UK Family Visa from Pakistan in 2026
Pakistani nationals seeking to join their family in the UK and stay for more than six months, may be eligible to apply for a UK family visa.
For more information about the UK family visa and how you can apply from Pakistan, call us today on +44 (0) 333 305 9375 or contact us online. Learn how we can support you on your UK immigration journey and receive bespoke advice from our expert immigration advisers.
Family Visa UK for Pakistani Citizens
Pakistanis whose family members are settled in the UK, may be eligible to apply for a family visa to live in the country for more than six months.
If your application is successful, you will receive an eVisa (a digital record of your identity and immigration status). With a family visa, you can work or study in the UK (except if you have applied as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner). You cannot get any benefits or access public funds in the UK.
If you are already in the UK holding a different visa, you may also be able to switch to a family visa to live in the country with your spouse/civil partner, child or parent(s). If your partner is an EU citizen and has a settled or pre-settled status in the UK, you may avail the free EU Settlement Scheme instead.
Page Contents
- Overview of a Family Visa UK
- Eligibility Criteria for a UK Family Visa
- UK Spouse Visa
- Ancestry Visa
- Adult Dependent Visa
- Child Dependent Visa
- Financial Requirements for a UK Family Visa
- English Language Requirements
- EEA Family Permit and EEA Settlement Scheme Family Permits
- How to Apply for a UK Family Visa
- Documents Required
- Tuberculosis (TB) Test Requirements
- Family Visa to Settlement in the UK
- Visa Fees
- Extending Family Visa
- How Can Total Law Help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
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Eligibility Criteria for a UK Family Visa
Whether you are eligible to apply for a family visa in the UK depends on two conditions:
- Your family member’s residency status in the UK, and
- The nature of your relationship with them
British citizens, Irish citizens, EEA/Swiss citizens enjoying pre-settled status, people holding indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or settled status or proof of permanent residence, and individuals with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK are eligible to bring their family members to the country on a family visa.
Only the relatives mentioned below are eligible to apply for UK family visas:
- Spouses or civil partners
- Fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner
- Children
- Parents
- Dependent relatives requiring long-term care from their UK family member
- Widow/widower of a deceased UK resident
- Separated spouses/partners who have been victims of domestic abuse
UK Spouse Visa
You can apply for a UK Spouse visa if your partner or spouse is in the UK and you intend to live together permanently. To apply for a UK Spouse visa, your partner must both be over 18 and have citizenship or settled status in the UK as mentioned above.
If your application is successful, you can get an initial permission to remain in the UK for two years and nine months. If you are applying as a fiancé, you can only stay for six months. After this, you’ll have to extend your stay or switch to another visa.
To apply for a UK Spouse visa, your relationship with your partner in the UK must fulfil one of the following criteria:
- You’re in a civil partnership or marriage recognised by the UK
- You’ve been living together in a relationship for at least two years
- You are engaged to marry within six months of arriving in the UK and any previous marriages or civil partnerships have ended
UK Spouse Visa Requirements
Regardless of your relationship to your partner, you will have to prove both of the following for your application:
- You can financially support yourself and any dependents on your application
- You meet the English language requirement
You may still be able to apply for a UK Spouse visa if you don’t meet the English language requirement, nor have enough money, if:
- Your child in the UK is an Irish or British citizen or has lived in the UK for seven years and it is unreasonable for them to leave the UK
- You and your partner could not easily live outside the UK
- It would breach your human rights to make you leave the UK
A Spouse visa application can take up to 12 weeks to process from Pakistan. If you are switching to a spouse visa within the UK, it may take eight weeks (or up to 12 months if you do not meet the financial and language requirements). You may be able to pay for a priority service from Pakistan that can reduce the processing time to 30 days.
