Child Dependant Visa Extension Solicitor

Start with the child’s decision letter and current immigration record. Identify whether they hold family-route or work dependant permission and note their own expiry date. A parent’s new visa does not automatically extend a child’s existing permission.

For a family visa extension, apply before the current permission expires and check whether the child can be included in the parent’s application or must apply separately. A child born in the UK who has never held permission may need a first application rather than an extension.

• Family visas for children
• First applications for children

Appendix FM allows a child applicant to be under 18 at application or when first granted leave as a child under that route. Continuing applicants must still satisfy the conditions concerning marriage, an independent family unit and an independent life.

Evidence of living with the parent remains relevant. Living away for full-time education is recognised in the guidance and should be documented. The over-18 provision does not create an unrestricted route for adult children making their first application.

A Skilled Worker dependant who has turned 18 may also be able to extend, but the test is tied to their existing dependant permission and that work route’s rules. Do not move between family and work rules simply because one appears more favourable.

• Immigration Rules: Appendix FM
• Skilled Worker dependants and route-specific restrictions

Review whether the parent is extending, settling or changing route, and whether the child can continue under the same provisions. For family-route leave to remain, the parental relationship provisions include the other-parent arrangement, sole responsibility or normally living with the relevant parent rather than the other parent, and serious and compelling circumstances with suitable care.

Explain changes in who looks after the child or makes decisions about their upbringing. A parent’s settlement is a reason to reassess the child’s options, not evidence that the child has automatically settled too.

• The child’s previous grant and current passport or immigration record.
• The parent’s current status, application details and any change of route.
• Recent address, education and care records, with an explanation for time away from home.
• Updated evidence of finances and accommodation under the applicable category.

A family-route child’s financial requirements depend on the parent’s category and applicable transitional provisions. Assess those rules using the family’s history rather than copying the figures from a worker dependant application.

For Skilled Worker dependants, the child’s application must be coordinated with the parent’s permission and made before the child’s existing visa expires. Care-worker and medium-skilled restrictions include specific exceptions and can differ between applications from inside and outside the UK. Previous dependency alone should not replace a current eligibility check.

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

Use the correct in-country process, supply the required documents and complete the identity steps notified in the application. Check current official processing guidance for the particular route: standard family cases and ten-year-route cases can have different waiting times.

When the decision arrives, check the child’s expiry date and conditions alongside the parent’s. Permission length and future settlement requirements are route-specific. Keep the records needed to explain the child’s immigration history at the next application.

When enquiring with Highfin, identify any approaching expiry or eighteenth birthday and any planned change in the parent’s permission. Ask the team to confirm the extension advice and representation available; the firm’s fees and named adviser remain subject to confirmation.

• A parent’s spouse visa extension
• Family visa routes, costs and extension timing