The UK Private Life route is an in-country immigration route for people whose life in the UK is relevant under the Immigration Rules. Its tests differ by age and residence history. A child, a young adult who arrived as a child, and an adult do not use one shared “seven-year rule”. Permission to stay and indefinite leave to remain (ILR) also have separate requirements.
The rules below were checked on 28 October 2026. Appendix Private Life was updated on 8 October 2026. Use this guide to identify the questions and records to check, then read the current Immigration Rules Appendix Private Life and the relevant GOV.UK application page. This is not an eligibility decision.
Start with age and arrival history
Permission and settlement are separate
Record every absence and grant
Which Private Life branch might be relevant?
The application is made from inside the UK. The rules use the applicant's age on the application date and, for the young-adult branch, whether they arrived before turning 18. The table summarises the main permission tests; it does not cover every suitability provision or exceptional application.
Scroll horizontally or use the arrow keys to view all columns.
| Applicant on application date | Main residence and decision test for permission | What still needs checking |
|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | At least seven years' continuous residence in the UK, and the decision-maker must be satisfied it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK. | The child's circumstances and best interests are assessed on the evidence; seven years alone does not decide the case. |
| Aged 18 to 24, arrived in the UK before 18 | At least half of the applicant's life spent continuously resident in the UK. | Age, date of arrival, residence timeline, continuity and the exact application-date calculation. |
| Aged 18 or over who does not meet the young-adult test | More than 20 years' continuous UK residence; or, with less than 20 years, very significant obstacles to integration in the country where the applicant would have to live. | The obstacles test is fact-specific. Some inadmissible asylum claims affect whether the under-20-year branch can be met. |
These are the core tests in PL 3.1, PL 4.1 and PL 5.1. The Home Office also applies suitability requirements and checks whether the application is valid. An applicant should not assume that time in the UK, a family relationship or a prior application establishes every requirement. Where a child is involved, the reasonableness assessment is not a simple count of the child's years.
How continuous residence is counted
For the Private Life permission tests above, qualifying continuous residence may include time in the UK with or without permission. That is a route-specific feature; do not transfer it to Long Residence, naturalisation or another settlement calculation. The Appendix excludes periods of imprisonment or certain detention after conviction from the relevant period.
Under Appendix Private Life, continuity is broken if the person was outside the UK for more than six months at one time or for 550 days or more in total during the relevant period. The rules also identify events such as removal, deportation, leaving after an application was refused, and leaving with no reasonable expectation of being able to return lawfully. The exact rule and any exception must be checked against the person's dates and history.
Make a timeline before relying on an estimated number of years. For each period, record the date of arrival, addresses, permission applications and decisions, grant dates, travel dates, and any detention or enforcement event. Keep passports, travel tickets, school and medical records, tenancy or care records, correspondence and Home Office notices that support the timeline. These examples help organise evidence; they do not replace the document requirements for the specific application.
Settlement uses its own qualifying-period rules. For most settlement applications, the relevant continuous-residence framework in Appendix Continuous Residence applies, with route-specific details and exceptions. The permission-stage 550-day absence figure should therefore not be assumed to be the ILR absence test. Check the settlement section of Appendix Private Life and Appendix Continuous Residence for the exact route and period.
Applying for permission to stay
The published application is the online family life or private life form. A Private Life application normally requires the applicant to be in the UK on the application date, provide identity evidence and biometrics when required, and pay the application fee and Immigration Health Charge unless a full or partial fee waiver applies. The rules contain specific validity exceptions for some circumstances, so people in detention or protection-related processes should read the rules and obtain suitable advice rather than assume the ordinary online steps cover their case.
The application should explain which age branch is relied on and provide a dated account supported by relevant records. For the under-18 branch, evidence may address the child's residence and individual circumstances. For a young adult, the timeline should show age at arrival and the half-life calculation. For an adult relying on very significant obstacles, evidence needs to address the actual country and circumstances of return; a general statement that returning would be difficult is not the test.
Children and family members may be included in one online application flow in some circumstances, but each person's position and requirements are considered separately. A parent's application does not itself establish the child's route, and a child's application does not automatically give permission to a parent. A person using the separate parent route should read the UK parent Family visa guide; the relationship and care tests are different.
Fee waiver boundary
The Home Office fee-waiver process may be available for a qualifying family or private-life application where the person cannot afford accommodation or essential living costs, or where paying would affect a child's welfare. The detailed test and evidence depend on the application. Read our separate UK immigration fee-waiver application guide and the current GOV.UK fee-waiver service. Apply for a decision before submitting the visa application when the service requires it. A fee waiver is not automatic and does not decide the immigration claim.
