please helpme for this complex case !

hello all , i would be really greatful if anyone could offer any advice or suggestion for my case . how to proceed or what to do etc . i am really getting confused and desperate for the solution . ( apologies if the post is not in right place . i am new here . thank you all )

1. i came here on student visa on late 2001 . i kept on extending the student visa successfully till 2006 . after 2006 the home office found out the college was bogus and refused my extension . they told me that i should leave the country and all this time i was using deception to get the extension . they offered me right to appeal . i freaked out and decided to go underground .

2. last 12-13 year have been really difficult . sporadic work here and there with cash in hand . no fixed address for more than 5 month at a time , literally like living off the grid and nomadic . it is getting really difficult now and i am thinking this way or that way i should face the reality and not run away from it .

3. i was thinking of using the exceptional 20 year rule , even though i havent clocked in 20 years yet . could anyone please tell me if i have a case or a strong case with these variables .

a. coming clean with the HO about the deception. That time i was young (20 yrs). i had no descipline , no ambition or no one to tell me to do the right thing or think about the future in right way , so mistakes were made .

b. i never had strong connection to my family back home . i never went back home even for once between 2001-2006.

c. i am nearly 39 now and have lived almost half of my life here . uk is my home now . it is my country .

d. i have a 2 year old son ( not plannned , sorry to use this word ) here with a british woman from a short casual realtionship . we dont live together or plan on doing so . she wants me to start having a realtionship with my son and provide for him .i am ready and happy to do so . but living here without papers i cant find work etc and am unable to do anything .

now i would like to live a normal life , like a human . find work . pay tax . maybe take my son on a holiday .

do you think i have a good case , considering i have a son here and have lived almost half of my life here , to apply to legalise my stay here .

thank you all in advance .

To be blunt based on the information you have posted you case is pretty hopeless. You certainly can’t use the 20 year route because you simply don’t qualify and you will struggle on the issue of being of good character as well.

Your only viable route is FLR human rights - right to a family life based on your relationship with your son. The way your post is written suggests that you do not have an ongoing relationship/ contact at this time?

How often do you see you son at the moment and have you maintained regular contact since he was born. Is there evidence of contact / involvement in his life.

The sins of the past are not wiped clean by the Home Office due time the passage of time, there is no forgiveness for coming clean 12 years later. You used deception to remain in the past and have overstayed for many years. This will not be wiped away all because you wish to regularise your stay or you have grown up since it happened.

Before you go anywhere near the HO consult with a reputable immigration lawyer and decide what the options are.

thank you for your reply frontier . thanks a lot for your time .

to answer few points you raised .

1 there is no evidence of involvement or contact with my son yet . i dont have any relationship with my son . i havent seen him even once , he is 3 years old . i just met his mother today after 4 years and told her , why i was the way i was , absent because of my situation . we are in the process of putting my name in his birth certificate . she was supportive and says she will do whatever needed in order to sort my situation . i have made it clear to her that i just dont want my name on the birth certificate because it might help my case but because i really want to be a father , to have my consience clear for the rest of my life ...

2.i dont have any relationship with the mother. after meeting her today we both have decided to be in contact whenever and as much as possible for the son .

3.she is happy to appear before anyone/ court to say i should be granted leave to remain to be with my son . as she is a single mother of 2 . her first kids dad is absent she doesnot want that to happen with the second kid too .

finally i must write it here . though it may appear so , i am NOT using my son just to get the leave to remain .i really want to be a father to him , to play active role in his upbringing .

thank you again frontier .

any comments form others , no matter what , would be good to read aswell .

My advice for you is to contact a reputable solicitor and they can recommend HO recognize dna center for you. Because you need the test to prove you’re the father. Then you can proceed with your application base on father to British child.