Ancestry Visa UK
To apply for a UK Ancestry visa, you must belong to one of the following categories:
- Commonwealth citizen (such as a Pakistani citizen)
- British overseas citizen
- British overseas territories citizen
- British national (overseas)
- Citizen of Zimbabwe
You should also be able to prove that:
- At least one of your grandparents was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
- You are over 17
- You have sufficient financial means to support yourself and your dependents (if any)
- You intend to, and are eligible to, work in the UK
Adult Dependent Visa UK
If you are an adult over 18 years old who needs long-term care from a family member who lives permanently in the UK, you may be eligible for an Adult Dependent visa. The family member in the UK can be your child, grandchild, parent or sibling and must be a British citizen or have indefinite leave to remain.
This can be a particularly difficult visa to be accepted for, and you will need to demonstrate that:
- You need care and help to do everyday activities, such as personal and household tasks because of a disability, illness or your age
- You won’t receive care in Pakistan because it’s not available or affordable
- Your family member in the UK can support, care and accommodate you for a minimum of five years without help from the UK state benefits
If you are accepted for this visa, you will have indefinite leave to remain and don’t need to extend your visa or apply for settled status.
The processing time for the Adult Dependent visa is approximately 12 weeks from Pakistan (or up to eight weeks within the UK). However, as this is typically a more complex visa to process, this visa application may take longer.
Child Dependent Visa UK
If you are applying for a Family visa as a child of a parent in the UK, your application will depend on where you were born and if you are already in the UK. You may not need to apply for a visa if one parent has permanently settled in the UK or indefinite leave to remain.
Children Born in the UK
For children born in the UK, you’ll receive the same permission to stay as your parent and can either be added to your parent’s next application or apply separately. For this, you must live with your parent in the UK (excluding away for full-time education) and be unmarried.
You can apply if you are over 18 years old, but only if your permission to stay began before you turned 18 and only if you are in the UK.
Children Born Outside the UK
For children born outside the UK, you can apply for a Family visa if you live full-time with your parent (excluding full-time education) and are unmarried.
If you are under 18 years old, your parent must be applying for or extending their visa either to join your other parent in the UK or as your parent because they have sole responsibility for you.
However, if you’re over 18, you can only apply if you have leave to remain in the UK on a Family visa that started when you were under 18.
Apply From Outside the UK
You can apply for a visa at the same time as your parent, but which form you fill in will depend on if your parent is applying for a UK Spouse visa or through a different Family visa.
If you are applying separately from your parent, the form you complete will vary depending on whether your parent already in the UK has leave to remain on a 5- or 10-year route to settlement as a spouse or partner or has settled in the UK with a different visa.
Applying for a Child Dependent visa can be particularly complex and the forms and evidence required can vary dramatically depending on birthplace, current location, and the immigration status of your parent in the UK.
It can be especially helpful to speak to an immigration expert for advice on which visa is appropriate for you to work towards you living in the UK. Call Total Law today for bespoke advice on +44 (0)333 305 9375 or contact us online.
Financial Requirements for a UK Family Visa
You will generally have to meet a financial requirement when applying for a UK Family visa.
If you’re applying for a Spouse or Partner visa, you will have to show that you and your partner’s combined income equates to at least £29,000 a year.
You can show you meet this requirement through proof of salaried employment, bonds, pensions, cash savings of over £88,500 or passive income sources.
You may be exempt from having to meet the financial requirement if your UK sponsor is in receipt of certain benefits in the UK.
Other types of Family visa, such as the Parent visa or Adult Dependent visa, do not have a formal minimum income requirement. Rather, you must simply show that you have enough funds to support you and your family in the UK, the exact figure for which will vary based on your circumstances.
English Language Requirements
For a UK family visa application, you will also have to prove that you meet the English language requirements, by either having an English qualification at least at CEFR A1 level, or holding a degree taught or researched in English language.
