If your ILR application is rejected, you have two alternatives: file a fresh application that addresses the rejection reasons listed in the rejection letter or seek legal counsel to better understand all of your prospective options.

After investing money, time, and effort in creating the application and accompanying materials, having an ILR application rejected may be devastating.

What choices do you have if your ILR application is denied?

Why did your ILR get rejected?

The Home Office’s letter of denial is where to start. If you want to know what to do next, think about the reasons that were provided for the decision.

A legal opinion is often wise to comprehend you.

Make a fresh ILR application

You might repair the problem and reapply right away if the cause for the rejection was something that could be readily fixed, such as a typo on the application form or a missing document.

Submit a request for an administrative review

It could be possible to request that your application form and accompanying documentation be evaluated again if your rejection appears to be the result of a mistake in the decision-making process. The initial judgement will be reversed if the Administrative Review rules in your favour.

You must be requesting ILR based on a points-based visa in order for Administrative Review to be accessible. If you have this option accessible to you, your denial letter will let you know, along with the deadlines you’ll have to stick to.

Contest the ruling

Only when it can be demonstrated that denying your application would violate your human rights will you be granted the opportunity to appeal. Again, there are stringent deadlines. For applicants who are already in the UK, you have 14 days from the decision notice to file an appeal. You have 28 days from the decision date if you reside outside of the UK.

Judgement Review

As a last resort, judicial review is only permitted in circumstances when the court so authorises it. The evaluation of the Home Office’s decision to deny your application is a difficult procedure. You must assess the merits of your argument against the likelihood of successfully overturning the denial if you are considering taking this line of action.

Common justifications for rejecting ILR applications

Understanding and avoiding typical grounds for denial would be useful for ILR applicants:

Abundant absences

You must have been away from the UK for more than 180 days in any one 12-month period during your total qualifying period in order to be eligible for ILR. PBS dependents are now subject to this requirement as well.

You must “reset the clock” after any gaps in your UK residency that are more than the threshold, beginning your qualifying term from the end of your most recent “excessive” absence.

Excessive absences could need justification in your application. Holders of Tier 1 visas are the only exception to this regulation; they are exempt from providing proof of absences from the UK.

Some absences won’t be taken into account when determining if your continuity has been broken and can be omitted. Additionally, only absences that last a full 24 hours count; partial days are not. Additionally excluded is the time between receiving your entrance permission and arriving in the UK.

It is strongly advised that you get legal counsel on your absences because the rules are extremely strict, intricate, and dynamic.

Failure to manage or report the debt

Debt is not a reason to reject someone on its own. However, you must disclose in your application if you have a CCJ that is still on the registry. The Home Office will check into the status of your repayments and search for proof that you have adhered to agreed-upon payment schedules and there are no worries about mounting debt or inability to pay since these would probably be grounds for denial based on conduct and character.

Immigration violations

Your application is very likely to be rejected if your records indicate previous UK immigration difficulties that you failed to disclose on your ILR application form, such as deportation or a period of illegal immigration status. You must disclose all immigration violations in your application, no matter how small you think they were or how long ago they occurred.

Convictions for crimes

You must disclose all criminal convictions, including warnings and prior arrests, in your ILR application. Regardless of where and when the offence occurred, this is true. Again, resistance follows nondisclosure.

If you have anything to divulge that could reflect “adverse character,” it is important to have legal counsel in order to determine whether and how this would affect your application. You must show that you have “good character,” thus any warnings or arrests may need further character references to back up your application.

If an applicant has been convicted of an offence for which they have served four years or more in jail, their application will be refused, according to paragraph 322 of the “General Grounds for Refusal.”

An applicant will also be refused ILR if they were convicted of a crime for which they were given a sentence of at least 12 months but not more than 4 years of incarceration unless 15 years have passed since the completion of their sentence.

If you were convicted of a crime and received a sentence of fewer than 12 months, 7 years must have passed since the end of your sentence for you to be qualified to apply for ILR.

Even if a non-custodial sentence has been given, any offence for which you have been found guilty or accepted guilt and which is added to your criminal record within 24 months of the application date for ILR will result in a denial.

Unsatisfactory performance of the English language and UK Life criteria

The Life in the UK exam will often be required to be taken before submitting an application for settlement.

There are a few exceptions, including individuals who are under 18 years old, are over 65 years old, have already taken and passed the exam, or have a chronic medical or mental illness.

Unless they have a medical or mental condition that precludes them from doing so, all candidates between the ages of 16 and 65 from non-English speaking nations must additionally give proof of their proficiency in the language.

A document or academic qualification that was written, presented, or researched in English and is acknowledged by UK NARIC as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or higher will be accepted as proof. Another option is to take and pass an approved English language test with at least a CEFR level B1 in speaking and listening.

Negative behaviour

Any instances of utilising deceit, such as false representation, fraud, forgery, withholding relevant information, or refusing to comply, will result in the rejection of an ILR application.

Problems with paying UK taxes, no matter how modest, are a frequent example. The Home Office will have access to information about your tax filing history because HMRC and UKVI share information about taxes paid in the UK.

If you have not reported your income to the HMRC, do not be tempted to say you are making the appropriate income on your application. This will be interpreted as an inconsistency.

The Home Office has the right to reject your request for ILR if you have ever had problems making your tax payments, even if those issues were afterwards resolved with HMRC. Any deliberate underpayment of UK taxes will result in an immediate denial of your request.