incredibly detrimental to your or your family’s lives. Much of this route to settlement is protected by the right to private and family life, as set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Getting ILR in the UK is the best way for such individuals to protect their status in the UK. It allows you to live in the UK permanently and access a host of rights, such as the ability to work, study, and access public services. The status is also a pathway to British citizenship if you can meet the other eligibility criteria.

Requirements for Qualifying Under the Private Life and Human Rights Category

There are two ways to qualify for the 10-year route: private and family life. The following grounds apply in private life cases:

• You have continuously lived in the UK for 20 years, even if you have been in the country unlawfully. If this period began after you were 18, you must have no social, cultural or family ties to your country of origin.
• You are under 18, have lived continuously in the UK for at least seven years, and it wouldn’t be reasonable for you to leave the UK.
• You are aged between 18 and 24 and have lived in the UK for half your life.
• There are very significant obstacles to your being integrated into the country to which you have been removed.
• Exceptional circumstances apply, deemed as unjustifiably harsh consequences for you, your partner, or your family.

Family life can also serve as a pathway to the ten-year route. Firstly, you may be the parent of a British child, or a child with long-term residency in the UK. You could access the ten-year route if it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK. The same applies if your partner is a British citizen or has settled status and there are very significant obstacles to you continuing life together outside of the UK.

Other Requirements

Eligibility requirements beyond your family or private life UK apply to the private life route, which are consistent across all applicants using the 10-year route. Firstly, applicants aged 18 to 65 need to pass the Life in the UK test and prove they have strong English language capabilities. The Life in the UK test shows you have a good understanding of British culture and its democratic society.

You also need to have continuous residence in the UK for ten years before you make your application. That means you have been living legally in the UK without spending over 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. Usually, applicants to the 10-year route based on private life and human rights need to have maintained limited leave to remain status during this qualifying period. Time spent on any of the following does not count towards your continuous residence:

• A Standard Visitor visa.
• A Short-Term Study visa.
• A Seasonal Worker visa.
• Any of the Ukrainian refugee schemes.

Furthermore, time spent overstaying your permission to remain in the UK, on immigration bail, temporary admission, or temporary release, or in prison, a young offenders institution, or a secure hospital can’t count as being continuously resident.

Documentation Needed for the Application Process

There are two types of documentation needed for your application to the 10-year route to settlement on private life and human rights grounds. First, there are the pieces of documentation that are standard for the 10-year route. This includes your current passport or travel ID, and any other passports you have held while living in the UK. You must also show proof of your immigration status, such as a biometric residence permit or eVisa.

Further documentation is needed to show that private and family life or human rights grounds apply. UK Government guidance specifies that “independent and verifiable documentary evidence” is needed. Claims that are unsubstantiated will be given less weight, whereas more weight is given to well-evidenced claims.

Please note that the Home Office will only process documentation that is in English or Welsh. You will have to arrange a certified translation of any documentation in a foreign language.

Applying for the 10-Year Route to Settlement Under Private Life and Human Rights

The private life application process begins long before you have been in the UK for ten years. To be eligible, you will need to consistently apply for limited leave to remain in the UK every 30 months until you have been living in the country for ten years.

Once you have completed ten years of continuous living in the UK, you can apply for ILR through the private life route. This is done online through the UK government website. You will then need to have your biometric information taken by attending an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point. All applicants, except those under six, need to do this. Your documentation can be uploaded online or scanned at your UKVCAS appointment.

Once the processing time has elapsed, you will receive a decision letter or email confirming whether your application has been accepted. The letter will also confirm how you can access your eVisa, a digital record of your identity and immigration status.

Fees and Processing Time for the 10-Year Route to Settlement

Accessing the private life route to permanent settlement in the UK can be incredibly expensive. Firstly, you will need to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge for every year you are in the UK: £1035. You will need to pay a further £776 for any children under the age of 18 who are with you.

Application fees have also gone up since April 2025. You now need to pay £1,033 when renewing your limited leave to remain in the UK every 2.5 years, which must be paid again per dependent with you. A higher fee of £3,226 applies to this and other types of ILR applications.

You will also need to wait for the standard ILR processing time to elapse before processing is completed. You can expect it to take six months, although it could be longer if there are issues with your application or British authorities are dealing with a lengthy backlog.

If you urgently need an answer for your private life application, you can pay for priority visa processing. This costs £500 and will mean your visa is processed in five working days. Even faster processing is available through the super-priority service, meaning it is processed by the next working day after your appointment if it was on a weekday, or two working days if it was on a weekend or bank holiday. This costs £1000.

Reasons Your Application Could Be Rejected

Permanent residency applications have a relatively low refusal rate. It was just 1.7% across 2024. Yet, there are still plenty of reasons that your application might be rejected if there are issues with your application or if you have broken immigration rules.

The grounds for refusal for the private life and human rights route to settlement are similar to the general reasons that any other application for ILR could be rejected. This includes the following:

• You have a criminal record.
• You have made false claims in your application.
• You have previously broken immigration rules.
• You have been sleeping rough and have refused government support.
• You are in debt to the NHS.
• You could be a threat to national security or public safety.

