What is the ten year route?

The ten-year route is an immigration pathway that can lead to settlement in the UK, also known as permanent residence.

People on this route are given Limited Leave to Remain (a form of temporary visa) for 2.5 years at a time, which must be renewed four times over the course of ten years. Once they have accrued ten years of Limited Leave to Remain, they can apply for permission to stay in the UK permanently, subject to meeting the full criteria (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain). If they meet additional criteria, they can eventually apply for British citizenship.

The total cost of the ten-year route to settlement currently stands at £12,836 for one adult. We expect this to increase with the July 2023 announcement to £18,226, find our full breakdown of fee increases here.

Do people on the ten year route have visas, and do they pay taxes?

Yes, people on the ten year route have visas (also known as limited leave to remain) and pay taxes like anyone else.

How many people are affected?

An estimated 170,000 people are on the ten year route.

Who is on the ten year route?

People on the 10-year route have permission to stay in the UK because of their family connection to, or length of residence in, the UK. Some examples of people who might find themselves on a ten-year route are a parent of a British child, a spouse of a British national, or someone who has been in the UK already for 20+ years.

Just over half of main applicants granted status on the ten-year family route from 2016-2020 were from five countries of nationality: Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Ghana and Bangladesh.

Does it actually mean that people have to live in the UK for ten years before they can stay here indefinitely?

People on a ten-year route will have to have stayed continuously in the UK for at least ten years. However, our research shows that more than 60% of people on the route have already been in the UK for more than ten years already. This is because many people will have had a different type of visa in the past, such as a student visa.

This means that by the end of it, many people who have completed the ten year route and obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain will have spent well over a decade in the UK.

Simply completing ten years on the route does not guarantee that a person can stay indefinitely. They also need to fulfil the criteria for indefinite leave to remain, one of which is paying a fee of £2,404. No waiver is available for this fee, so unless it can be paid, a person will have no choice but to apply for yet another grant of limited leave to remain (for which it exists a fee waiver) for 2.5 years.

Are there shorter routes to settle in the UK permanently?

Some people are able to apply for settlement after five years, but to do so, they need to meet strict criteria, including meeting a minimum income requirement (currently £18,500 per annum).

Those with strong ties to the UK who don’t earn enough, or who have had a gap in their leave to remain (which can happen for a range of reasons, such as missing an application deadline, or making a simple mistake in an application form), must wait for ten years.

This means that, typically, those who are earning the least end up paying more.

What happens when people arrive at the end of the ten year route?

They can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (also known as permanent residence or settlement). To qualify, they need to meet a range of criteria. People also need to pay a fee of £2,404, for which there is no fee waiver.

How much do people on the ten year route need to pay? Do children also need to pay?

For each renewal application, individuals must pay £2,608 per adult and £2,223 per child for 2.5 years of limited leave to remain (please note these will increase due to announcement July 2023). This includes an application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) – a fee to access to the NHS, which is payable regardless of whether someone is already contributing through taxation. For a family of four (two adults and two children), a single round of renewals would therefore cost £9,662. Most people have to add the cost of a solicitor to this amount, as the application process is complex and often requires specialist advice to complete correctly. There may be other costs as well, such as for certifying documents and taking tests to prove knowledge of English.

Have the fees ever increased?

Fees are reviewed every year. Either component – Home Office fee and IHS - can be subject to increases each financial year. For example, the IHS for adults has gone from £500 in 2018 to £1,560 in 2022.

What is the actual cost of processing people’s visas?

According to transparency data published by the Home Office, the actual administrative cost of processing an application for Limited Leave to Remain is just £335. For Indefinite Leave to Remain, the actual cost of processing an application is £491, compared to the £2,404 cost levied on applicants.

Are there ways that people who can’t afford the fees can still apply?

People who can’t afford the fees can apply for a waiver for all or part of the fee, if they can demonstrate that they can’t afford them. However, the application is very complicated and requires applicants to produce lots of very detailed evidence of their personal finances. In our experience, most people need legal support to complete this application successfully – yet paying for a solicitor, as most people have to do, would significantly reduce the benefits of getting the fee waiver in the first place..

