If you are a parent of a british child with responsibilities for or direct access to your child in the UK, following a relationship breakdown with the other parent of the same child, you may be eligible for the parent of a British Child (5-Year Route) visa. Our specialist family law solicitors at Primus Solicitors can provide expert legal advice and guidance throughout your visa application process.
As experienced solicitors specialising in family law in the UK, we can help you navigate the complex requirements outlined in Appendix FM of the immigration rules. These requirements encompass areas such as adequate maintenance, English language proficiency, and immigration status. Our dedicated immigration, law solicitors offer a no-win-no-fee service, ensuring you meet the criteria for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the 5-Year Route.
What Is The UK Parent Visa?
The Parent of a British Child Visa is a UK visa option designed for parents to live with their British children in the UK. There are two routes: the 5-Year Route and the 10-Year Route. The 5-Year Route offers quicker Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) eligibility, typically taking five years. You can apply for the parent of a British child visa through the 10-year route if you are a parent of a British child and don’t meet all the criteria for the parent visa under the 5-year route in Appendix FM of the immigration rules.
Both routes require meeting specific criteria, including responsibility for a British child, financial stability, and English language proficiency. Legal assistance can be valuable for a successful application.
ILR allows indefinite residence in the UK and eventual eligibility for British citizenship. This visa prioritises and facilitates family unity and stability in the UK.
Eligibility for Parent of a British Child Visa
If you have a child who is a British citizen, you may be eligible to apply to come, remain, or become permanently settled in the UK. This route is designed for parents of British children and is governed by the immigration rules outlined in Appendix FM. To qualify, you must have responsibilities for or direct access to your child, even if you do not live with them due to a relationship breakdown with the other parent.
Our legal services encompass various parent route applications, including entry clearance, extension, switch, and ILR after five years. As specialist parent visa solicitors, we can assist you in gathering and submitting the necessary evidence and documentation to support your application.
The Requirements For Parents.
To qualify for the parent of a British Child Visa, parents must meet several essential requirements:
- Relationship with a British Child: The Parent must have a genuine and documented relationship with a child who is a British citizen or settled in the UK. This relationship can be established through biological parentage, step-parenting, or adoption.
- Responsibility or Direct Access: Parents must have either sole parental responsibility for the child or direct access to the child, even if they do not live with them. This means the parent must be involved in the child’s upbringing and have access rights granted by a court or the child’s resident parent.
- Financial Stability: Applicants must demonstrate the ability to financially support themselves and their dependents in the UK without relying on public funds. Adequate accommodation that adheres to public health regulations is also required.
- English Language Proficiency: Applicants must meet minimum English language requirements unless exempt due to factors like age or a medical condition. This can be proven through various means, including an English language test or academic qualifications.
- Legal Status: Applicants should have legal status in the UK, such as being a British citizen or holding settled status.
Requirements For Children.
To meet the relationship requirement under the parent visa route, your child must fulfil the following criteria:
- Be under 18 years old.
- Reside in the UK
- Be a British citizen or settled in the UK.
Additionally, you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a British citizen or settled in the UK.
- Not be the applicant’s partner.
- Be ineligible for leave to remain as a partner under Appendix FM
You must provide evidence of your direct access to the child, such as a residence order, contact order granted by a UK court, or an affidavit from the child’s UK resident parent or carer. If you do not have sole parental responsibility for the child, you must also provide evidence to show that the parent or carer the child usually lives with is a British citizen or settled in the UK.
Maintenance & Accommodation Requirement for UK Parent Visa
According to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, you must provide evidence to demonstrate the following:
- You can maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependents in the UK without recourse to public funds.
- There will be adequate accommodation in the UK for yourself and/or your family without recourse to public funds. This includes any family members not included in the Parent Visa application but who live in the same household.
Accommodation will not be considered adequate if it is overcrowded or contravenes public health regulations.
English Language Requirement for A UK Parent Route Visa
You must provide specified evidence that you meet the English language requirement, which can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:
- You are a national of a majority English-speaking country.
- You have passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the UK Border Agency.
- You have an academic qualification recognised by NARIC UK to be equivalent to the standard of a bachelor’s or master’s degree or Ph.D. in the UK, which was taught in English.
- You are exempt from the English language requirement if you are over 65 or have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement.
Who Is Considered A ‘Parent’ Under UK Law?
In the context of a parent of a british child Visa, the term ‘parent’ encompasses various categories: natural parents, stepparents, parents of illegitimate children (with proof), and adoptive parents. Furthermore, if a child born in the UK is not British and parental responsibility has genuinely transferred due to parental incapacity, the caregiver may qualify as a parent.
Concrete evidence like a birth certificate or compelling proof of parentage is essential. Meeting the relationship requirement entails either sole responsibility for the child or shared parental responsibility with direct in-person access. ‘Sole responsibility’ means maintaining control and direction over the child’s upbringing and critical life decisions. The critical criterion is authority over the child’s upbringing, regardless of geographical separation. Financial support also counts as evidence.
Requirements for Shared Responsibility and Access
To rely on shared parental responsibility and access, the parent or carer the child resides with must be a British or Irish citizen, hold indefinite leave to remain, settled status, permanent residence in the UK, or pre-settled status under Appendix EU.
Importantly, you and the other parent or carer must not be partners. ‘Direct access’ requires in-person contact, while ‘indirect access’ involves communication through various means. Demonstrating ‘direct access’ can be challenging for those living abroad, so evidence of prior contact arrangements, formal or informal, such as records of holidays or days spent with the child, suffice.
