When your life is established in the UK, uncertainty about your immigration position can affect your family, education, work and plans for the future.
Knightsbridge can help you access specialist advice through a referral to an independent immigration solicitor. Private Life applications are handled through this referral service, with the solicitor responsible for assessing your position and undertaking any legal work.
About this route
The Private Life route concerns people already in the UK whose circumstances may qualify them for permission based on the life they have established here.
The rules contain different provisions for children, young adults and other adults. Relevant circumstances can include seven years’ continuous residence for a child where departure would be unreasonable, or a young adult who arrived before 18 and has spent at least half their life continuously in the UK.
Other provisions concern adults with more than 20 years’ continuous residence or very significant obstacles to integration in the country where they would have to live. These are specific legal tests requiring individual assessment.
Eligibility Check
A specialist may need to establish:
- Your age and when you first arrived in the UK.
- Your complete immigration and residence history.
- Any periods spent outside the country.
- Your current permission, if any.
- The circumstances of children affected by the application.
- Any previous applications, refusals or enforcement action.
These questions help identify what needs assessment. Length of residence alone does not resolve every requirement.
Understanding your situation
You may have grown up in the UK, have a child who has spent much of their life here or already hold permission that needs extending.
Some people have complete records of their residence. Others have moved frequently, changed schools or lost older documents. The solicitor will assess the history and advise how it can be evidenced, including any gaps or inconsistencies.
How Knightsbridge Helps
We receive your initial enquiry, record basic circumstances and identify any urgent dates you tell us about. With your consent, we can help arrange an introduction to an independent immigration solicitor.
The solicitor assesses the legal merits, advises on the appropriate application and identifies the evidence required. If you instruct them, their firm agrees its fees and terms directly with you and takes responsibility for the legal work.
Addressing Challenges
Private Life applications can involve residence calculations, children’s circumstances and evidence about the practical consequences of leaving the UK.
Permission to stay and settlement also involve different requirements. For example, a child born in the UK with seven years’ continuous residence may have a potential settlement application, subject to the relevant conditions. A specialist should identify which provisions apply rather than assume that every case follows the same timetable.
Timescales and Costs
GOV.UK currently indicates that Private Life applications can take around 12 months to receive a decision. Preparation and any additional enquiries may add time.
A fee waiver may be available where the relevant affordability requirements are met. The solicitor can assess this and explain application fees, any health surcharge and their own charges before work begins.
Situations requiring closer analysis
An expired visa, previous refusal, criminal conviction, threatened removal or approaching deadline should be raised immediately.
If urgent action may be needed, seek immediate assistance from an appropriately authorised legal representative. Sending an enquiry to Knightsbridge does not extend a deadline or establish legal representation.
Your journey with Knightsbridge
You begin by giving us a brief outline of your circumstances and the help you are seeking. We ask about your current position, any recent Home Office correspondence and dates that may require attention.
We then explain the referral service and seek your consent before sharing information with a prospective solicitor. You can decide whether to proceed once they have explained their availability, proposed work and fees.
If instructed, the solicitor examines your immigration history and the relevant legal provisions. They advise on residence evidence, personal circumstances and any additional information needed from schools, medical professionals or other sources.
They also explain the strengths, difficulties and possible outcomes of the proposed application. Responsibility for preparation, legal representations and correspondence rests with that solicitor under your agreed engagement. Our role is to help make the introduction and handover clear.
Ready to discuss a referral?
Tell us about your time in the UK and the immigration issue you need help with.
The free review is an initial enquiry for referral purposes. Detailed legal advice is provided separately by the instructed solicitor.