Legal aid is not available to support with this kind of applications, and free legal advice and casework by charities is scarce. Even if people are in dire financial circumstances, the Home Office can and will deny them a fee waiver. As our research has demonstrated, many go into debt with banks and credit cards to cover for the cost of fees, often building on existing debt, because they’re been refused a fee waiver from the Home Office.

How often do people need to apply for a leave to remain extension?

Every 2.5 years – or four times over the course of ten years.

What happens if people make a mistake in their application?

Even small mistakes can result in an application being rejected by the Home Office. If there are missing documents or mistakes on people’s application, usually the Home Office gives a short window of time for the person to rectify these; if the applicant is unable to act on this in the timeframe provided they might be refused their leave to remain.

Once an application is rejected, the person in question effectively becomes undocumented – meaning that they lose their right to live, work, rent, and access the NHS, even if they have British children.

What happens if people can’t pay the fees and can’t access a fee waiver?

If an application is submitted but the fee is not paid, the Home Office would contact the applicant and ask for the fee to be paid within a short window of time. If the full amount is not received, the application would be considered invalid and the applicant in question would effectively become undocumented – meaning that they lose their right to live, work, rent, and access the NHS, even if they have British children.

How long does it take for the Home Office to process a visa renewal application?

The Home Office no longer has a standard processing time for renewing Limited Leave to Remain applications for those on the ten-year route, it simply advises that such applications are taking 10 months on average. In our experience, our clients are often waiting for a year or more for a decision on a simple renewal application.

During this time, a person’s right to work, rent and access public support – including the NHS – is in theory protected. However, the Home Office doesn’t provide documentary proof of these rights, which means that people often face challenges from employers, landlords or service providers about their rights to access services.

Is there a way to check with the Home Office about the status of the application, and communicate with the caseworker dealing with the case?

No – the Home Office doesn’t provide ways or contact details to keep track of their renewal applications.

Can people travel internationally while their visa is being processed?

No.

What if people need to leave the UK for an emergency?

People have the opportunity to apply to get their passport back, but if they do so their application would be considered as withdrawn.

Can people on the 10 year route access benefits?

By default, people on the ten year route can’t access welfare benefits – including child benefits, housing support and universal credit – because the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition is automatically attached to their leave to remain.

People on the ten-year route can apply to get the condition removed and gain access to benefits in this way. However, this is only possible when someone is already at crisis point, at immediate risk of becoming destitute. It can also take months for the Home Office to process this type of application. People need to reapply for NRPF to be removed from their leave to remain every time they have to renew their visa – every 2.5 years.

The courts have found multiple times that NRPF is an unlawful measure driving families with children into destitution and breaches the government's legal duty to safeguard children's welfare.

Can people on the 10 year route access the NHS?

Yes. People on the 10-year route are required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of their application for a visa, at a cost of £1,035 (increased July 2023) per year.

This fee must be paid by everyone, even if they are already working and contributing to the cost of the health service through their taxes and National Insurance.

If someone is unable to renew their leave to remain and becomes undocumented, they then become liable to be charged for healthcare.

Can people on the 10 year route access cost of living support measure?

Most people on the 10 year route can benefit from the cost of living support made available to every household in the UK, namely the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee. However, the NRPF condition blocks access to all of the additional supports that are available to other households, such as the Cost of Living payment for the most vulnerable or the Warm Home Discount – even if a household is struggling or already living in poverty. You can find out more here.

How easy is it to apply for a visa extension, a fee waiver or a change of condition to access public support– can people do it without legal support?

These are complex applications that in most cases require expert legal advice. There is no legal aid available to support with this kind of application, and free legal advice and casework by charities is scarce.

We support much bigger change long term, and you can see the FIRM charter for our vision of what the UK immigration system could look like.

We also support the Migrant Voice campaign: ‘Destroying hopes, dreams and lives: How the UK visa costs and process impact migrants' lives’ which calls for:

• Reduced visa fees for adults to administrative costs only, and abolishing fees for children.

• The abolition of the Immigration Health Surcharge.

• Cutting the time needed for permanent settlement from 10 years to 5.