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The basic requirement for a Family Visa is that you must have a family member who is a UK resident. You will need the visa if you intend to join your family member for more than 6 months.
Your family member can be a spouse or partner, fiancé, parent, child, or relative who is to provide you with long-term care.
It is important to distinguish between a Family Visa and a Dependent Visa. If your family member is in the UK as a student or on a temporary Work Visa, you can’t seek a Family Visa to join them. Instead, you must apply for a Dependent Visa. It is best to consult our Family Visa application solicitors to see which option is best for you.
You can apply for one of the four types of UK family visas. The visa that is right for you depends on the nature of your relationship with your UK relative. The four UK family visas are the following:
Here is a quick look at each type.
A UK Ancestry Visa allows you to stay and work in the UK for five years. You can apply for this visa if:
If these two conditions are met, you are very likely eligible for a UK Ancestry Visa. However, you will need to meet other obligations when applying for the visa. Unlike several other visa routes, you don’t need a confirmed job offer to come to the UK and work on an Ancestry visa.
You will need to show that you have the financial means to support yourself once you arrive in the UK. This is because you will not be allowed to access public funds on this type of family visa.
If you want to apply for a UK Ancestry Visa, it is important to consult an experienced immigration lawyer. Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s, our Family Visa solicitors offer detailed help and guidance. With our help, you can complete a family visa application and submit it for a quick decision.
A Spouse Visa is a common type of UK Family Visa. It is also known as Marriage Visa and Partner Visa. You can apply for this family visa type if you are married, or engaged in a civil partnership with someone who is a UK-settled person, citizen, or refugee.
You must meet several requirements to be eligible for the Spouse Visa. Here is a look at these:
You may need to meet additional requirements to be eligible for a Spouse Visa. Our experienced Family Visa application solicitors can help you understand these requirements and fulfil them when filing for the visa. You can also seek help from our Family Visa solicitors on other visa options.
An Adult Dependent Visa is a unique type of UK Family Visa. You can apply for this visa as the adult child, parent, grandparent, or sibling of a person who has UK citizenship, settled status, refugee status, or humanitarian protection.
The key requirements to apply for an Adult Dependent Visa include the following:
It is not easy to meet these requirements, which is why Adult Dependent Visa applications have a high rate of rejections.
You can significantly improve your odds of success by first consulting an experienced immigration lawyer. Here at Adam Bernard’s, our Family Visa solicitors carefully review your care and provide tailored guidance on how best to fulfil all the key requirements for this visa type.
A Child Dependent Visa allows the child of a person who has UK citizenship or settled status to come and live in the UK.
To be eligible for this type of visa, a child must:
As long as the child continues to meet these eligibility requirements, the child is granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK.
If a child has been living in the UK on a Child Dependent Visa for at least 5 years, they can then apply to be naturalised as a British citizen which ultimately grants them full citizenship rights.
The basic visa fee for a Child Dependent Visa is £1,538 if you are applying from outside the UK. For applications submitted from inside the UK, the application fee is £1,048.
You also need to pay an additional healthcare surcharge as a part of your visa application. For the Child Dependent Visa, the surcharge is £1,175 if the visa duration is 2.5 years. For a visa duration of five years, the surcharge amount is £2,350.
If you want to get a precise estimate of the costs of applying for a Family Visa, you can get in touch with our Family Visa application solicitors.
The Home Office takes a considerable amount of time to process your Family Visa application. If you have submitted your application from outside the UK, the processing time is briefer. In such a case, you can expect the Home Office to notify you of a decision within 24 weeks.
For applications submitted from inside the UK, the processing time is up to 8 weeks.
You do have the option of speeding up the process by paying an extra fee. This is possible by using the super priority service which costs £800.
If you use the super priority service, you can get a decision on your visa application a day after providing your biometric details.
In the case of incomplete applications or those with inaccurate details, the Home Office may take longer to make a decision. This is why it is best to consult an experienced immigration lawyer before you submit your application. An experienced immigration lawyer will advise you on how best to optimise your application for a quick and positive outcome.
A Family Visa application may be rejected for several reasons. Here are some of the most common grounds for refusal:
The Home Office may also have other reasons to turn down a visa application. The precise cause of rejection is typically noted on the letter of refusal you receive from the Home Office. The letter also outlines your options in the wake of the rejection.
You may be able to submit an appeal for reconsideration, or request a review of the decision. However, it is better in most cases to resubmit the application instead of seeking a review or appeal of the rejected one.
It is important to consult an experienced immigration lawyer when considering your options after your visa application is refused. Qualified Family Visa solicitors will lay out your options and help you make the right decision.
