United Kingdom Family and Partner Visa

You must apply for a family and partner visa to live with a family member in the UK. This visa is only necessary for visits longer than six months.

Visas are available for

• Spouse or partner, including fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner
• Parent
• Child
• Relative who needs long-term care from a family member

Contact IBN Immigration Solutions, and we’ll assign an expert in UK family and partner visas to guide you through the application process.

Your United Kingdom immigration specialist will take you through the process step-by-step, providing much-needed support and timely advice to keep your application on track.

There are four types of UK family and partner visas. Each has numerous requirements and qualifying criteria, which can intimidate even the most organised people. Your immigration consultant will untangle the confusing pathways and essential tangents to simplify the process and give you the confidence to continue with your application.

UK Spouse or Partner Visa

To apply for a partner visa, you and your partner must be 18 years or older.

Requirements your partner must meet:

• Be a British citizen
• Have settled in the UK
• Be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status. They must have lived in the UK before the 1st of January 2021
• Have a Turkish businessman visa or Turkish Worker visa
• Have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the United Kingdom

You and your partner must intend to live together in the UK after you arrive.

To qualify, you need to prove one of the following:

• You’re in a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK.
• You’ve been living together in a relationship for at least two years before the visa application date.
• You are a fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter a civil partnership in the UK within six months of arriving.

You might still be able to apply for a UK partner or spousal visa if you do not meet these requirements provided:

• You have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for seven years or longer, and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK.
• There would be significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived as a couple outside of the UK.
• It would be against your human right to force you to stop coming to the UK or to force you to leave the United Kingdom.

You must prove the following when submitting applications for partner and spousal visas:

• You have good knowledge of English.
• You can financially support yourself and your dependents.
• If you had any previous marriages or civil partnerships, you must prove they’ve ended.
• If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner, you must prove that you are planning to marry or become a civil partner within six months of your arrival in the UK.

How long can you stay in the United Kingdom?

As a partner or spouse, you can stay in the UK for two years and nine months (33 months) on a spouse and partner visa.
If you’re coming to the UK as a fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner, you can stay for six months.
After this, you must apply for a visa extension.

Can you take your child?

You can take your children with you to the UK as dependants if the following apply:

• They are under the age of 18 when you apply or were under the age of 18 when they were first granted to leave.
• Your child must not live an independent life.

When can you settle permanently?

You can apply for “indefinite leave to remain” after you’ve lived in the United Kingdom for five years as a partner on a family visa. This is one pathway that allows you to emigrate permanently to the UK.

Applying as a parent

You can apply as a parent for a family visa if you want to live in the UK to take care of your child.

Your child must meet the following requirements:

• Be under the age of 18
• Have been under the age of 18 when you were first granted leave
• Not live an independent life

Your child must already be living in the UK and meet one of the following qualifying criteria:

Be a British or Irish citizen.
Have settled in the UK
Are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status. They must have started living in the UK before the 1st of January 2021.
If you’re applying from inside the UK, your child must already have lived in the United Kingdom for seven years or longer, and it would be unreasonable for them to leave.

Parental responsibility

You must have sole or partial parental responsibility, but the child’s other parent must not be your partner.

They must be:

• A British or Irish citizen
• Have settled in the UK
• From the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status
• You must prove that you actively raise your child and plan to continue doing that

In most cases, your supporting forms and documents must meet the following criteria:

• Come from the government, school, court, or a medical professional
• Show that you are living with or caring for your child
• The evidence must be less than four years old

Other parental responsibility requirements for a UK family and partner visa:

• You must prove that you have good knowledge of the English language
• You must verify that you are financially able to support yourself without claiming public funds
• You must also prove that you can financially support any dependents who live with you

How long can you stay in the UK?

On a relative visa, you can stay in the United Kingdom for two years and nine months (33 months).
After this time, you can apply to extend your visa for another two years and six months (30 months).

Applications with other children:

You can add other children to your application as dependants if one of the following applies:

• The child is under the age of 18 on the date you apply
• The child was under 18 when they were first granted leave on a family visa, and they must not live an independent life

When can you settle permanently?

You can apply for “indefinite leave to remain” after you’ve lived in the UK for five years as a parent on a family visa.
This is one pathway that allows you to emigrate permanently to the United Kingdom.

Applying as a child

You can apply for a family visa as a child if you want to join your parents in the UK.

You may not need a family visa if one of your parents has indefinite leave to remain or proof of permanent residence.

You can apply for Private Life status if your parents can’t include you in their form, but you are already in the United Kingdom.
You’ll get the same permission as your parents if you are born in the UK.