These grounds for refusal also exist for any family member who are also applying for ILR.

However, the matter is complicated in private and family life and on human rights grounds. The UK has obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Immigration caseworkers may not refuse your application if it would contradict Britain’s obligations or the Human Rights Act. For example, British immigration authorities will usually not reject such applications on the grounds of previous immigration breaches.

It is also notable that most of these grounds for refusal can be fixed by improving the quality of your application or ensuring that you address any issues, like being in debt to the NHS, before you apply.

Appeals and Reconsideration Process

Applicants on the private life route must follow the same appeals process as other ILR applicants if they believe their application has been wrongfully rejected by the UK Home Office or that it has broken immigration rules. Your appeal needs to be submitted within 14 days of the refusal if you are in the UK or 28 days if you are outside the UK. However, the administrative review process always has a 28-day time limit.

There are three types of appeal you can make for family and private life route applications, which are detailed in the sections below:

• Administrative review
• First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
• Judicial review

Alternatively, if the refusal is because you have made errors in your application, it may be a better idea to reapply. Getting help from immigration solicitors, such as Immigration Advice Service, will mean your second attempt is more likely to be successful.

Administrative review

Use an administrative review if you think there are working errors in the decision to reject your private life ILR application. The Home Office will then launch an administrative review. They will amend any errors and reconsider your application accordingly. This means that, even if there are multiple errors, there is no guarantee that they will overturn the decision.

Examples of such errors include the application of the wrong immigration rules, not requesting additional documentation where required, or failing to apply relevant policies and guidance. Particularly relevant for the ten-year route to ILR are errors in calculating your period of continuous living in the UK.

First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)

This type of appeal will be most relevant for some applicants to the ten-year route on private life grounds because it is for those believing a refusal affects their human rights. Follow this process to launch the Tribunal process:

1. Make a notice of appeal.
2. Gather evidence in a court bundle to support your appeal.
3. Choose a type of appeal. This can be a paper review or an oral hearing.
4. Attend the directions hearing and final hearing of your appeal/
5. Wait to receive the court’s decision.

Judicial review

A judicial review is typically used once all other avenues to have a refusal overturned have been exhausted. It is relevant if you believe the Home Office has acted unlawfully by rejecting your application. Moreover, the Home Office will not notify you of your ability to challenge the decision by judicial review, so you will need to be more proactive.

The following circumstances can make a judicial review relevant for your private life case:

• You are unsatisfied with the outcome of your administrative review or Tribunal.
• The Home Office has deemed any human rights claim you have made clearly unfounded, meaning you would not have a right to appeal.
• Any further submissions to the Home Office have been rejected with no right of appeal.
• You applied for permission to appeal a Tribunal decision, and it has been rejected by both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal.
• You want to challenge your detention by immigration authorities or a decision to deport you imminently.

Judicial reviews cost a great deal of money and time. The fees include an initial application fee (£154), a fee for requesting an oral hearing (£385), and a fee for a full judicial hearing (£770). However, you may find success if your application was rejected illegally, irrationally, or if there was procedural unfairness. Your review may also be successful if the Home Office acted in ways that are not compatible with Britain’s human rights obligations.

Applying for British Citizenship

After you have held your permanent residency status in the UK for at least a year, or immediately for ILR holders under 18 years old, you can apply to convert your ILR to citizenship. Although ILR has extensive advantages, citizenship gives you access to full rights in the UK. For example, you can vote and access NHS healthcare without paying the surcharge.

Citizenship also has several additional requirements. This includes the following:

• You have B2 English language capabilities according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
• You have a score of 75% or higher in the Life in the UK test.
• You have maintained good character while in the UK, such as by following immigration rules, the law, and meeting your tax obligations.
• You have two referees to endorse your citizenship application.

A standard application fee of £1,709 applies to citizenship by naturalisation applicants. As with your initial ILR application, the standard processing time is six months, although it can be substantially longer if there are issues with your application or the Home Office has a significant backlog.

How Can Immigration Advice Service Help?

The 10-year route to settlement on private and family life has an incredibly challenging application. You need to show that you are suitable for ILR and also that there are human rights grounds that necessitate your remaining in the UK. There must often be significant obstacles to your returning home. Yet, it is also a great opportunity for you and your family member to begin your permanent life in the UK.

Get help from immigration solicitors such as Immigration Advice Service to boost your chances of a successful application. We will connect you with an immigration lawyer who can help you confirm that you are eligible for this route to ILR before guiding you through the entire application process. If you haven’t yet spent ten years in the UK, we can help you to maintain your limited leave to remain status until the decade being continuously resident in the UK has elapsed.

You can connect with our team at +44 (0)333 414 9244 to get your family member and your application started. Meanwhile, if you realise you are not eligible, you can visit our website to learn about the alternative visa and ILR services we offer. We offer expert immigration advice for a host of circumstances.