Private Life Application Solicitors in London
Built your life in the UK? We help you apply to stay under the private life route and get on the path to settlement.
A private life application lets someone who has built their life in the UK apply for permission to stay on the basis of that private life, even if some or all of their time here was without a visa. The route is set out in Appendix Private Life of the Immigration Rules and gives effect to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life.
Adam Bernard Solicitors prepares private life applications for children, young adults and adults across London and the UK. We assess which category you fit, build the residence evidence year by year, and deal with any suitability issues before the application goes in. Speak to our immigration team at our High Holborn or Upton Park office, or by video call, on 0207 100 2525.
What is the private life route in the UK?
The private life route is a UK immigration route to settlement for people already living in the UK who qualify through their age and length of continuous residence, or who would face very significant obstacles if they had to leave. Successful applicants receive limited leave to remain (usually 30 months at a time), can work and study, and can later apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
“Private life” covers the ties you build over time: work, education, friendships, community involvement, and long-term medical treatment. Unlike most visa routes, the time you rely on does not have to be lawful. What matters is that your residence has been continuous.
The route replaced the old paragraph 276ADE rules on 20 June 2022, so older guides that still refer to 276ADE are out of date. You apply online using the form “Application to remain in the UK on the basis of family life or private life” — the application commonly known as FLR(FP). The full rules are published in Appendix Private Life on GOV.UK.
Who can make a private life application?
You can apply if you are in the UK and you fall into one of four categories: a child with 7 years’ continuous residence, a young adult who has spent half their life here, an adult with more than 20 years’ continuous residence, or an adult who would face very significant obstacles to integrating abroad.
Category | Who it covers | Residence requirement | Extra test | Route to ILR |
Child (7-year rule) | Under 18 | At least 7 years’ continuous residence | It would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK | 5 years |
Young adult (half-life rule) | Aged 18–24, arrived before 18 | At least half their life living continuously in the UK | None | 5 years |
Adult (20-year rule) | 18 or over | More than 20 years’ continuous residence | None | 10 years |
Adult (very significant obstacles) | 18 or over with less than 20 years | No minimum | Very significant obstacles to integration in the country you would return to | 10 years |
Children: the 7-year rule
A child under 18 who has lived in the UK continuously for at least seven years can qualify if it would not be reasonable to expect them to leave. The child’s best interests are a primary consideration, so school records, friendships and ties to the local community carry real weight. A child born in the UK who has lived here continuously for seven years may qualify for immediate settlement rather than limited leave. For children’s cases in more detail, see our 7-year child applications page and our recent update on rising 7-year child ILR refusals.
Young adults: the half-life rule
If you are aged 18 to 24, arrived in the UK before your 18th birthday, and have spent at least half your life living continuously in the UK, you qualify. A 22-year-old, for example, needs at least 11 years’ continuous residence. There is no separate “obstacles” test for this group, and you are placed on the shorter five-year route to settlement.
Adults: the 20-year rule
Adults qualify if they have lived in the UK continuously for more than 20 years. Periods spent without permission, including overstaying, can count. The challenge is proving it: the Home Office expects evidence spread across the whole 20 years, not a handful of documents from recent years. Anyone who has overstayed should also read our guide to applying for a UK visa after overstaying.
Adults: very significant obstacles to integration
If you have been here for less than 20 years, you may still qualify if there would be very significant obstacles to your integration in the country where you would have to live. This is a high threshold. Hardship or inconvenience is not enough; decision-makers look at whether you could realistically participate in life there. Relevant factors include having no family or support network, not speaking the language, serious health conditions without available treatment, or a real risk of discrimination. Evidence must be specific and independent wherever possible.
How is "continuous residence" calculated?
Continuous residence can include time spent in the UK with or without permission, but it is broken by an absence of more than 6 months at any one time, total absences of 550 days or more, removal or deportation, or leaving the UK after a refusal.
Under Appendix Private Life, your continuous residence is broken if you:
- were absent from the UK for more than 6 months at any one time;
- spent a total of 550 days or more outside the UK during the qualifying period;
- were removed or deported, or left the UK after an application to enter or stay was refused; or
- left the UK with no reasonable expectation at the time that you could lawfully return.
