Child Dependant Visa UK

A child may be joining a parent with family permission, a settled parent or a parent with a work visa. These are not interchangeable routes. Check whether the child already has British citizenship or qualifies for a settlement or EU Settlement Scheme application before selecting temporary family permission.

A child joining a Skilled Worker normally uses the worker dependant route, subject to that route’s restrictions. The family partner income threshold and the worker maintenance figures cannot be substituted for one another.

• Family visas for children
• Skilled Worker dependants and route-specific restrictions
• Skilled Worker route

An initial child application normally concerns someone under 18 who is not married, in a civil partnership or living an independent life. A person already granted family-route child permission while under 18 may be able to continue after turning 18, provided the relevant conditions remain met.

Living away from the parental home for full-time education can be compatible with the child requirements. It should be explained with evidence rather than treated as proof that the child has necessarily become independent. Adult first-time applicants should not assume they can use the child route.

• Continuing permission after a child’s first grant

Under the family child entry rules, the qualifying parent’s partner may also be the child’s parent. Where that is not the case, the rules can require continuing sole responsibility or serious and compelling family or other considerations, together with suitable care arrangements.

Paying for a child or holding a consent letter does not by itself establish every requirement. Explain who makes and carries out important decisions in the child’s upbringing, who provides day-to-day care and the role of the other parent. In-country child rules are not identical to entry-clearance rules.

• Birth or adoption records and evidence of the relationship to the sponsoring parent.
• Information about both parents, any court arrangements and the child’s current care.
• School, medical or other relevant records supporting the actual care arrangements.
• Details of suitable accommodation and care proposed in the UK.

• Immigration Rules: Appendix FM

For a child applying under the family route, the financial assessment follows the relevant parental category and any applicable transitional rules. A parent with family permission as a partner may need evidence under the partner income rules; other family categories require a different assessment.

Worker dependant maintenance requirements have their own rules and exceptions. Some care-worker and medium-skilled Skilled Worker cases restrict dependants, with exceptions affected by dates, circumstances and whether the child applies inside or outside the UK. Do not treat sponsorship of a parent as an automatic right to bring every child.

• Partner income rules and transitional arrangements
• Skilled Worker dependants and route-specific restrictions

The application process depends on the child’s location and the parent’s status. Children may be able to apply with a parent or separately, but need their own evidence and applicable charges. Use the route-specific form rather than copying a previous sibling’s application.

Prepare identity and relationship records, immigration decisions, the relevant financial and care evidence, and translations where required. A child applying for a family visa does not have to meet the partner English-language requirement.

Highfin’s existing child material covers route selection, documents and parental arrangements. Ask what assistance is available for your family, especially where only one parent is in the UK or the child’s existing status is uncertain. No outcome or settlement entitlement should be assumed.

• Family visa documents and financial evidence
• Family visa routes