To apply as a partner, you and your partner both need to be 18 or over.

Your partner must also either:

• be a British or Irish citizen

• have settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence

• be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021

• have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa

• have protection status (leave to remain as a refugee, permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection)

• have permission to stay as a stateless person

You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

What you’ll need to prove

You must be able to prove one of the following:

• you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK

• you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply

• you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving

• you’ve been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together, for example because you’re working or studying in different places, or it’s not accepted in your culture

You also need to prove you:

• have a good knowledge of English

• meet the financial requirements

If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner

You must prove that:

• any previous marriages or civil partnerships have ended

• you plan to marry or become civil partners within 6 months of arriving in the UK

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa. If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, you can stay for 6 months.

After this you’ll need to apply to extend your stay.

If you extend or switch to this visa

If you extend your family visa or switch to this visa you can stay in the UK for 2 years and 6 months.

You can apply to live in the UK to care for your child.

Your child must either:

• be under 18 on the date you apply

• have been under 18 when you were first granted leave

Your child must:

• live with you, unless they’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university

• not be married or in a civil partnership

Your child must be living in the UK. One of the following must also be true:

• they’re a British or Irish citizen

• they’ve settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence

• they’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021

• if you’re applying in the UK, they must have lived in the UK for 7 years continuously and it would not be reasonable for them to leave

Parental responsibility

You need to have sole or shared parental responsibility for your child.

If you share parental responsibility, the child’s other parent must not be your partner. They must also either:

• be a British or Irish citizen

• have settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence

• be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021

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

What you’ll need to prove

You must be able to prove that you’re taking an active role in your child’s upbringing and you plan to continue after you apply.

Send evidence that:

• comes from the government, school, court or a medical professional

• shows you’re living with or caring for your child

• is less than 4 years old

You can use things like:

• a letter from your child’s school confirming you take them to school or go to parent evenings

• a letter to your address from the local authority confirming your child’s school

• a letter from your child’s doctor, dentist, or health visitor confirming that you take them to appointments

• court order paperwork confirming that your child lives with you or that you’re taking an active role in their upbringing

If you do not have any evidence that meets this criteria, there is other evidence you can provide instead. However, it’s less likely that you’ll be given a visa in this case.

Other evidence you can provide includes:

• a parental agreement drafted by a solicitor and signed by you and the child’s other parent

• a letter from HMRC confirming that you’re claiming Child Tax Credit

• social services paperwork confirming that you spend time with your child, or that you’re applying for access

Things like greetings cards, photographs and text or social media messages are not considered strong evidence of your role in your child’s upbringing and are unlikely to help your application.

English language and financial requirements

You must also prove you:

• have a good knowledge of English

• can financially support yourself without claiming public funds

The caseworker uses your income and housing costs to check if you can support yourself.

If your child or any other dependants live with you, you must also prove you can financially support them without claiming public funds.

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa. After this you’ll need to apply to extend your stay.

If you extend your family visa or switch to this visa you can stay in the UK for 2 years and 6 months.

You can apply for a family visa to join your parent in the UK.

You were born in the UK

You’ll get the same permission to stay as your parent if you were born in the UK.

You can either:

• be added to your parent’s next application as a dependant

• apply separately

You must:

• live with your parent in the UK, unless you’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university

• not be married or in a civil partnership

If you’re under 18, you’ll need to know what kind of permission to stay in the UK (‘limited leave to remain’) your parent has.

If you’re 18 or over, you can only apply if you have permission to stay in the UK (‘leave to enter or remain’) which started when you were under 18. They must also apply from inside the UK.

You were born outside the UK

Whether you can apply depends on your age and how your parent applied.

You must:

• live with your parent, unless you’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university

• not be married or in a civil partnership

If you’re under 18

One of your parents must be applying or have applied for a visa or to extend their permission to stay as a:

• partner - and the partner they’re joining is your other parent

• parent - and they have sole parental responsibility for you

Otherwise, you might still be eligible to apply if there are serious reasons to let you come to or stay in the UK and there are plans for your care.

If you’re 18 or over

Your parent can include you in their application as a dependant, or you can apply separately yourself.

You can only apply if you have permission to stay in the UK (‘leave to remain’) on a family visa which started when you were under 18.

You must need long-term care from a parent, grandchild, brother, sister, son or daughter who is living permanently in the UK.

You can only apply from outside the UK, unless you’re applying to extend your stay on this visa.

One of the following must also apply to the relative:

• they’re a British or Irish citizen

• they’ve settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence

• they’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021

• they have protection status (leave to remain as a refugee, permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection) in the UK

What you’ll need to prove

You must prove:

• you need long-term care to do everyday personal and household tasks because of illness, disability or your age

• you’re 18 or over

• the care you need is not available or affordable in the country you live in

You must also prove the relative you’re joining in the UK can accommodate and care for you for either:

• the whole time your relative has permission to stay in the UK

• 5 years, if your relative is a British citizen or settled in the UK

They must have enough money to support you without relying on public funds. The caseworker considers their income, housing costs and any care costs.

How long you can stay for

How long you can stay depends on the status of your family member.

If your family member is British, Irish or settled in the UK

Your stay is unlimited. You will not need to apply to extend or settle.

If your family member has pre-settled status

They must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021. You can stay as long as your family member stays. You’ll need to apply to extend or settle when they do.

If your family member has protection status (leave to remain as a refugee, permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection) in the UK

You can stay as long as your family member stays. You’ll need to apply to extend or settle when they do.

You can only apply on the basis of your private life if you’re already living in the UK.

You must be able to prove that you:

• are under 18 and you’ve lived in the UK continuously for at least 7 years, and it would be unreasonable to expect you to leave the UK

• are between 18 and 24 and you’ve lived continuously in the UK for more than half your life

• are 18 or over, have spent less than 20 years in the UK and would have very significant problems living in the country you’d have to go to

• have been in the UK continuously for 20 years

• were born in the UK to a person who has permission to stay in the UK on the basis of their private life, or is applying for it