Am I eligible for ILR

[jasonedgo]

I hope someone can help. I'am an Australian living in the UK. From 2013 to 2020 I have lived here continuously on a Ancestry visa. In 2020 I changed visa type to a family visa( single parent to a british citizen child) . i currently have been on this visa for 2 years now. Can I apply for ILR on this basis? I understand that I can apply for ILR being on ancestry visa for 5years or 5years on a family visa, but neither of these apply to me even though I have lived here for 7 years on an ancestry visa and currently 2 years on a family visa. any help would be greatly appreciated. Jason

[vinny]

Unfortunately, no. I think switching to parent leave had made you ineligible for ILR at present. Moreover, if you have a partner who is an eligible sponsor under Appendix FM, then they may also refuse leave to remain as a parent. The best you may do is extend or switch until you complete a continuous 5 years under a single category or 10 years under Long residence.

Why couldn’t you apply for ILR after completing 5 years under UK Ancestry?

[jasonedgo]

thanks Vinny for your reply, I thought this maybe the case!

I switched visa in 2020 because we had a 2 year plan to move back to OZ, In the meantime my partner split up with me ( she is UK citizen). so plans have now changed and I will be now staying here to be with my son indefinitely. wish I just applied for ILR when I had the chance, silly me. looks like ill have to extend the family visa to reach the 5 year route. I better start saving lol.

thanks again, I really appreciate the reply

[vinny]

I hope someone can help. I'am an Australian living in the UK. From 2013 to 2020 I have lived here continuously on a Ancestry visa. In 2020 I changed visa type to a family visa( single parent to a british citizen child) . i currently have been on this visa for 2 years now. Can I apply for ILR on this basis? I understand that I can apply for ILR being on ancestry visa for 5years or 5years on a family visa, but neither of these apply to me even though I have lived here for 7 years on an ancestry visa and currently 2 years on a family visa. any help would be greatly appreciated. Jason

Oops. Sorry! Looking at the UK Ancestry rules for settlement again, I think you may be eligible for ILR now after all, subject to KoLL, employment, etc! I had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something.

The Caseworkers’ Guidance confirms.
Historical periods of permission

There is no requirement for the applicant’s most recent grant of permission to have been on the UK Ancestry route – they can rely on an earlier 5-year period of permission as a person with UK Ancestry to qualify for settlement, even if they have since been granted permission on another route.

Example
The applicant entered the UK on 1 October 2014 with entry clearance on the UK Ancestry route valid from 1 October 2014 until 1 October 2019. On 24 September 2019, instead of applying for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, they applied for permission to stay as a Student and were granted until 31 October 2022. On 1 February 2021, they apply for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, relying on their earlier grant of permission as a person with UK Ancestry.

You can grant such an application, provided the applicant completed a continuous 5-year period in the UK with permission on the UK Ancestry route, and they meet all of the requirements for settlement on this route.

When calculating the continuous residence requirement in such cases, you must count backwards from the date their previous UK Ancestry permission expired. This can include permission extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 while a previous in-time application, appeal or administrative review application was pending. For further information, see: 3C and 3D leave.