About Private Life Requirements PL7.3.

Hello,

A relative of mine is going to reach his 20th year in the UK, and it looks like he will be eligible for the long residence route. However, he is a bit concerned after being given a vague reply by a solicitor, and we also felt confused about the fact if we got the laws correctly.

The applicant's had both legal and illegal time of stay. He had student and work visas, then he entered the UK twice as a visa-free visitor, and turned illegal. However, according to PL 7.3.:

(d) the applicant left the UK with no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that they would lawfully be able to return.

He left the UK before his work visa ran out, then entered again as visa-free visitor for 6 months; before the deadline, he left and went back to his country for holiday. 3 weeks later, he entered the UK from Ireland as a visa-free(visitor) and stayed here to this day.

He did not reveal much personal information to that the solicitor; he only mentioned that he entered the UK from Ireland. Therefore, that solicitor thought he might have broken his continuous residence as his re-entry from Ireland is illegal. However, after looking up the Communal Travel Area(CTA)'s guidelines, we think he had been legally returned, and his continuousness hasn't been broken.

Here is the CTA page.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travelling- ... -or-jersey

We think we are right. The reason why he got that tricky response was because he consulted it briefly with a law firm targeting certain ethnic group. He felt kinda embarrassed, so that he also did not reveal his nationality. That solicitor is from some country where visas are needed to enter both UK and IE. She might not be familiar with the concept of CTA, so she thought entering from IE to UK is unlawful.

Thanks very much if anyone can look into his case scenario.

A non-visa national who enters the UK via CTA is assumed to have 'deemed leave' for a limited time. It is only illegal entry if such a person is a visa national who needs permission to enter the UK.

People travelling to the UK via Ireland
The Immigration (Control of Entry through Republic of Ireland) Order 1972 creates a
system of automatic statutory permission, referred to as “deemed leave”, to ensure
that, in accordance with section 1(3) of the Immigration Act, there are no routine
immigration controls on persons arriving to the UK from the CTA. Deemed leave, as
suggested, is permission that has not been endorsed by way of a stamp into an
individual’s passport – as individuals travelling from Ireland to the UK will not
necessarily encounter a Border Force Officer.

Deemed leave applies where a person, either:

• entered Ireland from a country outside the CTA, and then travel directly on to the UK
• was in the UK with limited permission, left the UK at a time when they still had
limited permission, went directly to Ireland during which point their permission
expired, and then came back to the UK directly

Deemed leave cannot be granted or refused by a Border Force officer. It
automatically applies to a person who is eligible on entry to the UK.

Deemed leave also cannot be cancelled by a Border Force officer in a s.11
authorised area.
.
.
.
Visa nationals who are not in possession of a valid UK entry clearance
A visa national not in possession of a valid UK entry clearance requires permission to enter.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... l_area.pdf

Thank you for the response.

I think according to both CTA's guidance, the applicant's long residence should be continuous.
However, you used 'visa national in your post, so we look it up at this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... ional-list

The applicant is from a country/area with a '*', so does this mean he is a non-visa national or a visa-national?
I mean, VN 1.1 lists the visa nationals, and also marks the exceptions, in that sense, are those with '*' non-visa nationals?

I'm confused about why the visa-free countries/areas are listed under 'visa national' part?

Thanks.

yishan1001 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 01, 2024 11:20 pm

The applicant is from a country/area with a '*', so does this mean he is a non-visa national or a visa-national?
I mean, VN 1.1 lists the visa nationals, and also marks the exceptions, in that sense, are those with '*' non-visa nationals?

The exceptions are mostly related to HK/Macao SARs, as well as diplomatic passports. I don't think that your friend fits any of those categories, but that's just my assumption.

yishan1001 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 01, 2024 11:20 pm

I'm confused about why the visa-free countries/areas are listed under 'visa national' part?

For example?

yishan1001 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 01, 2024 11:20 pm

Thank you for the response.

I think according to both CTA's guidance, the applicant's long residence should be continuous.
However, you used 'visa national in your post, so we look it up at this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... ional-list

The applicant is from a country/area with a '*', so does this mean he is a non-visa national or a visa-national?
I mean, VN 1.1 lists the visa nationals, and also marks the exceptions, in that sense, are those with '*' non-visa nationals?

I'm confused about why the visa-free countries/areas are listed under 'visa national' part?

Thanks.

If the person cannot fly without a visa to the UK directly, then they are a visa national.
The exceptions under the rules for '*' indicated nationals will not apply if they intend to stay longer than 6 months:

VN 2.3. VN 2.2. does not apply where the person is:
(a) visiting the UK to marry or to form a civil partnership, or to give notice of marriage or civil partnership, unless they are a “relevant national” as defined in section 62 of the Immigration Act 2014; or
(b) seeking to visit the UK for more than 6 months.

Cool.
Thanks for explaining. Then he's fine.

I actually posted something similar before, but this is not re-post.

It's regarding Private Life Requirements PL7.3., this part:

(d) the applicant left the UK with no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that they would lawfully be able to return.


I happened to see a firm explaining the rules on their website, and they don't use the original words from HO. Instead, the rule (d) is interpreted to:

You’ve left the UK showing a clear intention not to return.


The applicant is my relative, and we've felt a bit confused about HO's original words. But if they're put as the highlighted part, it is very easy to understand.

So, do these 2 sentences mean the same thing?


Thank you.

Yes they refer to the same thing

Thanks for the reply.

But I'm also wondering what's the case scenario of 'showing the intention not to return''?

Coz clause (c) sounds similar, in which the deportation etc is mentioned. But that's more like being forced to leave. By contrast, clause (d) sounds like the person decides to leave on his or her own will?

31.

The critical question for Issue 1 is whether the appellant had a reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that he would lawfully be able to return. The answer depends not upon the nature of his previous residence but on whether he had a reasonable expectation of being granted leave to return. The respondent does not and could not submit that the fact of his having held a visitor's visa is of itself capable of prejudicing his application for a student's visa. Therefore, the only relevant information before the court is that the appellant was granted his student's visa, from which it may be deduced that he satisfied the criteria for that grant. He had to leave the United Kingdom in order to make his application for his student's visa; and there is no suggestion that his circumstances changed such that he would not have qualified for a student's visa on 1 September 2001 but did qualify when he made his application shortly after. On this basis, I conclude that his expectation on 1 September 2001 that he would be granted the student visa for which he was going to apply was reasonable.