Partner Visa

If you wish to relocate to the UK to live with your British or settled partner on a long-term basis, you may be eligible to apply for a Partner visa. 

To be eligible to apply for a Partner visa, you must be able to meet the definition of a ‘partner’ – this includes those who are either engaged, married / in a civil partnership or have cohabited for 2 years or more. 

For partners (except fiancés), this visa will allow you to live, work and study in the UK without restriction. 

There are a series of requirements that you and / or your partner must be able to meet to qualify for this visa. These include: a suitability requirement, an immigration status requirement, a financial requirement, a relationship requirement, an English language requirement and an adequate accommodation requirement. 

Partners (except fiancés), who can meet all of these requirements, will be granted a partner visa for approximately 2.5 years and be placed on a 5 year route to settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). If you can meet some, but not all of these requirements, you may still be granted a partner visa for the same duration, but you will be placed on a 10 year route to settlement / ILR. 

Partners (except fiancés), can extend their partner visa for further periods of 2.5 years, providing they can continue to meet some or all of the requirements of this route. Once you have accrued 5 or 10 years leave on a Partner visa, you will, subject to meeting the requirements at the time you apply, be eligible to apply for settlement / ILR.

A Partner visa for a fiancé is granted for 6 months. During this 6-month period, you are expected to give notice of your intention to marry/form a civil partnership in the UK and have your marriage/civil partnership ceremony take place. Once you have married / formed a civil partnership, you may remain in the UK and apply for a new Partner visa – this application should be made before your visa expires. If it is not, you may, depending on the reasons, seek to extend your visa. 

Depending upon your ability to meet the requirements of this route as a fiancé, the costs and timescales involved and your future plans, you may instead wish to consider applying for a Marriage Visitor visa.

You may apply to bring your children with you to the UK as dependants on your Partner visa, provided that they are under 18 when they apply and are not living independently from you. 

You may switch to a Partner visa if you are already residing lawfully in the UK and providing you are not in the UK as a visitor or with valid leave granted for a period of 6 months or less (unless that leave is as a fiancé). 

We can advise you of the requirements for a Partner visa and assist you in making the visa application. 

Parent Visa

If your child is living in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a Parent visa to enable you to stay in the UK long-term and play an active role in your child’s upbringing. 

To be eligible to apply for this visa, you will either need to have sole responsibility for your UK based child or have direct (face-to-face) contact with them. 

Your child will also need to hold a certain type of immigration status. Which status will depend on whether you are making your Parent visa application from inside or outside of the UK. If you are applying from outside of the UK, your UK based child must either be British, have Indefinite Leave to Remain or have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. If you are applying from inside of the UK, your child must either be British, settled or have lived continuously in the UK for at least 7 years at the date of application. 

There are also further eligibility requirements to meet depending on who the child normally lives with, a financial requirement and an English language requirement. A Parent visa will allow you to stay in the UK with your child for an initial period of around 2 and a half years. You may then apply to extend your parent visa for a further period of around 2 and a half years.

It is possible to apply to bring your other children with you to the UK as dependants on your Parent visa, provided that they are under 18 when you make your application. 

If you are already residing in the UK, it may be possible for you to apply to switch into the Parent visa category. 

Parent visas do lead to settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain the UK. 

However, parents must complete a minimum of 5 years in this visa category before being able to make an application for ILR. If you cannot meet all of the requirements for a Parent visa at the initial application or extension stage, you may be required to spend a minimum of 10 years in this visa category before being able to qualify for ILR. 

We can advise you of the requirements for a Parent visa and assist you in making the visa application. 

Adult Dependent Relative Visa

The Adult Dependent Relative visa enables those who require long-term personal care, to join their close family member residing in the UK. 

To be eligible to apply for an Adult Dependent Relative visa, you must be outside of the UK and be able to prove that you need long-term care to meet your daily living needs. The care you require must be on account of illness, disability or your age. You will also need to demonstrate that you cannot get the care you require in the country you currently live in, either because it is not available there or because you cannot afford it. 

You must also be able to evidence that your UK based family member/sponsor will financially support you, care for you and accommodate you in the UK without using public funds for a 5-year period. 

An Adult Dependent Relative will be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) if their sponsor is British, holds ILR or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. If the sponsor holds only limited leave to remain (for example, pre-settled status, refugee status or a grant of humanitarian protection) then the applicant will instead be granted the same length of leave as their sponsor. 

It is not possible to switch into the Adult Dependent Relative visa category while you are in the UK. All applications for this visa must be made from outside of the UK. It is, however, possible to extend your Adult 

Dependent Relative visa. 

Adult Dependent Relative visas do lead to settlement / ILR in the UK. Applicants can apply for ILR when their sponsor applies for or has obtained ILR. 

We can advise you of the requirements for an Adult Dependent Relative visa and assist you in making the visa application. 

Bereaved Partner Visa

If you are in the UK on a Partner visa and your UK partner (sponsor) dies, there is a provision in the Immigration Rules that may allow you to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. 

In order to apply for ILR as a Bereaved partner, you must have been living together with your partner (sponsor) in the UK before they died and have intended to live together permanently in the UK. 

We can advise you of the requirements for a Bereaved partner visa and assist you in making the visa application. 

Victim of Domestic Abuse Visa

If you are in the UK on a Partner visa and your relationship breaks down due to domestic abuse, there is a provision in the Immigration Rules that may allow you to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. 

Our immigration team can advise you of the requirements for a Victim of domestic abuse visa and assist you in making the visa application. 

Ancestry Visa

If you are a Commonwealth citizen aged 17 or over and have at least one grandparent who was born in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for an Ancestry visa. 

To be eligible to apply for this visa, you must be able and intend to work in the UK and must have sufficient funds to support yourself for the duration of your visa, without relying on public funds.

An Ancestry visa is granted for a period of 5 years. Holders of this visa may work and study in the UK without restriction. 

Your partner may join you in the UK as a dependant on your Ancestry visa, providing you are married or in a civil partnership or have been living together for a period of 2 years or longer. Children may also apply as dependants, providing they are under the age of 18 and not living independently from you. 

It is not possible to switch into the Ancestry visa category while you are in the UK. All applications for an Ancestry visa must be made from outside of the UK. 

The Ancestry visa does lead to settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. Applicants are eligible to apply for ILR at the end of their 5-year visa, providing they can meet all of the relevant requirements.

We can advise you of the requirements for an Ancestry visa and assist you in making the visa application.