Indefinite leave to remain for students.

[h2shin]

Hello.

I have been studying as a dependent of my parents on a student visa for 9 years in the uk.

I have been talking to my parents and they say that they've heard of a girl who applied for Indefinite leave to remain independently and received it, thus allowing her to apply for loans for university.

I am in year 12, currently 17 and will be turning 18 this december and will be applying to university after the summer this year, and I was wondering if it is possible / probable that I will be granted indefinite leave to remain should I apply independently.

What are the rules regarding my situation?

Many Thanks...

[John]

The category of Tier 4 does not qualify ILR. However there is another category that might be of interest to you, namely, Long Residence.

Simply, once you have been in the UK legally for at least 10 years you can apply for ILR on that basis. You say that you have been in the UK for 9 years. Please detail your UK immigration history since you first arrived in the UK.

Also can you please explain about your parents. What is their UK immigration status? Type of visa?

[h2shin]

The category of Tier 4 does not qualify ILR. However there is another category that might be of interest to you, namely, Long Residence.

Simply, once you have been in the UK legally for at least 10 years you can apply for ILR on that basis. You say that you have been in the UK for 9 years. Please detail your UK immigration history since you first arrived in the UK.

Also can you please explain about your parents. What is their UK immigration status? Type of visa?

Thank you for your reply.

I'm not quite sure about what you mean by immigration history, but basically my parents have been in the uk for this whole time on student visas and I've been living here as their dependent. I've never left the country for any significant amount of time, less than two weeks at the most. My parent's student visa will run out this November, and they are hoping to re-apply as Tier 2, I'm not too sure about the details.

The Tier 4 has 3 categories of students, General Student, Independent school and Study through work. I've been at state schools my entire life so I don't really fit in to any of these categories. My mother has read some updates as to the system and she says that you can no longer apply for ILR through long residence, but apparently there is nothing about not being able to apply for ILR as a student, although similarly there is no explicit statement about students being able to apply for ILR either.

So I'm not too sure where I stand or what my eligibility is, but my mother's argument is that if I've been educated by the state for pretty much my entire childhood, the country would not want me to leave and waste their money by contributing in another country. Is there any truth in this statement?

[John]

My mother has read some updates as to the system and she says that you can no longer apply for ILR through long residence

I think you need to ask your mother for the source of that information. I have just checked the UKBA website, including the changes to the rules coming into effect on 06.04.12, and there is nothing to cancel rules 276A et seq, which deal with Long Residence.

My parent's student visa will run out this November

Is that before or after they get to the 10-year mark? When did their legal period in the UK start? Month? Year?

[h2shin]

My mother has read some updates as to the system and she says that you can no longer apply for ILR through long residence

I think you need to ask your mother for the source of that information. I have just checked the UKBA website, including the changes to the rules coming into effect on 06.04.12, and there is nothing to cancel rules 276A et seq, which deal with Long Residence.

My parent's student visa will run out this November

Is that before or after they get to the 10-year mark? When did their legal period in the UK start? Month? Year?

That will be before. Our legal period started in june 2003. So we will have lived in the uk 10 years next year.

[John]

My parent's student visa will run out this November, and they are hoping to re-apply as Tier 2

Accordingly I think they need to proceed with that plan, and again apply for you as a dependant. Then in June 2013 you might all consider making 10-year Long Residence applications for ILR.

[h2shin]

My parent's student visa will run out this November, and they are hoping to re-apply as Tier 2

Accordingly I think they need to proceed with that plan, and again apply for you as a dependant. Then in June 2013 you might all consider making 10-year Long Residence applications for ILR.

ahh... so there's not much chance of me obtaining ILR before I start my university course next year?

[vinny]

What's your initial date of UK-entry?

[h2shin]

What's your initial date of UK-entry?

It's some time in June, 2013.

[John]

h2shin, do appreciate that your parents and you will all need to pass the Life in the UK Citizenship test, in order to apply for ILR under the 10-year rule. The same applies to any sibling of yours who will also be 18 or more at the time of application.

All this assumes, of course, that further visas, under Tier 2 or whatever, are issued later this year, otherwise you will not even get to the 10-year mark.

[hsmpengineer]

until june 2013 you will not be eligible for ILR under the long residnece route (regardless of you being educated all through your childhood by the state). Harsh but true.

The way forward:

My advice will be same as John has given above. Your parents MUST do all they can to get further extension until june 2013. Then you are most likely to be OKAY

[h2shin]

until june 2013 you will not be eligible for ILR under the long residnece route (regardless of you being educated all through your childhood by the state). Harsh but true.

The way forward:

My advice will be same as John has given above. Your parents MUST do all they can to get further extension until june 2013. Then you are most likely to be OKAY

Okay, thank you