The Parent Visa UK is for parents who have a child living in the UK and want to be here too. To qualify, you need to have in-person access to your child, play an active role in their upbringing, and not be in a relationship with the parent or carer the child normally lives with. To make a successful Parent Visa UK application, the UK Home Office wants to see that access is real and ongoing. The arrangements with the other parent need to be properly documented, either through a written agreement or a court order. We will help you pull this information together.
Who Can Apply for a Parent Visa UK?
The Parent Visa under Appendix FM is for a parent with a genuine parental relationship with a child living in the UK. The child must be under 18 at the date of application and must be a British or Irish citizen, or has lived continuously in the UK for at least 7 years and it would not be reasonable for them to leave the UK, hold Indefinite Leave to Remain or settled status, or hold pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You must be at least 18 and able to show that you are taking an active role in your child’s upbringing and intend to continue doing so.
This route is specifically for parents, where the applicant is not applying as a partner of the child’s other parent. If you and the other parent are together, the partner visa is the correct route. The Parent Visa is for parents whose relationship with the other parent has ended.
Access to Your Child and Involvement in Their Life
In most cases, you will need to show regular in-person contact… Where this is not possible, the Home Office will look carefully at the reasons and the steps taken to maintain the relationship.
Access arrangements might be confirmed through a written agreement, a parenting plan, correspondence, or a court order. Where arrangements are informal, the Home Office will look closely at whether they are credible. Where there is a formal court order, it needs to be included.
You also need to show that you play an active part in your child’s life, not just that you have contact. Useful evidence includes letters from the child’s school, medical records, evidence of financial support, messages between you and your child, and statements from the other parent or people who can speak to your involvement.
Financial Requirements and Accommodation
You must demonstrate that you can maintain and accommodate yourself adequately in the UK without recourse to public funds with sufficient income or savings to cover your living costs. You also need to show that you have, or will have, a suitable place to live. This can be evidenced through property documents, a tenancy agreement, or a letter from a family member or friend confirming that you have somewhere to stay.
English Language Requirement
In most cases on the 5-year route, parent visa applicants generally need to show English language ability at the A1 level for an initial application, the A2 level for an extension, and the B1 level for settlement. Exemptions apply for nationals of majority English-speaking countries and people with a degree taught in English. We will advise on whether an exemption applies to you.
Contact:
[email protected]
The Parent Visa has detailed evidence requirements, and applications are refused more often than people expect. The most common problems are insufficient evidence of in-person access, inadequate documentation of the arrangements with the other parent, and a lack of evidence showing active involvement in the child’s life.
At Reeds Solicitors, we go through every element of the application with you carefully. We know what the Home Office needs to see, and we help you build an application that answers those questions clearly.
We start with a detailed assessment of your eligibility, looking at your relationship with your child, the child’s immigration status, the arrangements with the other parent, and your financial circumstances. This allows us to identify any issues before the application goes in and advise on the right approach.
We help you identify and organise the evidence of your in-person access and active involvement in your child’s life. We advise on what evidence carries weight and compile it in a way that presents a clear and credible picture.
Where access arrangements need to be formalised through a written agreement or through the family courts, we work with our family law colleagues at Reeds to make sure this is handled properly and promptly.
The other parent’s circumstances are an important part of the application. We advise on how to address their position and, where needed, how to obtain their cooperation or demonstrate to the Home Office that a proper access arrangement is in place. We handle this sensitively where relations with the other parent are difficult.
We check your financial position and help you prepare documentation showing you can support yourself in the UK without public funds. We advise on the accommodation evidence needed and make sure it is included.
An initial Parent Visa is granted for 30 months. We advise on extensions and on the pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years on the parent route. For parents who later enter a relationship with a settled person in the UK, we advise on switching to the partner route where appropriate.
Our immigration team at Reeds Solicitors carefully and thoroughly prepares parent visa applications, and we can draw on our family law expertise where the circumstances require it.
You can contact us through the Reeds Solicitors contact page on our website, by calling 0333 240 7373, or by emailing [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
A Parent Visa under Appendix FM allows a parent to come to or remain in the UK based on their relationship with a child who is a British citizen, settled in the UK, or holds pre-settled status. It is a separate route from the partner visa and is for parents who have in-person access to and play an active role in their child’s life, but are not in a relationship with the child’s other parent or carer.
No, your child needs to have a qualifying immigration status: British or Irish citizenship, Indefinite Leave to Remain, settled status, or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. If your child only has limited leave to remain under another visa category, they may not qualify. We will check your child’s status as part of our initial assessment.
Access means in-person contact with your child, not contact by phone or video call. The Home Office requires evidence that you have physical contact with your child and that this is either agreed in writing with the other parent or carer, or confirmed by a UK court order.
If there is no written or court-ordered access agreement, the Home Office will look at the evidence of your arrangements very closely. Informal evidence, such as messages, photographs, travel records, statements from the other parent, and evidence of financial support, becomes particularly important. We advise on how to evidence informal arrangements effectively, and on whether a formal agreement should be put in place before the application is submitted.
A Parent Visa is for a parent coming to the UK to be with a child who is already here. A Child Visa is for a child coming to the UK to join a parent who is already here. Both are under Appendix FM, but each has its own eligibility requirements.
Yes, a Parent Visa includes the includes permission to work in the UK. You do not need a separate work visa.
An initial Parent Visa is granted for 30 months. It can be extended for a further 30 months. After five continuous years on the parent route, those on the 5-year route may become eligible
The other parent’s support is helpful but not always essential. What matters most is solid evidence of in-person access and active involvement in your child’s life. Where the other parent will not provide a statement, we work with you to identify other evidence that demonstrates the access arrangement. Where there is a genuine dispute, it may be necessary to obtain a court order confirming your access rights. We work alongside our family law colleagues at Reeds in those situations. In some cases, applicants may qualify by demonstrating sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
Get in touch
Information is processed inline with UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy