Long Residency

In some cases, it is possible to have a visa granted to a person if he or she has been living in the UK for an extended period. A long residency visa is possible if the person has been living legally in the UK for a period of ten years or longer. Once a person has a long residency visa, the person will be able to apply for settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain. If the person intends to apply for permanent residency in the UK, long residency visas are often the best path to take. Long residency can be granted to a person with ten or more years of lawful, continuous residency. This means that the person has stayed in the UK without leaving to live in another country during the ten-year period. (Leave is granted to certain approved durations.) This visa will be granted in most cases as long as the person has a sufficient understanding of the English language, is compliant with his or her current immigration status, and it is in the public interest to award the visa.