Time spent in prison (or detained in another institution) following a conviction and sentence does not count towards your residence period.
We recommend at least one reliable document for every year you rely on — ideally several. Gaps can sometimes be filled with witness statements from people who have known you over the years, but they carry less weight than official records.
What documents do you need?
There is no fixed checklist, but the Home Office gives most weight to official, dated documents from independent sources that show you living in the UK across every year of your claimed residence.
Useful evidence includes:
- Identity: a valid passport or other document establishing your identity and nationality — if you cannot provide one, the application may be rejected as invalid, so tell us early;
- Residence: tenancy agreements, council tax bills, utility bills, letters from landlords or housing associations;
- Work and study: payslips, P60s, HMRC records, employer letters, school, college and university records;
- Health and official correspondence: GP and hospital letters, NHS registration, letters from the council, charities, places of worship or community groups;
- Financial records: bank statements, phone contracts and other dated household bills;
- Category-specific evidence: school reports and teacher letters for children; a clear arrival-to-present timeline for young adults; medical, family and country evidence for very significant obstacles cases.
Documents are uploaded after you submit the online form, usually within a short deadline, so we prepare and index the full bundle before you apply.
How much does a private life application cost in 2026?
From 8 April 2026, the Home Office fee for a private life application made in the UK is £1,407 per person, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for under-18s.
Cost | Amount (from 8 April 2026) |
Application fee (leave to remain) | £1,407 per applicant |
Immigration Health Surcharge — adult, 30 months | £2,587.50 (£1,035 per year) |
Immigration Health Surcharge — under 18, 30 months | £1,940 (£776 per year) |
Immigration Health Surcharge — under 18, 60 months | £3,880 |
Indefinite leave to remain (at the end of the route) | £3,226 per applicant |
Priority / Super Priority decision (where offered) | £500 / £1,000 |
A 30-month application for one adult therefore costs £3,994.50 in Home Office fees before any legal costs. Because adults normally need four grants of 30 months before settlement, the total over the full route is significant. Fees are set by the Home Office and published in the immigration and nationality fees table; they usually change each April.
Fee waivers
If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for a fee waiver before submitting your private life application. Waivers are available for family and private life permission-to-stay applications where you are destitute, cannot meet essential living costs, or where paying would harm a child’s wellbeing. The waiver must be decided first. Read our guide to fee waiver applications in 2026.
How long does a private life application take?
GOV.UK currently lists a processing time of up to 12 months for private life applications made inside the UK, and there is no formal service standard for this route. Cases involving suitability issues, requests for further evidence or an interview can take longer.
If you apply before your current visa expires, your existing permission continues on the same conditions while you wait, under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971. If you have no current leave, you do not have that protection, which is why getting a valid, complete application in promptly matters. See the latest UK processing times on GOV.UK.
How long is leave granted for, and what are the conditions?
Most adults are granted 30 months’ leave on the private life route; children and young adults can choose 30 or 60 months. When you extend, up to 28 days of unused leave is added to your new grant.
With private life leave you can:
- work, including self-employment and voluntary work;
- study (an ATAS certificate may be needed for certain subjects);
- access public funds only if you show you are destitute or at risk of destitution, there are child-welfare reasons, or you face exceptional financial circumstances — otherwise a “no recourse to public funds” condition applies. We can apply to have that condition lifted later if your circumstances change.
A child born in the UK to a parent on the private life route can apply for leave in line with that parent.
Can a private life application lead to ILR?
Yes. Children and young adults can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years with permission on the route; most adults, including 20-year and very significant obstacles cases, need 10 years.
At the settlement stage you must also:
- meet the English language requirement — B1 speaking and listening for applications made before 26 March 2027, rising to B2 for applications made on or after that date (unless exempt). Book your UKVI English test in good time;
- pass the Life in the UK Test (under-18s are exempt);
- meet the continuous residence rules for the whole qualifying period;
- not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.
