Do you know if my friend has the legal right to stay in UK please?

[Jamillalliamilli]

She arrived here at 13, is now 40, speaks English perfectly, (see?s herself as Londoner 1st, British 2nd, ethnicity 3rd, country of origin not at all.)

She was brought here from S.E.Asia, but is from another ethnicity to the country of origin, and has no links to either the country, or the ethnic group.

She married a British man at 20. Retained her S.E.Asian passport, (but in the last few years has failed to update citizenship card. A serious offence there, and may have lost her citizenship, was warned the last time she allowed it to lapse)

19 years later, her husband died. (suicide)

She has a house (with outstanding mortgage) a load of cats, Aspergers diagnosis and serious mental health difficulties (could cause difficulties with citizenship tests despite perfect English) tends to suicidal thoughts on all problems, and is unable to get from day to day without support. She wouldn't cope if sent to her country of origin. Has never held a UK passport, but is in the benefit, NHS, and tax systems.

Her very estranged mother is here, but does something involving travelling each year to remain legally here.

Friend has no idea where she stands, is living in fear, and is much too afraid and unwell to seek help. (Ending things seems a more sensible option to her.)

Does anyone have any idea if she has an automatic right to remain here since her husband?s death, or could/should do something to gain that right, or where I could look into this for her, without rocking any boats please?

I think she has Leave to Reside due to her marriage but haven't done immigration for years.

Best bet is to look at the Home Office's Immigration website.

I don't think she has an automatic right to stay here.

To state the obvious, I am not an immigration adviser approved by the OISC and that is who she needs to consult. But from what you say, it seems possible that she would have been granted indefinite leave to remain when she came here as a child, assuming her mother got ILR at the same time. If not, she might have got ILR on the basis of her marriage - although presumably, if she had, you and she would be aware of that. Does she have any documentation - old passports with immigration stamps, letters from the Home Office?

If she hasn't got her immigration status sorted out, she needs to do it now, probably on the basis of her long residence. There are a very few grounds for exemption from the Life in the UK test on the grounds of disability.

Read around the UKBA website and then get professional advice.

Again to state the obvious, she'll only have any sort of leave to remain if she applied for it (or domeone applied for her) and losing her nationality (if she has) doesn't automatically confer any right to remain here.

Last post from me. If her mum is travelling every year to retain her visa, that sounds to me as if she dies not have indefinite leave to remain, which makes me doubt whether your friend will have been granted ILR as her dependent.

Your friend may be eligible for legal aid. Anyway, gather as much information (and, ideally, documents) as you can and get decent advice. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner website can help you find a local adviser.

Thank you very much for advice, starting points, links, and 'myth busting'. What's obvious to one is only clear to another after it's pointed out. It?s really appreciated.

I have a nasty suspicion that the estranged mother has actually been using the daughters situation to be here, but may have gained ILR through age. It's hard to know the truth, mum has form for saying whatever suits her need.

The only thing I can find that stands against an application for my friend is her employment record. She had a breakdown and has been ill for the last decade. (her husbands contributions covered her for most of that.)
Everything else suggests she might well be unnecessarily afraid. Thank you.

As I said, I'm not an OISC-accredited immigration adviser and, besides, the information here is sketchy. An immigration adviser will be able to ask the right questions to work out where your friend stands.

To be frank, if your friend's mum has to leave the UK every year and come back on a new visa, that sounds as if she doesn't have ILR but has something that limits her stay to a year, hence the need for regular renewal.

My woman-on-the-Clapham-omnibus view is that someone who has been in the UK for 27 years would be highly unlikely not to benefit from the long residence policy.

Hello there! I am an Immigration solicitor. This is obviously a very complex situation. Your friend needs to get to a Legal Aid solicitor ASAP. The government is withdrawing legal aid from immigration work in a couple of months so she needs to sign up now otherwise she will definitely have to pay for advice.

It is more than possible that your friend has never had the right to remain in the UK - ive seen many people in that situation. She could ask the Home Office for a subject access request (all the info they have about her) but they may well not have stuff from that long ago.

The Immigration Rules have changed significantly since I've been on mat leave and I THINK that long residence as a means of getting ILR for people who not been continuously legal in the UK has recently been abolished. The government has also really cracked down on human rights cases (article 8 -right to family and private life) ie. those where someone doesn't fit in a specific legal criteria but has spent a long time here/ built relationships here.

Her marriage will not have given her an automatic right to stay unless she asked for it.

To be blunt, the fact that her home residence card (that she was already warned about) has expired wont get her a lot of sympathy from the Home Office. Unless she's North Korean and then she may be able to claim asylum, though again I'd seek advice first as there are allllllllllllllll sorts of issues there.

She really needs to see a solicitor because this is so complicated.

Also being in the benefits system etc unfortunately means nothing. I have met many many many people who have been given benefits despite not having the right to be in the UK. You can't unfortunately rely on that as a mark of someone's legal status. At the Jobcentre they should only go off the information you can prove so if she couldn't prove that she was here on a certain visa, she shouldn't be getting them.

Also, even though she may have come here legally, if it was on anything other than ILR, it will have expired by now.

Sorry, it's taking me a while to wake up this morning!!! If the mother's telling the truth, the ONLY visa that operates like that would be a visit visa (6 months in the UK, 6 months out provided the Embassy does its job properly). Visit visas give you (and your family) no rights to anything.

Ah. Just read the UKBA guidance to which I linked. As trazzletoes says, the long residence route since July is only open to people who have been lawfully resident. It used to be open (subject to criteria) to some long term overstayers.

It's therefore all the more important for your friend to get advice, to establish what her status is now and make a decision on what to do next.

I can?t thank you all enough, you?ve been enormously helpful and I suspect my friend may well have been very miss-informed and controlled for other peoples benefit for a long time.

She is very vulnerable and without the information given here it would have been very difficult to know where to start in trying to help her, as when professionals ask questions she can easily give incorrect information through interpreting questions differently from most, and from having been taught to believe certain incorrect things.

(My mentioning of NHS/ benefits system etc., was more to signify that she?s not knowingly been ?hiding? any status here, it?s only her husband?s death that threw up a question of her right to be here without him)

The information on visit visa?s was of particular interest, Trazzletoes I think you?ve hit the nail on the head, though definitely not been done ?properly.?

The younger sister was left behind despite a lack of close carers, and not uniting the family in any country has seemed to be intentional, (leaving friend confused) along with extreme control of all three offspring.

There?s also been a repeated attempt to get friend involved in land and property in other countries with no apparent financial or visible benefit, (unless you needed an address!) and I have a horrible feeling I now know what?s been going on.

Once all the paperwork has been gathered together I?ll be looking to see if we can get her an appointment fast.

Good luck JustGettingOnWithIt. You sound like a good friend.