Family Visa UK: Join Your Family in the UK

The UK Spouse visa is granted to civil partners, spouses, or fiancés/fiancées (for the purposes of this guide, we’ll refer to them simply as partners) who are 18 years old or over. Both partners must fulfill this age requirement.

You’d also have to prove that:

• You’re in a marriage or civil partnership legally recognized inside the UK
• You’ve been living together as a couple for 2 years minimum at the time of application
• You’re a fiancé/fiancée or proposed civil partner with the prospect of entering into a legal marriage or civil partnership within 6 months of arriving in the UK (provided there are no previous unended marriages)
• You have sufficient knowledge of English (you won’t need to provide documentary evidence if you’re from an English-speaking country such as the US or Canada)
• You and your partner have a joint yearly income of £29,000 minimum, with no extra surcharges for additional dependent children. These were scrapped in 2024.

Children may apply for a visa to join a parent who resides legally in the UK. A “child”, in the context of the UK’s immigration rules, is defined as a person under 18 years of age at the moment of becoming a Child Visa applicant. However, in certain exceptional situations, offspring over the age of 18 can correspondingly apply as dependents.

Children do not have to be applicants if one of their parents has been granted an Indefinite Leave to Remain or is settled under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Children Born Inside the UK

Children born in the UK are entitled to the same authorization as their parent/parents.

Children under 18 can either:

• Be included in their parent’s next UK visa application as dependents
• Apply separately (in which case, the kind of permission granted to the parent or parents must be specified)

People over 18 can exceptionally be included in a UK visa application as dependents if the following conditions are met:

• They got permission to visit or stay in the country on a family visa when they were under 18
• They don’t live independently
• They apply from inside the destination country

Children Born Abroad

In the case of children abroad, their eligibility hinges on their age and their parent’s specific visa type.

Children under 18 must meet the following criteria:

• They must be unmarried and not living independently from their parent/parents
• They ought to be economically reliant on their parents and not receive public funds or benefits
• One of their parents must apply or have applied for a visa or visa extension as a partner (joining the other parent) or as their sole parent with parental responsibility

People over 18 years old can be included as dependents in their parent’s visa application or apply separately, but only if:

• They were permitted to remain in the UK with a family visa when they were under 18
• They’re not independent

You’ll be capable of applying for an Ancestry visa if you are:

• A Commonwealth citizen (as in, from the countries listed here)
• A British overseas citizen
• A British overseas territories citizen
• A British national (overseas)
• A Zimbabwe citizen

To opt for an Ancestry visa, apart from the criteria laid out above, you must:

• Prove that one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Ireland (before March 31st, 1922), or on a ship or aircraft registered in the United Kingdom or belonging to the UK government
• Be 17 or older
• Prove that you have enough money to sustain yourself and your dependents and don’t need to receive public funds or benefits
• Be capable of working and plan to work in the UK

There are certain impediments to claiming ancestry. You could claim ancestry if you or your parents were adopted by UK citizens. However, you’ll not be entitled to the claim through step-parents.

Parents can apply for a visa in the UK in order to care for their children. Nevertheless, if you’re eligible for a Spouse/Partner visa, you should opt for that one instead.

Not all parents are suitable candidates for a Parent visa, but only those with parental responsibility provided that the responsibility is not shared with a current partner.

In cases of shared parental responsibility, the other parent (non-partner) must have British or Irish citizenship or be legally permitted to remain in the country via Indefinite Leave to Remain, or pre-settled/settled status. If the child cohabitates with the other parent/caretaker, you must provide evidence that you can legally access the child physically via an agreement with the other party or by virtue of a court order.

To proceed with this petition:

• Your children must live in the United Kingdom at the time of application
• They should be under 18 when the application was submitted or when you were issued your first leave, in which case they must not live independently as they cross the age threshold

Also, one of these conditions must be met:

• They’re British or Irish citizens
• They have an Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status
• They’re citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein with a pre-settled status (provided also that they resided in the UK before January 1st, 2021)
• They have been living in the UK continuously for 7 years and present circumstances prevent them from leaving (only acceptable if you apply from inside the United Kingdom)

The Adult Dependent visa is a very specific type of visa that is issued in cases of foreign citizens who are unable to care for themselves due to disability, illness, or age. If you’re in one of these situations, you’re entitled to apply for a Dependent Adult visa, provided that you do so from outside the country and have a relative who lives permanently in the UK.

