To visit a family member who lives in the UK permanently for up to 6 months, you will need to apply for a standard visitor visa.
To visit a family member who lives in the UK permanently for 6 months or longer, you will need to apply for a ‘family of a settled person’ visa if you are from outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
What is the eligibility criteria for visiting a family member who lives in the UK?
Your family member must be:
- A British citizen
- Settled in the UK
- Under asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK
You must also:
- Be over 18
- Prove that your relationship is genuine
- Prove that you intend to continue to live with your family member in the UK after you apply
- Prove that you and your family will have an adequate place to live in the UK
- Have a good working knowledge of the English language
Why would my family immigration and children visa application be refused?
It could be refused if you have:
- A criminal record in the UK or elsewhere
- Provided false or deceptive information to the Home Office
I want to join my parents in the UK – what criteria should I meet?
If you are joining your parents in the UK you must:
- Be under 18 years old
- Live with your parent or parents when you arrive in the UK
- Not be married, in a civil partnership or living an independent life
- Not be reliant on public funds once you arrive in the UK and must be accommodated adequately.
What visa requirements do I need if I am coming to look after my child in the UK?
If you are coming to look after your child:
- Your child must be under the age of 18, live in the UK and is either a British citizen or be settled in the UK.
- You must prove that either you are the only parent of the child and that you are the only person responsible for their care, or that your child lives permanently with another parent or carer who is with a British citizen or settled in the UK and not you partner, and that you want to help to raise them.
- To do this you will need to prove that you will have access to the child.
- You must prove that you are taking an active role in the child’s life and upbringing
- You must be able to support yourself without public funds and be able to accommodate yourself adequately.
I want to come to the UK to be cared for as an adult dependent relative – what do I need?
If you are coming to be cared for as an adult dependent relative, you will need to meet the following criteria for a visa:
- You must be 18 years or older
- You must be dependent on a family member (parent, son, daughter, grandchild, brother or sister) who lives permanently in the UK.
- You must prove that you require long-term care to carry out everyday tasks due to illness, age or disability
- You must prove that the care that you require is not available or is not affordable in the country that you currently live in
- You must prove that the person who you will be joining will be able to support you financially, accommodate and care for you without the need for public funds for at least 5 years.
Who is eligible for a Family Visa?
If you are a non-EEA national and wish to live and work in the UK for a prolonged period of time, you must apply for a UK Visa.
Depending on your situation, many sorts of visas are available. To join family members in the UK for more than 6 months, a Family Visa is required.
If you live outside the UK, you can seek for a Family Visa to join your spouse, fiancée, partner, child, parent, or relative who will care for you long-term.
What are the UK Family Visa types?
If you are a non-EEA national and want to stay in the UK for more than six months, you must apply for a Family Visa if you fulfil one of the following criteria:
- Your member of the family or spouse is a British national.
- Your relative/spouse has ILR or settled status.
- You do have eligible relationship involving a person in the UK who has refugee status or humanitarian protection.
If you currently live in the UK on another visa and want to stay with your child, fiancée, or spouse, you may be able to transfer to a family visa. A UK Family Visa can be obtained in a variety of ways, depending on your relationship with the UK-based individual. JMR Solicitors will help you determine what to do next.
Below is information on the various forms of UK Family Visas available to non-EEA nationalities.
Spouse Visa
Partners and spouses are able to stay in the UK for up to 2.5 years under the UK Family Visa. After this period, you can ask for another extension, giving you a total of 5 years in the UK.
As you may be aware, if you have been in the UK for more than five years, you will be entitled to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
To apply for a Family Visa as a partner or spouse, you must meet the following requirements:
- To be eligible for a Family Visa, you and your partner must be over the age of 18.
- You must be in a genuine connection.
- You must plan to live in the United Kingdom (for a minimum of 2.5 years)
If you apply for a UK Family Visa as a fiancée, your stay in the UK will be limited to six months. During this period, you must marry your fiancée or risk being deported because you have failed to satisfy the visa criteria.
You will also be permitted to add dependent children in any application for a spouse or fiancée visa.
You must also fulfil the following financial conditions to be eligible for a fiancée or spouse visa. The minimum age for a single application is £18,600, and with a kid, this increases by £3800. Any more children will be charged an additional £2,400 each.
In order to be eligible for a Family Visa in the UK, you must also fulfil one of the following language requirements:
- You must pass the certified language exam.
- You have a certificate from an English-language course.
- To be eligible for a Family Visa, you must be a national or a majority English-speaking country.
Individuals with a mental or physical condition that prohibits them from fulfilling this criterion or who are 65 years or older when applying for a Family Visa are excused from all these language requirements.
UK Ancestry Visa
A UK Ancestor Family Visa is a one-of-a-kind visa.
You may be eligible for a five-year UK Ancestry Visa if your grandparents were born in the UK.
This lets you to work, live, and study in the UK for five years before you may apply for settled status.
Child Dependent Visa
Children who are foreign nationals can apply for a UK Family Visa as part of their parent’s application or separately.
To be eligible for a Family Visa, they must be under the age of 18 at the time of application. Furthermore, the kid must still be alive and dependent, and cannot have formed an independent family unit.
The parent or carer must also be financially eligible in order to bring children to the UK to reside.
After the Family Visa expires, the kid, like the spouse, will be entitled to apply for British naturalisation after 5 years of residence in the UK.
What are some reasons why a Family Visa might be rejected?
The following are some of the usual reasons for a Family Visa being denied:
- The application did not show how they satisfied the standards.
- There was insufficient supporting documentation presented.
- The applicant is deemed a risk to the public good or public health in the United Kingdom.
- The application contains false or misleading information.