As many of you may know, a No Time Limit (NTL) application is an administrative process through which a person with indefinite leave to enter (ILE) or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) can apply for confirmation of this status on a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). A person who has ILE or ILR is free of immigration time restrictions and considered to be ‘settled’ in the UK.
UK Visas and Immigration’s (UKVI’s) ongoing transition to eVisas means that individuals with physical immigration documents are required to take additional steps to evidence their immigration status. As part of this transition, new BRP cards will only be issued to successful NTL applicants up to the end of October 2024. Thereafter, UKVI accounts and eVisas will automatically be created for all successful NTL applicants. You should consider making an NTL application if you hold ILE or ILR status but evidence this using a physical immigration documents (such as a passport stamp or vignette sticker) or you currently do not hold any documents which evidence your ILE or ILR status.
When making an application it is important to note that in recent weeks UKVI have made some significant changes to NTL applications, with further changes to be expected in the coming weeks. What these are and when they are likely to take effect has not yet been divulged by UKVI.
The most significant change to NTL applications thus far is that evidence of residency in the UK is no longer a requirement of the initial application. There is also no longer a requirement to provide evidence of any absences from the UK. Instead, UKVI will attempt to retrieve this evidence via records held by other government organisations. However, UKVI may still request evidence of residency and absences after the NTL application is submitted if they are unable to obtain sufficient evidence from other government departments. It is therefore important that you maintain sufficient records of residency and any absences to ensure you are able to assist UKVI if needed.
UKVI currently receive 2000+ NTL applications every week. Consequently, consideration and processing of NTL applications is currently taking 3 months. However, UKVI have reported that they have engaged additional internal resources in the hope to speed the process up.
Please watch this space as we will ensure to report on all the upcoming changes as they are published.
If you have any questions on the contents of this article or wish to seek advice on a NTL applications, please do not hesitate to contact Lynsey Blyth
