ILR Review; desperate for help

I will be 10 years legal stay in December. I applied for ILR in 2004 (too early) and was refused, appealed and also denied. I asked for review from Manager of the Refusal Department at HO since June 2005 but no reply to date. My papers are in the HO, my leave has expired and my status is in limbo whilst they look into my case; I desperately want to travel to see a sick relative.

Is there anyone who got sucess from these reviews?

Should I ring up to enquire or will this have a bad effect on my case?

Should I just wait till December or late November to apply for 10 years long residence?

When you applied in 2004, after, what, seven or eight years, on what grounds were you applying?

Stay with my adult daughter, a British citizen who is settled here in a good job; I am under 65 years old and my marriage had not broken down yet; it now has and I have no one to go back to; hence the request for a review.

Does any one in the know have any view on my case?

I have had no reply on the review which I sought last year for ILR on compassionate grounds. Someone told me that seeing that the review is taking so long; it means I am an ovestayer/illegal immigrant because my visa expired whilst the review is still underway. I am still pursuing my studies and my college will back me up.

Does that mean I can not apply for 10 year ILR in November/December if I still don't hear from the Manager's review?

Sorry but a refusal stops the ILR clock. If your appeal had been allowed then the clock would have continued though such would have been moot given that a successful application would have been for ILR. Any time you have remained in the UK since your last appeal was refused and you were notified that you no longer had any grounds to remain is classed as 'overstaying' = illegal under the immigration rules.

If you are now over 65 and meet the relevant criteria in the immigration rules it may be better to apply for a settlement visa on these grounds from your home country. The second long residence category considers 14 years of a combination of legal/ illegal stay for ILR but the stress of such is one you would need to consider. Yet another option if possible is to obtain either a WP or HSMP then return home and apply for the relevant entry clearance. You need to seek legal advice to review your options especially given the Home Office have deemed you not dependent on your BC child all the way to appeal. I appreciate that may not be the news you wish to hear.

This is a definition of an overstayer from the Home Office's website:

Overstayers1. An overstayer is a person who was granted limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, but who neither left the country on the date indicated nor asked for the leave to be extended.

I was never given a date to leave the UK but I did ask for a review of their original decision which would have extended my stay. In the light of the above, is waiting for a decision "overstaying?" Should I have stayed and waited for the reply or should I have left? The case is still under review. How could I be illegal if I am awaiting a decision? There are no forms to ask for a review; I sent a letter asking and outlining my compassionate circumstances. What is my next step, please?