You will be exempted if you:
- Are less than 18, or are aged 65 or over
- Have already proved your knowledge of English language while applying for your current UK visa
- Applying as an adult dependent relative
- Have a long-term physical or mental condition
- Are applying on the basis of your private life
- Have been a victim of domestic violence by your spouse/partner, who is either a British citizen or a person settled in the UK
- A widowed spouse/partner of a British citizen, an EEA citizen with pre-settled status in the UK or a person with ILR
- A person living in the UK as a refugee, with discretionary leave, or with humanitarian protection
EEA Family Permit and EEA Settlement Scheme Family Permits
If you are a national from Pakistan but have a close or extended family member who is from the European Economic Area (EEA) and is living in the UK, the Home Office offers an EEA Family Permit which means you may be able to join them in the UK.
A close or extended family member could be a sibling, parent, child, aunt or uncle, cousin, niece or nephew who is a national of the EEA. The EEA Settlement Scheme Family Permit is similar but applies only to immediate family members, that is, siblings, parents or children.
If your application for either of these visas is accepted, you will be permitted to stay with your family for six months. These visas can take 15 days to process.
How to Apply for a UK Family Visa from Pakistan?
Similar to all UK visas, applying for a family visa UK is an online process. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the application process:
- Create an account with your email ID on the Home Office website to get started
- Have all your supporting documents and other relevant information ready with you so as to answer the questions on the online form completely and accurately
- Start filling in the online application form. You can save your form and complete it later, if required
- Once you have completed the online form, submit the same along with scanned copies of required supporting documents
- Pay the required visa processing fees either by a credit or a debit card, unless exempt
Note that, you will have to prove your identity as part of your UK family visa application process. How you need to do so depends on where you are from and the type of passport you have.
If you are eligible to prove your identity through the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, you can use the same to scan your required documents to prove your identity. Otherwise, to prove your identity, you will have to:
- Book an appointment with your nearest VFS Global visa application centre (VAC) in Islamabad, Karachi or Lahore to submit your biometric details, or
- Book an appointment with your nearest UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point if you are already in the UK and applying from here
Documents Required for UK Family Visa from Pakistan
When applying for a UK visa, you will need to provide the following documents for you and any dependents included in your application:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your passport, including a copy of the photo page and any pages in your current or previous passports with visas or entry stamps
- A copy of your biometric residence permit (if you have one)
- Details of any previous visa applications
- Details of any criminal convictions
- Your national insurance number (if you have one)
- Your parents’ date of birth and nationality (if applying from outside the UK)
- A tuberculosis (TB) test if you have lived in Pakistan for more than six months within the last six months (or another country that requires a TB test to come to the UK)
- Certified translations of any documents not in English or Welsh language
- Evidence you meet the English language requirement (if required)
UK Spouse Visa
When proving your relationship for the UK Spouse visa, you will need official documents from within the previous four years that show your ongoing relationship, for example:
- Your marriage or civil partnership certificate
- A tenancy agreement, utility or council tax bill showing you live or pay bills together
- A bank statement from your joint bank account showing you live at the same address
You can submit other types of evidence to supplement your claim, including things like phone logs, photographs, tickets travelling together, or receipts from meals out together.
You will also need to provide evidence of your combined income or savings to show you can pay for yourself without support from public funds. This could include bank statements, 6 months of payslips or a letter from an employer.
Ancestry Visa
To apply for the Ancestry visa, you must prove your relationship to the grandparents who were British citizens at birth; this must include:
- The birth certificates for the parent or grandparent that you are basing your claim on
- Your grandparent’s marriage certificate if they were married
- Evidence that you plan to work in the UK, for example, a job offer or arranged job interview after you arrive in the UK
Adult Dependent Visa
You will need to prove that you need long-term care for an Adult Dependent visa; you will have to submit:
- Official medical evidence from a doctor of your physical or mental condition that prevents you from caring for yourself
- Evidence that you can’t receive care from your local health authority or doctor
- Proof that your family member in the UK can care for you, for example, bank statements, a payslip or job contract that shows a stable income
- Proof that your family member is British or has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, such as passport, birth certificate, or immigration documents
Child Dependent Visa
In addition to the required documents for a UK Family visa, you will have to prove your parent’s income to show that you will be supported while you are in the UK.
