HSMP Forum Judicial Review : Settlement

The Home Office has now published a detailed guidance for those highly skilled migrants who should have been given an opportunity to apply for settlement in the UK after residing here for continuous 4 years.

Who are eligible to make settlement (ILR) application in accordance with this policy? 

To qualify for settlement under this policy the highly skilled migrant must:

• Have received an HSMP approval letter issued on the basis of an application made before 03rd of April 2006*; and
• Have been granted entry clearance or leave to remain on the basis of that HSMP letter
• Have spent a continuous period of 4 years in the UK, of which most recent period must have been spent with leave as a highly skilled migrant or Tier 1 (G), and the remainder must be made up of leave as a work permit holder or leave as an Innovator.
• Have been able to maintain and accommodate himself and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds
• Have been lawfully economically active in the UK in employment or self employment or in a combination of both.

* The first condition covers those cases as well whose entry clearance applications were turned down by the Entry clearance officers but those decision were then overturned by the AIT and consequently entry clearances were granted.

All such highly skilled migrants have been divided into groups and have been given remedies in accordance with their circumstances. We will now discuss each group separately:

Group I 
Those who have already obtained ILR (Settlement) under HSMP or Tier 1 (G) after completing 5 years of continuous residence in the UK:

These people must have obtained one year's leave under the HSMP requirements then extended their leaves to remain by a further 3 years and were subsequently required to make a second extension in order to complete 5 years in the UK.

These people will be able to claim on-off payment to cover the cost of the second extension application, which would not otherwise have been required. An application for the refund of costs, however, should be made before 20th of May 2010.

Generally, those who obtain ILR (who are not married to British Citizens) have to wait for one year to qualify for making an application for naturalization but as these people should have been granted ILR after completing 4 years, the time that they have already spent after 4 years will therefore be taken into account, and they will be able to make their naturalization applications straight away.

Please be advised that we have got considerable experience in dealing with naturalization applications and can advise and represent our clients in making such applications. Anyone, who is not sure about his eligibility, is advised to contact our office for a detailed consultation on this matter.

Group II 
Those who have completed 4 years continuous residence in the UK in a qualifying category:

These people must have obtained one year's leave under the HSMP requirements then extended their leaves to remain by a further 3 years and were subsequently required to make a second extension in order to complete 5 years in the UK.

These people will be able to make their applications for settlement (ILR) after completing 4 years qualifying residence. These people will be able to claim on-off payment to cover the cost of the second extension application, which would not otherwise have been required. An application for the refund of costs, however, should be made before 20th of May 2010.

Generally, those who obtain ILR (who are not married to British Citizens) have to wait for one year to qualify for making an application for naturalization but as these people should have been granted ILR after completing 4 years, the time that they have already spent after 4 years will therefore be taken into account, and they will be able to make their naturalization applications much sooner.

Please be advised that we have got considerable experience in dealing with settlement / naturalization applications and can advise and represent our clients in making such applications. Anyone, who is not sure about his eligibility, is advised to contact our office for a detailed consultation on this matter. We also offer premium service for ILR applications.

Group III
Those who have not yet completed 4 years continuous residence in the UK in a qualifying category:

These people must have obtained one year’s leave under the HSMP requirements or 2 years` leave and later extended their leaves for a further 3 or 4 years period.

These people will be able to make their applications for settlement (ILR) after completing 4 years qualifying residence.

Please be advised that we have got considerable experience in dealing with settlement applications and can advise and represent our clients in making such applications. Anyone, who is not sure about his eligibility, is advised to contact our office for a detailed consultation on this matter. We also offer premium service for ILR applications.

Group IV
Those who applied for settlement after 4 years and were refused:

There may be two sub-groups of this group, i.e.

• i) Those who lodged appeals against the decisions and won their appeals and were subsequently given ILR
• ii) Those who did not appeal the refusal decision or their appeals were dismissed.

In both the above-mentioned cased, migrants will be able to request for a review of their original ILR applications and if successful, they will be given ILR. In view of the fact that they would have qualified for settlement after 4 years, the time that they have spent after 4 years from the date of their leave to enter or leave to remain will be taken into account, and they would be considered as having been granted ILR after 4 years.

Technically, the second sub-group may have become overstayers but now can apply for their original application to be reviewed and may therefore be given ILR on the basis of this policy.

Generally, those who obtain ILR (who are not married to British Citizens) have to wait for one year to qualify for making an application for naturalization but as these people should have been granted ILR after completing 4 years, the time that they have already spent after 4 years will therefore be taken into account and they might be able to make their naturalization applications much sooner.

Please be advised that we have got considerable experience in dealing with settlement / naturalization applications and can advise and represent our clients in making such applications. Anyone, who is not sure about his eligibility, is advised to contact our office for a detailed consultation on this matter.

Group V
Those who have completed 4 years continuous residence in the UK in a qualifying category and have submitted an application for Further Leave to Remain: 

These people must have obtained one year’s leave under the HSMP requirements then extended their leaves to remain by a further 3 years and have made their application for further leave to remain in order to complete 5 years continuous residence in the UK, which is still under consideration.

The Home Office will contact these people and invite them to vary their applications to an ILR application under the terms of this policy.

Other Important Points:

In all the above-mentioned cases, migrants or their dependants are not required to pass life in the UK test (i.e. Knowledge of language and life in the UK).

Those who fall under HSMP Forum Judicial Review Policy document of July 2008, must first apply in accordance with that policy and then can apply for ILR in accordance with the terms of this policy. Please be advised that the deadline for those who want to switch back to HSMP under the Policy Document of July 2008 is 31st of July 2009 and if you have already completed 4 years or are close to completing 4 years in a qualifying category, we strongly advise you to apply for re-instatement of HSMP at your earliest to be able to apply for ILR under the terms of this policy.

What ever application you wish to make, we will be pleased to advise, represent and provide our services.