What Happens If an Illegal Immigrant Has a Child in the UK

If an illegal immigrant gives birth to a child in the UK, the child’s legal status depends on various factors, including the following:

• When the child was born
• The child’s age
• How long they have lived in the UK

A child born in the UK is only a British citizen if one parent is a British citizen or has a settled status (under the EU Settlement Scheme or ILR). However, children born to illegal immigrants are considered foreign nationals. They can secure legal status to remain in the UK by obtaining British citizenship, indefinite leave to remain (ILR), or limited leave to remain.

Continuous Residence Eligibility Criteria for Children Under 18 

Children aged under 18 and born to illegal immigrants in the UK can seek settled status (ILR) after living in the country for a continuous 7 and/or 10 years.

• A child who lived in the UK until they turned 7 must have stayed consecutively in the country for those years. They must not have spent more than 6 months outside the UK within any year of those 7 in – Immediate ILR after 7 years under Appendix Private Life (if UK-born).
• A child who has lived in the UK from birth until they turned 10 (for children born on or after July 1, 2006) must not have spent more than 90 days abroad in any one of the 10 years. If a child spends more than 90 days outside the UK within any of the 10 years, they must justify it by providing comprehensive special reasons.

Page Contents

• What Happens If an Illegal Immigrant Has a Child in the UK?
• What Happens If a Child Comes Over Illegally but Was Not Born in the UK?
• Registering a Child as a British Citizen
• Options for Illegal Immigrants’ Children
• Factors Influencing Residency Options
• Immigration Advice and Legal Residency Process
• Legal Residency and Immigration in the UK
• Impact of Imprisonment on Residency Status
• Guidelines for Applying for Legal Residency in the UK
• How can London Immigration Lawyers Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Applying for Residency Under the Family Visa Scheme

The application for residency under the Family Visa scheme is based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, requiring applicants to establish a Private Life in the UK. Having done so, you may qualify to seek to remain in the UK under the family migration route. Individuals can apply through the Private Life visa route if they are:

• Currently in the UK.
• Under 18, have lived in the UK for 7 or more continuous years, and it can be proved that it would be unreasonable for them to leave the country.
• Between 18 and 24 years old and have lived in the UK for more than half of their lives.
• 18 years old or over, have resided in the UK for not more than 20 years, and can demonstrate that they would have problems living in the country they’re required to reside in.
• A resident in the UK for 20 consecutive years.

Individuals who do not meet the above criteria can seek leave to remain outside the immigration rules under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. To achieve this, you must demonstrate that your right to private and family life in the UK would be disproportionately affected if required to leave the UK.

Individuals accepted under the family and private life route can remain in the UK for:

• 30 months and extendable to another 30 months.
• 5 years if they are under 18 and have resided in the UK consecutively for 7 years, or between the ages of 18 and 24 and have lived in the UK for half of their lives.

Parent Visa (Family Visa Scheme)

Illegal immigrant parents whose children have successfully obtained settled status or British citizenship can apply for a Parent Visa. To be eligible for a Parent Visa, which is under the Family Visa route, your child must:

• Be an Irish/British citizen or have a settled status in the UK.
• Be under 18 years old.
• Have resided in the UK for 7 or more years consecutively. It must also be unreasonable for them to leave the UK.

Additionally, the illegal immigrant parent seeking the Parent Visa must demonstrate the following, among several other requirements:

• Can support themselves financially in the UK without recourse to public funds.
• Have shared or sole parental responsibility for their child.
• Fulfil the English language requirement to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level A1.

Individuals holding a Parent Visa can stay in the UK for up to 33 months, which can be extended to an additional 30 months. After staying in the UK for up to 5 years continuously, those holding this visa can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) to remain in the UK indefinitely.

After holding the ILR for 12 months, they may apply for British citizenship should they meet the eligibility criteria. However, the 5 years of continuous lawful residence period required for the citizenship process won’t count for those who entered the UK illegally via dangerous journeys and are subject to the citizenship ban.

If a child enters the UK illegally but was not born there, their immigration status is deemed irregular. Hence, they won’t have a legal right to remain in the UK. The UK government doesn’t retain or deport children without understanding their situation.

If the child is at risk in their home country, they may be allowed to stay temporarily. The child may qualify to claim asylum, allowing them to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.

