Quote Originally Posted by Terpe View Post
Discretionary leave might be granted in such cases but it is only temporary leave and would need to be re-newed. Just how long they would be allowed to stay depends on all sorts of things, but currently the maximum they could hope for would be around 3 years before any renewal. At renewal time its back to square-one.
The risks of refusal or removal are quite high.

Your friend would be well advised to consult an experienced immigration advisor for some detailed discussions.

My opinion would be that they grasp the nettle and return to Philippines where they can submit correct settlement visa. Still high risk though.

There are very likely to be a raft of changes to the settlement visa routes by April 2012 and such changes would need to be seriously considered.

It's not a good position at all.

Thank you so much for your reply its a big help.