Where to Get Help With Leave to Remain Applications in East London

Leave to remain applications are made online to the Home Office through GOV.UK, so there is no local office in East London where you hand in an application. The help you need comes from a regulated immigration adviser who checks that you qualify, identifies the right application and prepares your evidence. Waltham Law Chambers, at Office 29, 806 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE, is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) and helps with straightforward applications to extend or switch your permission within the Immigration Rules.

What does leave to remain mean?

Leave to remain is permission to stay in the UK for a set period, with conditions such as whether you can work or study. People in Leyton, Walthamstow, Stratford and across East London most often apply to extend the visa they already hold, for example a Skilled Worker or partner visa, or to switch from one route to another where the Immigration Rules allow this from inside the UK. Indefinite leave to remain (settlement) is a separate application with its own requirements; see our indefinite leave to remain advice page.

Where do you apply?

You apply online on GOV.UK for the route you are extending or switching to. You then prove your identity in one of two ways: by scanning your identity document with the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or by attending a UKVCAS service point appointment to give your fingerprints and photograph. You are told which applies to you when you apply, and the Home Office starts processing once this step is complete.

Apply before your current permission expires

Timing matters. GOV.UK states that you can stay in the UK until you get a decision, as long as you applied before your last visa expired. On many routes you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you receive a decision, or your application will be withdrawn. Note your expiry date and start preparing well in advance so that there is time to gather evidence and correct any gaps.

How to get help in East London: practical steps

• Check the adviser is regulated. Immigration advice in the UK must be given by a regulated adviser, and you can check an IAA-regulated adviser on the Immigration Advice Authority online register. Our registration number is F202539124.

• Gather your immigration history: your passport, your UKVI account and eVisa details, previous decision letters and the expiry date of your current permission.

• Book a consultation. Our 30-minute immigration consultation lets us review your circumstances and confirm the right application before you apply.

• Agree the scope of the work and our fees in writing before any work begins.

• Prepare and check your evidence, submit the application online and complete the identity step.

Documents you are likely to need

The exact evidence depends on the route, but most extension and switching applications use:

• your current passport or travel document

• access to your eVisa through your UKVI account

• evidence for the route itself, such as a Certificate of Sponsorship reference for a Skilled Worker application, or relationship, financial and English language evidence for a partner application

• proof of address and, where relevant, documents for any dependants applying with you

The Home Office application fee and, on most temporary routes, the Immigration Health Surcharge are paid when you apply. Both change from time to time, so check GOV.UK for the latest figures or use our free UK visa fee calculator for an estimate.

How long does a decision take?

GOV.UK publishes current waiting times for applications made inside the UK. At the time of writing it lists 8 weeks for many routes, including Skilled Worker applications and partner applications that meet the income and English requirements, and 3 weeks for the Health and Care Worker visa. Some routes have no service standard. Waiting times change, so check GOV.UK for the latest, and do not book travel until you have a decision.

What we can and cannot help with

Waltham Law Chambers is authorised at Level 1 (Immigration). We assist with straightforward applications to extend or switch where the requirements of the Immigration Rules are clearly met. If your permission has already expired, or your case needs discretion, consideration outside the Immigration Rules or an appeal, we will tell you at the outset so that you can seek advice from a suitably authorised adviser. We do not promise outcomes: the Home Office makes every decision.

Next steps

For answers to other common questions, read our UK immigration FAQs. For details of our extension service, see UK visa extension advice. To discuss your situation, book a 30-minute immigration consultation.

Waltham Law Chambers Ltd is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), registration number F202539124, and is authorised to give immigration advice at Level 1 (Immigration) only. Office 29, 806 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE. Telephone 020 3679 1298.