If your child has lived in the UK for 10 years, you can register them as British citizens. You can register your child as a British citizen in the following steps:

• Complete Form MN1, which is available on the GOV.UK website.
• Pay the nationality registration fee for children worth £1,000.
• Apply using the instructions provided on the GOV.UK website.
• Await a decision by the UK Home Office. It can take between 2 to 4 months to get a decision. However, the processing time might be longer depending on staffing issues, application volumes, and backlogs.
• Get a decision from the Home Office. If you don’t receive a response regarding your application after 6 months, you can contact the Home Office to inquire about its status.

Due to the rigorous processes involved in child citizenship registration, it’s less time-consuming and better to seek professional guidance from an immigration lawyer. An expert immigration lawyer knows all the requirements and eligibility criteria to help you register your child as a British citizen.

Whether an illegal immigrant or their child can reside in the UK legally can be determined by certain factors. Individuals may apply to remain in the UK under the 20-year route if:

• They’re adults, having resided in the UK for at least half their lives.
• They’ve lived in the UK for 20 years or more.
• They held a Spouse or Partner Visa recently, and they experienced domestic violence from their visa-related partners.
• It would be extremely challenging for them to live in their home country, for instance, due to a lack of education, employment, family and friends, or fear of not getting accepted back in the country.
• They have a partner with settled status or British citizenship.
• They can’t go back to their country because they would face persecution or suffer grave consequences, like threats of imprisonment, torture, or death.
• They have children living in the UK who are British citizens, hold settled status, or have lived in the UK for at least 7 years.

Given the complexity of immigration laws, illegal immigrants should seek professional support from immigration advisers who are well-versed in the UK immigration laws. Our London Immigration Lawyers know the legal residency process and can help secure legal status for you and your child. Our immigration lawyers can ensure you receive all the required assistance depending on your circumstances.

You may risk being deported from the UK when breaking UK immigration rules. If the UK Home Office finds a foreign national guilty of the following offences, they can arrange deportation. The offences include:

• Living in the UK as a foreigner without a valid passport, citizenship, leave to remain, or permanent residency (indefinite leave to remain) status
• Breaking UK visa rules
• Entering the UK illegally
• Being found guilty of domestic violence, drug and substance abuse, fraud, espionage and terrorism, money laundering, firearms trafficking, and alien smuggling
• Overstaying

Should you face deportation, you can appeal the decision by providing comprehensive reasons to the Home Office to prove that you should be allowed to remain in the UK. Among other reasonable evidence, you can provide the following in your appeal:

• Having spent the better part of your lifetime in the UK
• Having a dangerous or hostile home country

You must file a comprehensive appeal to avoid deportation, as cases of deportation attract a re-entry ban in the UK. Sometimes, the Home Office can issue re-entry bans for deported individuals for up to 10 years, depending on their circumstances of deportation.

As a foreign national, a prison sentence of up to 4 years or more in the UK can significantly impact your residency status. This can lead to your deportation from the UK or difficulties in obtaining or maintaining leave to remain. To avoid deportation after a prison sentence of up to 4 years or more, you must provide compelling circumstances that outweigh the public interest in your removal from the UK.

Under the EU Settlement Scheme, individuals who resided for 5 years continuously or had a right of permanent residence in the UK before going to prison may be eligible for settled status in the UK. However, they may be eligible for pre-settled status if they haven’t resided in the UK for 5 years continuously or had a right of permanent residence before going to prison. This rule only applies to those released on or before December 31, 2020.

Foreign nationals can adhere to the following guidelines in applying for legal residency in the UK:

• Meet the residency requirements: You must live in the UK continuously and legally for a specific period. This varies depending on your visa type and the pathway to residency you’re pursuing. Most routes to indefinite leave to remain in the UK require applicants to be in the UK for 5 consecutive years (5-year route). Similarly, individuals can seek indefinite leave to remain in the UK after staying there for a consecutive 10 years (10-year route), regardless of their visa type.
• Demonstrate you:
  • Have good character
  • Meet English language requirements
  • Meet other requirements based on your visa type
• Apply for legal residency by:
• • Completing the appropriate application form.
  • Paying the required fees.
  • Booking an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) centre to submit your biometric information (fingerprints and photographs), if your previous biometric information cannot be reused.
  • Submitting the form.