i need advice

[Shanshan17]

hi, my brother in law has been in the uk almost 20 years. he has 4 children with his ex partner ages 23, 12, 7 and 2 years old, they were all born in the uk to a british mother. he came to the uk when his first child was around 3 years old on a visiting visa which he overstayed. he enrolled in college back in 2003 and made an application but that wasnt successful. can i get advice on what application he would be eligible to fill in and what documents would he need to provide. he lives in the home with ex partner and all 4 children, however the ex has no interest in supporting him with an application. can he do an application based only using his 4 children even though 1 is an adult? any advice would be appreciated.

[Zerubbabel]

Hello, please read this:

https://www.freemovement.org.uk/what-ar ... residence/

The 20 year rule on long residence is contained at paragraph 276ADE(1)(iii) of the Immigration Rules. Under the 20 year rule, a person does not have to have lived in the UK lawfully, but simply “continuously”.

The definition of “continuous residence” is almost the same as for the 10 year lawful residence route. However, time spent in prison will not break continuous residence. Instead time in prison will simply not be counted towards the period of residence. Time before and after imprisonment can be aggregated to make up the full amount of time.

If he finished 20 years, he can apply under the 20 year rule on long residence. This long residence doesn't have to be legal but just continuous. He will get a 2.5-year residence which he needs to renew 4 times to reach 10 years of lawful residence then he can apply for ILR (permanent residence). So the total between entry and ILR would be 30 years.

[CULLINAN]

I would like to add something:

As long he has the passport(s) with stamps of entry and he can prove he entered UK on a date that was 20 years ago and has been living in UK since then, he will be okay.

As @Zerubbabel said, it does not matter if the 20 years was legal or illegal stay.

Applicants sometimes fail to prove that they have been in UK continuously for 20 years (especially people who do not even have any stamps or passport(s)) and many cases could end up in court on appeals.

Two things are very important if the case ends up in court:

1) Witness statements from people who have known you for 20 years and can actually go to court in your defence (if needed).

2) Proof of address for the last 20 years.

As long applicants can prove the above (even if refused first time) and can prove courts the above, they are successful.

[seagul]

can he do an application based only using his 4 children even though 1 is an adult? any advice would be appreciated.

He could have regularised his status under family life ages ago before embarking on this gruelling journey of 20 years. Apart of claiming the leave under 20 years of route, he still can claim the similar entitlement with the same ILR clock (2.5 × 4 =10 yrs) under family life. For this purpose, he would have to weigh up as which would be relatively easier to acquire. Check the guidance about family life:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... U7RWhiG0Hp