Illegal entry and past issues: an adult who entered the UK illegally can still use the route, but must complete the full 10-year qualifying period with permission before settling. The same 10-year period applies where issues such as deception, unpaid NHS debt of £500 or more, or breach of conditions arose during the route. Read more on settlement and ILR applications.
Will “earned settlement” change the private life route?
Not yet. The government consulted on an “earned settlement” model that would lengthen and reshape qualifying periods for ILR, but no implementing rules have been laid. The September 2026 statement of changes, HC 584, did not introduce it. The current 5-year and 10-year private life routes remain in force, but the confirmed move to B2 English in March 2027 is a reason not to delay an ILR application you are already eligible for.
Private life route or another option? Choosing the right application
The private life route is often the right choice for people with long but irregular residence, but it is not always the fastest path to settlement. Before you apply, we check whether a different route would get you to ILR sooner or more safely.
Your situation | Route to consider | Why |
10 years’ lawful continuous residence | Long residence (Appendix Long Residence) | Leads to ILR directly, rather than limited leave first — see our guide on long residence refusals |
Partner of a British or settled person, but can’t meet income or English rules | Relies on family life with your partner | |
Parent of a British or settled child | Often faster than relying on private life alone | |
Already on a 10-year route but now meet the 5-year rules | Can shorten the time to settlement | |
Don’t meet any category but removal would still be disproportionate | Human rights (Article 8) application outside the rules | Assessed on exceptional circumstances |
At risk of serious harm on return | Protection claims follow a separate process and have no application fee |
Not sure which applies? Our overview of Further Leave to Remain applications explains how FLR(M), FLR(FP) and human rights extensions fit together.
What if a private life application is refused?
A refused private life application is a refused human rights claim, so it normally carries a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, which must be lodged within 14 days of the decision being sent if you are in the UK.
The Tribunal decides whether refusal would breach Article 8, weighing your private life against the public interest in immigration control. Under section 117B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, little weight is given to a private life built while in the UK unlawfully or with precarious status. This is why strong evidence under the rules, rather than a general Article 8 argument, usually gives the best chance of success.
If the Home Office certifies your claim as “clearly unfounded”, there is no in-country appeal and judicial review may be the only remedy. Our immigration appeals team can review a refusal letter and advise on deadlines immediately.
Common mistakes that lead to refusal
- Choosing the wrong category — for example, relying on the 20-year rule when your absences have broken continuity, or on “very significant obstacles” without independent evidence.
- Evidence gaps — whole years with no documents, or evidence under different names without explanation.
- Undisclosed history — previous refusals, removals, convictions or use of false documents that the Home Office will find in its own records.
- Missing the identity requirement — an application without a passport or satisfactory alternative can be rejected as invalid, and the fee lost.
- Late extensions — applying after your 30-month leave expires breaks your lawful residence and can reset your route to settlement.
How Adam Bernard Solicitors can help
We handle private life applications from first assessment to decision, and we represent clients at appeal if the Home Office refuses.
- Route assessment — we check your immigration history and confirm the strongest category, or whether a faster route is available.
- Evidence building — we map your residence year by year, identify gaps, and obtain witness statements and records to fill them.
- Suitability review — we assess convictions, previous refusals or other history before submission and address them in representations.
- Legal representations — a detailed cover letter setting out how you meet Appendix Private Life, and Article 8 in the alternative.
- Fee waiver and public funds — applications to waive fees or lift a no-recourse-to-public-funds condition.
- Extensions and ILR — we diarise your 30-month renewals and prepare your settlement application when you qualify.
Adam Bernard Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, with offices at Chancery Station House, 33 High Holborn (Central London) and 25 Barking Road, Upton Park (East London). We have helped more than 15,000 clients over 15 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for the private life route if I overstayed my visa?
How many years do I need to apply under the private life route?
Does the 20-year rule give me indefinite leave to remain straight away?
How much does a private life application cost?
How long does a private life application take in 2026?
Can I work while on the private life route?
What is the difference between the private life route and 10-year long residence?
Can I appeal if my private life application is refused?
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