EEA Family Permit and EEA Settlement Scheme Family Permit
When applying for either EEA visa, you will have to show your relationship to the EEA family member, for example, a birth certificate.
You will also have to provide evidence that you have enough money to look after yourself in the UK without support from the Home Office.
Tuberculosis (TB) Test Requirements
If you’re coming to the UK on a Family visa, you may need to take a tuberculosis (TB) test before travelling.
You will have to take the test if:
- You’ve lived in any of the specified countries for 6 months or more, and
- You were living there (or another listed country) within the last 6 months
Pakistan is on the list of required countries, so Pakistani applicants currently residing in Pakistan (or who have resided in Pakistan or another required country in the last 6 months) will have to take a TB test before coming to the UK on a Family visa.
The TB test involves having a chest x-ray taken. If the x-ray is not clear, you may be asked to give a sputum sample. You must be tested at a Home Office-approved clinic in order for the test to be accepted with your visa application.
The full list of countries where you will need to get a TB test can be found on the Home Office website.
Family Visa to Settlement in the UK
Family visas are an eligible route to settlement in the UK, otherwise known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
Generally speaking, it takes 5 years to become eligible for ILR on a Family visa. However, it is also possible to be on a 2-year or a 10-year route to settlement.
To be eligible for ILR, you must still maintain a family relationship with your UK sponsor and you must have been continuously resident in the UK for the entire duration of your visa with no significant leaves of absence from the UK. There may be additional criteria you have to fulfil based on the specific Family visa you have.
You must also still meet the minimum income requirement or still have enough funds to support you and your family in the UK.
You must also intend to live in the UK permanently after obtaining ILR, as well as meet English language requirements and pass the Life in the UK Test.
It costs £3,226 to apply for ILR form within the UK.
UK Family Visa Fees
The fees for a UK Family visa are variable depending on where you are applying from:
- If you are outside the UK: The cost of joining your partner, parent or child is £2,064, and the cost for each dependent added to your application is also £2,064 per person.
- If you are inside the UK: The cost is £1,407 and the same for each dependent.
Applicants for the Ancestry visa have to pay £726 and the EEA Family Permit or EEA Settlement Scheme Family Permit is free of charge.
If you cannot pay the fee, you may be eligible to apply for a fee waiver in certain situations.
Applicants from Pakistan must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1035.
UK Family Visa Processing Time
According to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), the standard processing time for family visas from Pakistan or anywhere outside the UK is 12 weeks – this applies to visa categories including partner/spouse, parent, child, or adult dependent relative. In some cases may extend to 14 weeks or more, depending on document verification, background checks, and application completeness.
Extending Family Visa in UK
If you are already in the UK on a Family visa, you can apply to extend your visa as long as you extend it before your current visa expires. If it is to stay with the same family member, you will only be granted up to an additional 28 days.
If you’ve been in the UK for a certain amount of time, you may be able to apply to settle in the UK; you may also be able to stay based on your private life depending on how long you’ve been in the UK.
How Can Total Law Help?
There are lots of options available for people looking to move to the UK from Pakistan if they already have family there; however, it can be tricky to identify which visa is most appropriate for you. Each visa also requires different forms of proof, and it is essential that all documentation is provided, correctly translated and going to support your application.
Consulting a legal representative ensures you will correctly complete your application and meet the requirements outlined by the Home Office. Total Law can provide expert advice, support you with collecting your supporting documents, and maximise your chances of a successful decision. Call us today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 or contact us online.
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can appeal your visa decision if you have a legal right to appeal. When you receive your decision letter, it will include information on if you can appeal. You will need legal assistance to appeal a family visa refusal decision. Call us on +44 (0) 333 305 9375 today to appeal your visa refusal.
Siblings can apply for a family visa, provided they require long-term care and assistance from their UK resident brother or sister to perform their day-to-day tasks.
Yes, you can switch to a family visa from a student visa in the UK, to live with your spouse/civil partner, child or parent(s).
