Parent of a British child visa

What the parent route is

GOV.UK’s family visa “as a parent” lets you live in the UK to care for your child. It is designed for parents who are not in a relationship with the child’s other parent — if you are eligible to apply as a partner, GOV.UK says you must apply as a partner instead. A first grant lasts 2 years and 9 months, extensions and in-country switches last 2 years and 6 months, and after 5 years’ continuous residence on the route you can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

You can work and study once permission is granted, but you cannot usually claim benefits or other public funds. The route is evidence-heavy: the Home Office wants documents from schools, doctors, courts and public bodies showing that you are living with or caring for the child, not photographs or messages.

Eligibility in detail

Requirements about the child, about your relationship with the child, and about you. All must be met.

• Your child’s age

  Under 18 on the date you apply, or under 18 when you were first granted leave on this route.

• Your child’s living arrangements

  The child must live with you, unless they are living away from home in full-time education such as boarding school or university, and must not be married or in a civil partnership.

• Your child’s status

  Living in the UK and either a British or Irish citizen; settled (indefinite leave to remain, settled status or permanent residence); an EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein national with pre-settled status who was living here before 1 January 2021; or, for in-country applications, resident in the UK for 7 continuous years where it would not be reasonable for them to leave.

• Not eligible as a partner

  If you could apply as the partner of the child’s other parent, you must apply on the partner route instead.

• Parental responsibility

  Sole or shared parental responsibility. If shared, the other parent must not be your partner and must be a British or Irish citizen, settled, or hold qualifying pre-settled status.

• Access in person

  If the child lives with their other parent or carer, you must have in-person access to the child, agreed with that parent or carer or set by a court order.

• Active role in upbringing

  You must prove you are taking an active role in your child’s upbringing and plan to continue after you apply, using evidence less than 4 years old from a government body, school, court or medical professional.

• Financial requirement

  No fixed income threshold. You must show you can support yourself — and your child and any dependants who live with you — without claiming public funds. The caseworker assesses your income against your housing costs.

• English language

  CEFR A1 at the first application, A2 speaking and listening at the extension if you only passed A1, B1 for settlement — or a degree taught in English, or an exemption.

• Suitability

  None of the general grounds for refusal apply: no deception, disqualifying criminality, previous breaches of immigration law or unpaid NHS debt.

Sole responsibility and shared responsibility

GOV.UK treats both as qualifying, but the evidence and the conditions differ.

Acceptable primary evidence, per GOV.UK, includes:

• A letter from your child’s school confirming you take them to school or attend parents’ evenings.
• A letter to your address from the local council confirming your child’s school.
• A letter from your child’s doctor, dentist or health visitor confirming you take them to appointments.
• Court order paperwork confirming the child lives with you or that you take an active role in their upbringing — together with written permission from the court to use it, for example a letter from the court.

Weaker evidence GOV.UK will accept, while warning that a grant is then less likely:

• A parental agreement drafted by a solicitor and signed by you and the child’s other parent.
• A letter from HMRC confirming you are claiming Child Tax Credit.
• Social services paperwork confirming you spend time with your child or are applying for access.

English language requirement

The same staged requirement as the partner route applies to parents.

First application

CEFR A1 or higher

Extension after 2.5 years (if you passed A1 first time)

A2 speaking and listening

Extension (if you passed A2 or higher)

Reuse your result

Settlement after 5 years

B1 or higher

After 5 years on a family visa, extending as a parent

Exempt

• Prove it with a UK degree taught in English (certificate only), a non-UK degree taught in English confirmed by Ecctis, or a Secure English Language Test from an approved provider.
• Exempt: over 65; a physical or mental condition preventing you from meeting the requirement; nationals of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago or the USA.
• If you were exempt at your first application you must pass an A1 test when you extend.

Fees and costs

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 3 August 2026. Each dependant pays the same application fee and their own healthcare surcharge.

Application fee — applying outside the UK

£2,064

Application fee — applying inside the UK (extend or switch)

£1,407

Each dependant — outside / inside the UK

£2,064 / £1,407

Healthcare surcharge, adult — 2 years 9 months

£3,105

Healthcare surcharge, adult — 2 years 6 months

£2,587.50

Healthcare surcharge, child — 2 years 9 months

£2,328

Healthcare surcharge, child — 2 years 6 months

£1,940

Priority service (optional)

£500

Super priority service (optional, inside the UK)

£1,000

Biometric appointment

Required — no separate fee listed on GOV.UK

A fee waiver is available if you do not have a place to live and cannot afford one, have a home but cannot afford essential living costs such as food or heating, or have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child’s wellbeing. English tests, translations and any TB test are paid to third parties.

Processing times

Parent applications made inside the UK have no service standard. Plan around the current figure, not the 8-week partner figure.

Applying outside the UK — parent

12 weeks

Applying inside the UK — parent

About 12 months (no service standard)

Priority service — family visas from outside the UK

Usually 30 working days

Super priority service — inside the UK

End of the next working day

If you apply from inside the UK before your current permission expires you can stay while you wait for a decision. Applications from outside the UK must also include the completed Appendix 5 form.

Documents you will need

Adapted from GOV.UK’s “information and evidence you must provide”, with the parent-route evidence added.

Application process

Route to settlement and citizenship

Five years if you meet every requirement at every stage; longer if you extend on the basis of your child alone.

Common reasons parent applications are refused

Each reason corresponds to a mandatory requirement on GOV.UK or to the general grounds for refusal.

• The applicant is in a relationship with the child’s other parent and should have applied as a partner.
• The child does not meet the status condition — not British, Irish, settled or holding qualifying pre-settled status, and (for in-country applications) not resident for 7 continuous years.
• Parental responsibility is shared with a partner, or with an other parent who is not British, Irish, settled or holding qualifying pre-settled status.
• The child lives with the other parent and in-person access agreed with that parent or ordered by a court is not evidenced.
• An active role in the child’s upbringing is not shown with primary evidence — the application relies on photographs, cards or messages.
• Court order paperwork is submitted without the court’s written permission to use it.
• The applicant cannot show they can maintain and accommodate themselves and dependants without public funds.
• The English test is not from an approved provider or is below the level required for the stage of the route, and no exemption applies.
• Mandatory information is missing — untranslated documents, no TB certificate where required, no Appendix 5 on an overseas application, or a missed biometric appointment.
• General grounds for refusal apply: false representations or documents, a criminal record, previous overstaying or breach of conditions, or unpaid NHS debt.

Source note

Information sourced from GOV.UK (“Family visas: apply, extend or switch”, last updated 3 August 2026; “Visa processing times: applications outside the UK”, 26 June 2026; “Visa processing times: applications inside the UK”, 29 April 2026; and “Get a faster decision on your visa, settlement or citizenship application”, 20 July 2026), and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.