The UK Parent Visa, also known as a ‘Parent of a British Child Visa’, allows overseas parents to come to the UK to live with their British or settled child. It is also possible to apply if your child has been living in the UK for 7 or more years, and it would not be reasonable for them to leave the country.

Before applying to join your child in the UK, it is important to select the correct visa for your circumstances. Foreign parents of a British child or a child settled in the UK often apply for a UK Spouse Visa to join their partner and child here. The UK Parent Visa, on the other hand, is typically used by parents who are not eligible for a Spouse Visa, such as those who are divorced or single parents. As such, to qualify for a Parent Visa, your child must usually be a British citizen or have settled status in the UK. However, if you are eligible as a spouse of a British citizen or settled person in the UK, you must apply for a UK Spouse Visa instead.

Parent visas are normally granted for an initial period of 33 months. If you wish to stay longer, you will need to apply to extend your stay. If you are granted an extension, this is typically granted for a further 30 months. After 5 years of continuous residence in the UK, you will be eligible to apply to settle permanently, also referred to as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR). If you do not qualify for the 5-year settlement route (for example, because you do not meet the financial or English language requirements), you may still be able to remain in the UK on the 10-year parent route, which leads to ILR after 120 months.

Parent of a British child visa requirements

To qualify for a UK Parent Visa, the following requirements must be met:

Child eligibility requirements

Parental relationship and responsibility requirements

Accommodation and financial requirements, and

Parental English language requirements

Child eligibility requirements

Your child must meet one of the following:

Be under 18 years old on the date of your application

Be living in the UK

Be a British citizen or have settled status (such as indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence).

In exceptional cases, if your child is not British or settled but has lived in the UK for 7 years or more, and it would be unreasonable to expect them to leave, you may still qualify for a parent visa. These applications are generally placed on the 10-year parent route.

Parental relationship and responsibility requirements

You must have sole or parental responsibility for your child. If you share parental responsibility, the child’s other parent cannot be your partner. They must also be one of the following:

A British or Irish citizen

Settled in the UK (for example, with indefinite leave to remain, settled status, or permanent residence)

From the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with pre-settled status, and living in the UK since before 1st January 2021

If your child lives with their other parent or carer, you must have in-person access to the child, either by agreement with them or through a court order.

You must live with your child or, if your child lives with someone else, take an active role in their upbringing. An active role includes regular contact, financial support, attending school meetings, medical appointments, or providing care and guidance.

Evidence to prove you meet the relationship and parental responsibility requirements may include:

Your child’s birth certificate.

Court documents showing you have parental responsibility or sole responsibility for your child.

Proof that you are caring for your child – this may be in the form of a letter from their school, doctor or a court that is less than 4 years old.

Parent accommodation and finance requirement

To make a successful parent visa application, you will need to provide details of your UK accommodation to show that there is sufficient and suitable space for the exclusive use of your family. It must also not contravene public health standards and must not be overcrowded. Evidence to satisfy this requirement may include:

A tenancy agreement or documents showing ownership (e.g., mortgage documents).

Details of the number of rooms available and suitable for sleeping (i.e., not bathrooms or kitchens, etc.).

Details of who will be living in the property.

For the financial requirements, you must be able to demonstrate that you have enough money to support yourself and your child in the UK. The Home Office will look at your income and housing costs to decide if you can support yourself. If your child or other dependants live with you, you must also show you can support them without relying on public funds.

Parents on the 5-year parent route to settlement do not need to provide evidence of meeting a minimum level of income; instead, they must meet the Adequate Maintenance Requirement. This is assessed by the Home Office using your net weekly income (after tax and National Insurance) minus weekly housing costs. The remainder must be equal to or above the level of Income Support a UK family of your size would receive.

If you have other dependants, you must also prove you can support them without the need for public funds.

Parent English language requirement

You must demonstrate your ability to speak and understand English. You can do this by:

Being a national of a majority English-speaking country

Holding an academic qualification which is either a Bachelor’s, Master’s degree or a PhD awarded by an educational establishment in the UK. If your qualification was gained outside the UK, it must be approved by Ecctis as being equivalent to a UK degree or Master’s.

Passing an approved English language test at the CEFR A1 level

How to apply for a parent visa

To apply for a parent of a British child visa UK, you will need to complete the following steps:

Complete and submit the online parent of a child visa UK application form – the form you need to use depends on whether you are outside the UK or inside the UK

When applying from outside the UK, you will also need to complete and submit ‘Appendix 5 form VAF4A3 family settlement as a parent of a child in the UK’.

Pay the required application fee – the amount will depend on whether you are applying from inside or outside the UK

Pay the immigration surcharge

Book and attend an appointment at a UKVCAS office (if you are inside the UK) or a visa application centre (VAC) (if you are outside the UK). This is to prove your identity and provide your biometrics (a photo and a scan of your fingerprints).

Submit any documents required by the Home Office.

You can normally expect a decision within 24 weeks if you are outside the UK or within 8 weeks if you are in the UK. It may also be possible to pay an additional fee of £1,000 to use the super priority service (for a decision by the end of the next working day) or £500 for the priority service (for a decision within 5 working days).

If applying from within the UK, you must also ensure your current visa allows you to switch into the parent visa category.

Switching to a 5-year route parent visa

If you are already in the UK with other visa, you may be able to switch into a Parent visa if your current visa qualifies and you meet all requirements. For example, holders of work visas, student visas, or other family visas (e.g. Spouse Visa) may be eligible to switch. However, you cannot switch from certain visas, such as a UK Visitor visa or Short-term student visa. In such cases, you must leave the UK and apply from abroad.

5-year parent route to settlement

The 5-year parent route is the standard pathway to settlement as a parent joining your child in the UK. Parent visas are usually granted for up to 33 months and can be extended for another 30 months. After 5 years of continuous residence, you may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), provided you still meet all parent visa requirements.

Key requirements for the 5-year parent route include:

Being the qualifying child who is British or settled in the UK.

A genuine and ongoing parental relationship.

Adequate accommodation and financial maintenance.

Meeting the English language requirement.

It is important to note that if you switch into the 5-year parent route from other UK visa, your qualifying period for ILR resets. For example, if you switch from Spouse Visa to Parent Visa, the time spent on your spouse visa will not count towards the ILR qualifying period.

10-year parent route to settlement

The 10-year parent route applies where the applicant does not meet certain requirements of the 5-year route, such as the financial or English language criteria. In these cases, if refusing the application would negatively affect the child’s best interests or cause unjustifiably harsh consequences, the parent may still be granted permission to stay.

To qualify for the 10-year parent route, you must show:

Your child is British, settled, or has lived in the UK for at least 7 years

You have a genuine parental relationship.

It would be against the child’s best interests or unjustifiably harsh to expect you to leave the UK.

After 10 years of continuous residence, you may be eligible for ILR.

Switching from the 10-year parent route to the 5-year route

If you are on the 10-year parent route, you may be able to switch to the 5-year route once you meet all the eligibility requirements, such as English language or financial requirements. To do this, you must submit a fresh application for the 5-year parent visa. However, there is an exception: if your original 10-year route visa was granted because your child had lived in the UK for 7 years but is not British or settled, you cannot switch to the 5-year route until your child becomes British or gains settled status.

It is also important to consider that time spent on the 10-year route does not count towards the 5-year requirement for ILR. As such, you will need to complete a full 5 years from the date you switch.

References:

GOV.UK: Family visas: apply, extend or switch

Home Office: Settlement: family and private life

GOV.UK: Family life (as a partner or parent) and exceptional circumstances