Exclusionary Criteria and Active Parental Role
The parent of a british child Visa route is unavailable to parents’ sharing responsibility in a partnership or in a genuine and subsisting relationship. Evidence of your active role in your child’s upbringing, including letters from schools or healthcare practitioners, is essential. Letters from the Court (with permission), parental agreements, social services paperwork, and HMRC letters indicating Child Tax Credit claims are valid forms of evidence.
While cards, text messages, social media, and photographs are relevant, they are considered less robust evidence. The focus is on demonstrating your ongoing and future involvement in your child’s care, including residential and visiting arrangements and broader care responsibilities.
UK Parent Visa Application Process
To apply for the parent of a british child visa, you must complete an online FLR (FP) application form, pay the Home Office fee and immigration health surcharge, and book an appointment to enrol your biometrics. Before attending the appointment, you must upload all the supporting documents to the online UKVCAS portal. Our expert UK immigration solicitors can guide you through every step of your application process.
Direct Access to the Child
If the applicant does not normally live with the child, they must demonstrate that they have direct access to the child in person, as agreed with the parent or carer with whom the child usually lives or as ordered by a court in the UK.
Evidence of Direct Access
Under the Immigration Rules, the applicant must prove they have access rights to the child by submitting either a residence order or a contact order granted by a court in the UK or an affidavit from the UK resident parent or carer of the child. If the applicant does not have sole parental responsibility for the child, they must supply evidence to show that the parent or carer with whom the child lives typically is a British citizen or settled in the UK.
Switching Routes in The UK Parent Visa
If you have been granted initial leave to remain as a parent under the 10-year route, you can switch to the parent of a British child visa under the 5-year route as soon as you meet all the requirements under Appendix FM of the immigration rules.
What Additional & Supporting Documents Can You Provide?
When applying for a Parent of a British Child Visa, it’s essential to provide comprehensive supporting documents to establish your eligibility and strengthen your application. Here’s a list of the essential documents you’ll need to submit:
Information About The Parent:
- Your full name.
- Date of birth.
- Current passport or valid travel ID.
- Copies of the photo page and any visa or entry stamps in previous passports.
- Copy of your biometric residence permit (if applicable).
- Details of any previous immigration applications you’ve made.
- Details of any criminal convictions (if applicable).
- Information about countries outside the UK where you’ve lived or visited.
- National insurance number (if applicable).
- Your parents’ date of birth and nationality (if applying from outside the UK).
- Evidence of meeting minimum English language requirements.
- Proof of meeting the minimum financial requirements.
- Tuberculosis test results (if required).
- Certified translations of documents not in English or Welsh.
Information About The Child:
- Your child’s full name.
- Date of birth.
- Passport details.
- Details of the child’s primary residence.
- Information about other individuals with parental responsibility for your child, including stepchildren’s other parents.
- Your involvement in your child’s day-to-day life.
- Details of any court-ordered access arrangements.
- Information about the child’s extended family.
- Countries your child has visited or lived in.
Ensuring that you provide these documents accurately and comprehensively will help support your Parent of a British Child Visa application and increase your chances of a successful outcome.
How Can Primus Help?
A Primus Solicitors, our expert UK immigration solicitors, will provide detailed immigration advice and assess your supporting documents. You will have direct access to your case handler and supervisor, and we offer both remote and face-to-face services.
We will submit your immigration application after your approval, book an appointment for you to enrol your biometrics, and prepare our legal representations/cover letter. We will also upload all the supporting documents and provide unlimited chase-up letters to the Home Office. We will keep you updated with every stage of your application.
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Primus’ Parent Visa FAQ’s
Q: What Is The UK Parent of a British Child Visa?
A: The Parent of a British Child Visa is a UK visa option designed for parents to live with their British children in the UK. There are two routes: the 5-Year Route and the 10-Year Route. The 5-Year Route offers quicker Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) eligibility, typically taking five years. Both routes require meeting specific criteria, including responsibility for a British child, financial stability, and English language proficiency. Seek legal assistance for a successful application.
Q: Who Is Eligible for a Parent of a British Child Visa?
A: If you have a child who is a British citizen, you may be eligible to apply for this visa. You must have responsibilities for or direct access to your child, even if you do not live with them due to a relationship breakdown with the other parent. Specialised legal services, such as those offered by experts in family law like Primus Solicitors, can assist you in gathering and submitting the necessary evidence for your application.
Q: What Are the Key Requirements for Parents?
A: To qualify for the Parent of a British Child Visa, parents must meet several essential requirements:
- Have a genuine and documented relationship with a British child.
- Have either sole parental responsibility or direct access to the child.
- Demonstrate financial stability and adequate accommodation.
- Meet English language proficiency requirements.
- Have legal status in the UK.
Q: What Are the Requirements for Children?
A: To meet the relationship requirement under the parent visa route, your child must be under 18 years old, reside in the UK, and be a British citizen or settled in the UK. You, as the parent, must also be a British citizen or settled in the UK. Importantly, you and the child’s other parent or carer must not be partners.
Q: What Documents Are Required for Maintenance & Accommodation?
A: According to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, you must provide evidence to demonstrate that you can maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependents in the UK without public funds. Adequate accommodation that adheres to public health regulations is also required. Ensure you provide the necessary documentation to support these claims.
Q: Can I Switch From a Parent Of A British Child Visa 10 Years Route To the 5 Years Route?
A: If you are in the UK under parent of a British child visa (10 years route), you can apply for switching into parent of a British child visa (5 years route) at any time during the validity of your leave under 10 years route.
