Immigrationboards.com

Hello everyone,
I’m asking on behalf of a friend.

He entered the UK in 2007 and is currently on the 10-year parent route. We would like to know whether he may be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the 10-year long residence route based on his own residence.

The issue is that he did not have valid leave between 2018 and 2023. During that period, he was appealing an immigration decision and was attending court hearings, remaining in the UK throughout.

Key points:

UK entry: 2007

Current status: 10-year partner route

Gap in valid leave: 2018–2023

Stayed in the UK lawfully during that time due to an ongoing appeal

Would time spent in the UK while on appeal count as lawful residence for the purpose of the 10-year long residence rule?
Has anyone had a similar experience or can advise how the Home Office usually treats this situation?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

You/we would need a lot more information to advise on such a question. In some cases, details down to the specific dates of the applications, etc.

Also, what you call appeals can actually be one of three things, each of which acts differently.

Appeals, correctly so called, would have extended their Section 3C leave if filed in time and won. But they have been phased out over the past decade or more and it is unlikely that your friend had filed appeals.

More likely, they would have filed either an Administrative Review (AR) or a Judicial review (JR). An AR would have extended Section 3C leave if applied for in time, etc. A JR does not extend leave.

Also, making subsequent applications may cause the AR to come to an end, etc.

Since there are so many moving parts and there is need for a lot of details, I suggest that your friend consult a lawyer with knowledge of immigration law. They will need information like the precise dates of applications, types of applications, etc.

EDIT: A quick google search on the end of full immigration appeals suggests that they ended in April 2015, following the passage of the Immigration Act 2014. So it is highly unlikely your friend had an appeal. More likely they had a chain of ARs and JRs. And they work differently from appeals in extending leave. Given the number of years involved, it is not impossible that your friend's continuous leave may have been broken.