Migrants who applied for settlement after four years and had their application refused

This page explains the arrangements we have put in place for migrants who:

• are covered by the HSMP Forum Ltd judicial review (settlement in the United Kingdom) judgment; and
• applied for settlement in the United Kingdom after four years and had their application refused.

You fall into this group if your application for settlement was refused purely because you had not completed five years' continuous residence in the United Kingdom, and:

• you won an appeal against the refusal decision and were later granted permission to stay; or
• you did not appeal the refusal decision; or
• you appealed the refusal decision but your appeal was dismissed.

You will be able to apply for your original settlement application to be reviewed. You can download the form and guidance notes to request a review from the right side of this page. You must send the form to the address given in the guidance notes.

We will review your application against the settlement requirements described in paragraph 7 of the policy document, which you can download from the right side of this page. You will need to have spent a continuous period of four years lawfully in the United Kingdom in a qualifying category. However, you will not need to meet the 'knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom' requirement, as this was not part of the settlement requirements when you first applied under the HSMP.

Please note that, if your application falls for refusal under the General Grounds for Refusal in paragraphs 320-322 of the Immigration Rules, we will refuse it even if it otherwise qualifies under the terms of this policy. This might happen, for example, if you have broken United Kingdom immigration law or have a criminal conviction.

If your application is successful, we will change your immigration status and you will become settled in the United Kingdom. If you later apply for citizenship you will be considered to have been settled in the United Kingdom from the point when you first completed four years' qualifying residence. We will send you a letter to confirm this with your grant of settlement. If you apply for citizenship, you will need to submit this letter with your application as confirmation of your position.