In that sense, you must provide proof that:

• You are in need of long-term care in order to perform everyday chores and tasks because of age, illness, or disability
• There is no way to get the care you require in the country you’re currently in because there are no available options or they’re not affordable
• The person you’ll join is capable of supporting you without needing public funds or benefits for 5 years minimum
• You’re over 18 years of age

On the other hand, your caregiver must:

• Have British or Irish citizenship
• Be in possession of Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status
• Have pre-settled status as a citizen of the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein and began living in the UK before January 1st, 2021
• Have humanitarian protection or refugee status inside the UK

If you are applying for a Family visa via the Partner or Spouse routes, there are certain financial requirements which you will need to satisfy.

In general, you and your partner will need to demonstrate that you have a combined income of at least £29,000 a year.

Note that, if you have cash savings of at least £88,500 and have done so for at least 6 months, you can use these savings to satisfy the financial requirement.

There are also some circumstances in which you and your partner will be exempt from meeting the income threshold. You will not need to satisfy the minimum income requirement if your partner receives any of the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Pension Age Disability Payment
• Carer’s Allowance
• Carer Support Payment
• Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension
• Police Injury Pension
• Child Disability Payment
• Adult Disability Payment

For other types of Family visa, such as the Adult Dependent visa or Parent visa, you must merely show that you have enough funds to support yourself and your family member while in the UK rather than meeting a formal minimum income requirement.

When applying for a UK Family visa, you will first need to gather the necessary documentation and ensure you meet the eligibility criteria.

Next, you will need to submit your application online. You will need to have your evidence ready and be prepared to provide the details of your sponsoring family member.

Once you have submitted your application form, you will generally also need to attend an appointment at a visa application centre. The details of this are outlined in the next section.

The fees for UK family visa applications are very standard in comparison to other visa categories. These are, in summary, the amounts you ought to pay:

• If joining your partner, parent, or child, you’d have to pay £1,938 for applications outside the UK or £1,321 inside the UK. The same costs would be charged for each dependent added to your request
• For an adult in need of care by a relative, the fee for applying from outside the country ascends to £3,413.

You will also need to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge when applying for a Family visa. This is typically £1035 a year for over 18s and £776 for under 18s.

If applying for a Family visa outside of the UK, you will normally have your application processed within 12 weeks.

If applying from inside the UK, you will normally have your application processed within 8 weeks.

If you apply inside the UK and you do not meet the financial requirements and English language requirements, it may take about 12 months to get a decision.

You may have the option to pay for a faster decision on your application for an additional fee.

Once you apply for a Family visa, you will generally need to attend an appointment at a visa application centre, available in numerous global locations. At this appointment, you will be expected to provide your photograph and fingerprints.

You will then need to wait for your application to be processed. In general, you should receive a decision on your application within 12 weeks if you are applying from outside of the UK and within 8 weeks if you are applying from within the UK.

If your application is successful, you will generally receive an eVisa, which you can then use to enter the UK, in combination with a valid passport.

Once in the UK, your visa will generally authorise you to work and study, but you will not usually be able to access public welfare benefits.

In general, you will need to live in the UK on a Family visa for at least 5 years before you become eligible for UK permanent settlement. You will need to demonstrate that you resided continuously in the UK during this time (i.e. did not spend more than 180 days outside of the UK in any given year).

Obtaining permanent settlement status brings a number of benefits, such as the ability to use the NHS without needing to pay the annual health surcharge. You will also be able to live and work in the UK indefinitely without needing to worry about maintaining your legal immigration status.

After a year of living in the UK with permanent settlement status, you can then generally apply for UK citizenship.