If you are under 18 years old, you can either:

• Be added to your parent’s next application as a dependent
• Apply separately for a dependent visa

Your parents can only include you in their application if you are over 18 years old if the following apply:

• You got permission to come to or stay in the UK on a family visa when you were under the age of 18
• You do not live an independent life
• You are applying from inside the UK

Applications for those not born in the UK depend on your age and how your parents applied.

If you’re under 18 years old, you meet the following requirements:

• Not be married, not have a civil partnership, and not live an independent life
• Be financially supported

One of your parents must also apply or have applied for a family visa extension as a partner or parent.
If you are over 18 years old, you can apply as a dependent with your parents or apply separately.

You can only apply if you:

• Got permission to stay in the UK on a family visa when you were under 18
• Do not live an independent life

Applications Requirements

You can apply from inside or outside the United Kingdom.

Outside the UK

You must apply at the same time as one of your parents. The forms you must fill in depend on which type of visa your parent is using. If your parent is applying as a partner, the criteria include one of the following:

• Be a British or Irish citizen
• Be a person with indefinite leave to remain
• Be a person settled in the UK
• Be a person from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein who has pre-settled status. They must have started living in the UK before the 1st of January 2021
• Be a person with a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
• Be a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection

In this case, you need to fill in the Appendix FM online form.
If that is not the case, you must fill in the online form and Appendix 1 paper form.

If you are not applying with one of your parents, it still depends on whether your parent has leave to enter and remain in the United Kingdom for five to ten years, and whether they have a settlement with one of the following:

• A British or Irish citizen
• A person with indefinite leave to remain
• A person settled in the UK
• A person from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein who has pre-settled status. They must have started living in the UK before the 1st of January 2021
• A person with a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
• A person with refugee status or humanitarian protection

If that is the case you need to fill in the Appendix FM online form.
If that is not the case you must fill in the online application form and Appendix 1 paper form.

Inside the UK

You must apply online if you are already in the United Kingdom.
Before starting your application process, you’ll need to prepare information, forms, and documents.

Applying as a relative who needs long-term care from a family member

You must submit applications from outside the UK to get care from a family member living permanently in the UK. One of the following must also apply to the relative:

• The relative is a British or Irish citizen
• The relative is settled in the UK
• The relative is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and has pre-settled status
• The relative has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the United Kingdom

Requirements and criteria necessary to apply for a dependent visa include the following:

• You must prove that you need long-term care to do everyday personal and household tasks because of illness, disability, or age
• You must prove the care you need is not available or affordable in your home country or country of permanent residence
• You must prove the person you’ll be joining in the UK can support, accommodate, and care for you without claiming public funds for at least five years
• You are 18 years or older

How long can you stay?
The duration of your stay depends on your family member’s status.

If your family member is British, Irish, or settled in the UK, your stay is unlimited.
You do not need to apply for an extension of your visa.

If your family member has a pre-settled status and started living in the UK before the 1st of January 2021.
You can stay for as long as your family member does. You must apply for a visa extension at the same time as your family member.

If your family member has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK, you can stay for as long as your family member.
You must apply for an extension on your relative visa when they do.

Apply

You must prepare the required information, forms, and documentation before you submit your visa application.
You must apply online from outside the UK as a dependent relative.
You must complete the Appendix 1 form.

Applications typically follow the same process, regardless of which visa you’re applying for.

Your UK family and partner visa specialist will go with the practical steps with you.

1. Obtain and complete all required forms and documents.
2. Your consultant will help you obtain documents if necessary and will help you complete the forms correctly.
3. Compile all the information into an application pack.
4. The application pack is submitted for an in-house quality check to ensure everything is present and accounted for.
5. Once the application pack gets the green light, you can submit your application to the relevant UK immigration authorities.
6. In some instances, your specialist can apply on your behalf.
7. Wait to hear if your application has been approved or denied.

IBN Immigration Solutions always stays updated with immigration procedures, so we’re always among the first to know about changes or additions to the application process.

Your informed immigration specialist will give you an accurate timeframe, so you know how long you’ll have to wait to hear back from the immigration authorities in the UK.

Costs for the different types of United Kingdom family and partner visas vary, depending on the specific visa, your home country or country of permanent residence, and the number of dependents you’ll bring to the UK.

Your UK immigration expert will provide a thorough breakdown of all the fees and expenses that apply to your visa.

You’ll also be reminded when to pay the fees to keep applications running smoothly without any avoidable delays.