ILR (Settlement Application; family route) within 4 hours!

Immigration Application Type: ILR after spouse visa.

Challenge: The lack of a stamp on the visa vignette as well as the delay in obtaining the extension on the spouse visa were potential red flags in our client’s case that required tactful handling.

Outcome: Granted in 4 hours.

Background to the case

Our client, who is married to a British national and held a valid spouse visa, applied for settlement, having satisfied the condition of five years’ continuous residence in the UK with his spouse. Our client had lived in the UK earlier as a student. After his wedding, he applied for a spouse visa; however, as he re-entered the UK through the Republic of Ireland, he did not have a stamp on his visa vignette. This could have potentially created a hurdle in his further applications. Our client’s spouse visa also required to be extended during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result of pandemic induced delays, it was nearly six months before the Home Office granted his extension. He finally applied for settlement twenty-four days before the scheduled completion of his 5 years residence in the UK.

We advised the client to opt for the 24 hours priority service for faster service; however, to our client’s and our pleasant surprise, the Home Office reverted within 4 hours of our client’s biometrics appointment and had granted him Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. Our happy client was able to file an application for British citizenship (through naturalisation) the very next day, as he does not have to wait for the prescribed period of one year as a result of his marriage to a British Citizen.

Alexandra Mokrova