Permission length, work and public funds
Under the rules checked on 28 October 2026, a child and a qualifying young adult can apply for permission for 30 or 60 months, and the grant length generally follows the period applied for. Most other applicants are granted 30 months. An extension can add any remaining permission from the previous grant, subject to the stated cap. Read the grant notice for the actual expiry date and conditions.
Private Life permission generally allows work and study. It normally has a no recourse to public funds condition, although the rules allow the Home Office to lift that condition in specified circumstances such as destitution, relevant child-welfare circumstances or exceptional circumstances. Do not infer benefits eligibility from the route name or permission grant: check the exact eVisa/decision conditions and the rules that apply to the person. For the defined public-funds list and the change-of-conditions process, see the separate UK NRPF and public-funds guide.
When might settlement be possible?
Private Life is a route to settlement, but the ILR branch depends on the person's history and permission. Common rules include:
- A child born in the UK may qualify under a specific settlement branch after seven continuous years from birth, if the decision-maker is satisfied it is not reasonable to expect the child to leave.
- A person who has or last had Private Life permission as a child, or as a young adult who met the half-life test, generally needs five years in the qualifying permission categories for that settlement branch.
- Other adults generally need a ten-year qualifying period in the specified categories. There are legacy and transitional branches, and some people may combine other settlement-route permission if the detailed requirements are met.
The exact mix of permission that counts is set out in PL 14 and related provisions. Some applicants need to have held Private Life permission for at least a year when combining another settlement route; illegal entry and suitability rules can change the outcome. A residence duration alone is not enough. Check the current Private Life settlement eligibility rules, application form, continuous-residence conditions, English and Life in the UK requirements, and any exemption that may apply.
English requirement date change
For settlement on this route, the rules checked on 28 October 2026 set speaking and listening English at CEFR B1 for applications made before 26 March 2027, unless exempt. On or after that date, the required level is B2, unless an exemption applies. This is a future-effective rule already published in the Immigration Rules, not a change that applies to applications filed before its start date. Check the live rule, approved evidence and exemptions before applying. The Life in the UK requirement also applies unless the rules exempt the applicant.
Distinguish Private Life from nearby routes
Private Life is not the same as a partner or parent Family visa. Appendix FM uses relationship, financial and other route-specific requirements; a child joining a parent and an adult dependent relative also have their own rules. It is not a general shortcut for anyone who has lived in the UK for seven years.
It is also separate from Long Residence. Long Residence normally concerns ten years of continuous lawful qualifying residence and a different set of route, absence and current-permission tests. The Private Life permission test can include time without permission, but its settlement calculation has its own rules. Read the UK Long Residence ILR guide if the issue is a ten-year permission history.
ILR is not citizenship. After settlement, adult naturalisation has separate residence, physical-presence, absence, language, Life in the UK and good-character rules. Our UK naturalisation residence and evidence guide covers that later application. Do not use the Private Life route's age or residence tests as a naturalisation calculator.
A practical records checklist
- 1Identify the application being considered — Separate permission to stay from an extension, settlement, a family-member application and citizenship. Each uses a different test.
- 2Fix the age and date questions — Record age on the planned application date, age at UK arrival and each relevant continuous-residence period.
- 3Build a travel and permission timeline — List every grant, application, decision, absence, detention and contact with the Home Office. Check records against passports and official notices.
- 4Map evidence to the actual test — Organise child, residence, half-life, integration or settlement evidence under the rule relied on; do not submit a generic timeline as a substitute for the required evidence.
- 5Read the current official form and rules — Confirm validity, fee or fee-waiver steps, Immigration Health Charge, biometrics, English and Life in the UK requirements, and the correct settlement branch.
Frequently asked questions
Does seven years in the UK automatically qualify a child for a Private Life visa?
What is the Private Life test for someone aged 18 to 24?
Can an adult apply after 20 years in the UK?
Can time without immigration permission count?
How many days can I be outside the UK?
Can I apply for a Private Life visa from outside the UK?
Can my parent, partner or child be included?
When can someone get ILR on the Private Life route?
Does the B2 English rule apply now?
Is Private Life the same as Long Residence or naturalisation?
Can I get a fee waiver?
Official sources
- Home Office: Immigration Rules Appendix Private Life — age-specific permission tests, continuous residence, grants and settlement.
- GOV.UK: Apply to stay in the UK on the basis of private life — application route, fees and process.
- GOV.UK: Private Life settlement eligibility — ILR qualifying periods and requirements.
- Home Office: Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence — settlement residence framework and exceptions.
- GOV.UK: Fee waiver for a family or private-life application — current fee-waiver criteria and evidence.
- Home Office: Statement of Changes HC 1691 — published B1-to-B2 settlement language change from 26 March 2027.
This page is general information about UK immigration rules. It does not provide legal advice, decide an application or predict a Home Office decision. Check the live rules and consider qualified advice for complex cases.