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Parents of a British Citizen or Settled Child

The parent visa route is intended for a parent who has responsibility for or access to their child following the breakdown of their relationship with the child's other parent. The route is also for applicants who:

  • have sole parental responsibility for their child; or
  • do not live with the child (who lives with a British or settled parent or carer), but they have direct access (in person) to the child, as agreed with the parent or carer with whom the child normally lives, or as ordered by a court in the UK; or
  • (for a leave to remain application) are the parent with whom the child normally lives, rather than the child’s other parent who is British or settled.

If the relationship is irretrievably broken and if you are on a spouse visa, you can switch to a parent route if you have a qualified child. You are still required to meet all the requirements to be able to grant leave to remain under the parent route however instead of meeting the financial requirements as a spouse, you only need to meet the adequate maintenance requirements. The leave is granted under the 5-year route if you are able to meet all the requirements and if there are other exceptional circumstances and you are not able to meet all the requirements of the rules, a leave may still be granted under the 10-year route. You can always switch from a 10-year route to a 5-year route in the future if you are able to meet the rules.

If you need the help of an expert UK immigration solicitor with your visa application, please contact us to get legal advice & assistance.

Requirements for Parent Visa UK

According to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, the following requirements should be met by a person making an application for entry clearance as a parent of a British or settled child:

  • the applicant must be outside the UK;
  • the applicant must have made a valid application for entry clearance as a parent;
  • the applicant must not fall for refusal under any of the grounds in Section S-C: Suitability–entry clearance; and
  • he applicant must meet all of the requirements of Section E-ECPT: Eligibility for entry clearance as a parent. These are:
  • Relationship requirements;
  • Financial requirements; and
  • English language requirement.

You must also meet all the other eligibility requirements. Please contact us for initial assessment to determine your eligibility, and to discuss the options.

UK Parent visa extension

If you are already in the UK with leave to enter or remain as a parent of a child who is British or settled in the UK, you can apply for renewal of your leave to remain. The application for renewal of leave to remain as a parent is made online using the application form FLR (FP).

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