What is a Human Rights Application in the UK?

Under the UK’s immigration and asylum system, a ‘human rights application’ means that you are seeking the right to remain in the UK in accordance with Article 3 or 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This means you may be able to make a human rights application under Article 3 of the ECHR if you are at risk of persecution or serious harm (e.g. torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or punishment) if you have to return to your home country. Alternatively, you may be able to make a human rights application under Article 8 of the ECHR if you have lived here for many years and have established strong family ties.

Human rights applications and requirements

There are several ways to make an application to remain or settle by making an asylum or human rights-based application to the Home Office, including (please note this list of human rights routes is not exhaustive):

• Application for ILR as a child who has lived in the UK for 7 or more years
• Application for ILR as a young adult who has lived in the UK for at least half of their life
• Application for ILR on the basis of 20 years of residence in the UK
• Application for leave to remain as a parent of a child in the UK
• Application for leave to remain or ILR on medical grounds

Please note the application process differs depending on which route you are applying through. For example, if you intend to apply for ILR based on your right to private or family life, the application form you need to complete depends on whether you are under 18, between 18 and 25 years old, or you are over 18 and have lived here for 20 years. The application fee for ILR private life applications is currently £2,404, and applicants may also need to pass the Life in the UK test. Because everyone's circumstances are unique, our immigration lawyers are ready to provide personalised advice and handle your application, should you require assistance. Contact us for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or complete our enquiry form.

Application for ILR as a child or young adult on the basis of long residence in the UK

Under the ‘Private Life route’ to settlement, a child under the age of 18 who was born in the UK and has lived here continuously for 7 or more years qualifies immediately for permanent settlement (ILR). The rules state that the Home Office decision maker must be fully satisfied that it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK.

You can find more information in our article on the 7 years child immigration rule.

Application for ILR as a young adult who has lived in the UK for at least half of their life

It is also possible for young adults aged between 18 and 25 to qualify for ILR if they arrived in the UK before the age of 18. In this scenario, applicants must have lived in the UK continuously for at least half of their life.

Application for ILR on the basis of 20 years of residence in the UK

The UK’s private life immigration rules also include a provision for ILR applicants who are aged over 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 20 continuous years. If this is not the case, it may still be possible to make a successful application if the Home Office decision maker is satisfied that the applicant would face significant problems with re-integration into the country where they would need to return to if refused permission to stay in the UK.

Application for leave to remain in the UK as a parent of a child in the UK

If you have a child who is a British citizen, you may be eligible for a family visa as their parent as long as you have sole parental responsibility for or direct access to your child.

If your child is living in the UK and they are non-British (and they are not eligible for ILR based on having lived in the UK for 7 or more years), you may be able to apply for leave to remain based on your right to family life in the UK. To make a successful human rights application to join your non-British child in the UK, you will need to demonstrate that:

• you and your child have a strong connection to the UK
• it would not be possible to maintain your family/private life if you and your child have to leave the UK
• you have a genuine and subsisting relationship with your child, and
• it would be unreasonable to expect your child to leave the UK

Application for leave to remain or ILR on medical grounds

The immigration rules also allow claimants to apply for leave to remain based on article 3 medical grounds.

To make a successful article 3 application on medical grounds, you must be able to prove that there is a real risk of being exposed to a serious, rapid and irreversible decline in your health, resulting in intense suffering or a significant (substantial) reduction in life expectancy as a result of the absence or lack of access to suitable treatment if you cannot stay in the UK.

What if your Human Rights application is refused?

If your human rights application is refused, you may be able to appeal the decision to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). You will only have 28 days to appeal from the date of your refusal letter.

To make a successful appeal, you will need to prove the decision made by the Home Office breaches your rights to private and/or family life in the UK. You can ask for a decision to be made by the tribunal either at an oral hearing that you and/or your legal representative will attend or purely on the papers you have provided.

Depending on the reasons for your refusal, it may also be possible to:

• submit a fresh human rights application
• apply for an administrative review if the mistakes were made by UKVI
• apply for a judicial review to challenge legal errors made by UKVI

How can Reiss Edwards help?

Reiss Edwards specialises in all aspects of human rights applications for leave to remain and ILR. Our immigration solicitors can:

• Determine if you have a valid immigration application based on your human rights and those of your family members
• Prepare and submit your application based on human rights
• Handle any queries raised by UKVI on your behalf
• Handle a refusal of your human rights application

For assistance with your human rights application, please speak to our immigration lawyers for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or complete our enquiry form.