Family Visa UK: 2025 Application Guide

What is the Family Visa UK?

A UK Family Visa is needed to join family members in the UK for a period longer than 6 months. There are different types of visas available depending on your circumstances including:

• Spouse visa
• Fiance visa
• Child dependent visa
• UK Ancestry visa
• Adult dependent visa
• Skilled Worker Dependent visa

The above visas cover joining your spouse, fiancee, partner, child, parent, or relative who will provide long-term care for you. There are certain other pathways to become eligible for a Family Visa. You can apply on the basis that:

• Your relationship ended as a result of divorce or your partner is recently deceased
• You can apply as the parent of a British or settled child, or child who has been in the UK for 7 years or more
• Apply under the Ukrainian family member scheme
• Apply to settle in the UK or Extend your family visa
• Find out if your UK Based family member can sponsor your visa application

What are the eligibility requirements for the UK Family Visa?

To make a family visa application, you must meet any of the the following requirements:

• Your family member/spouse is a British citizen
• Your family member/spouse has ILR or settled status
• You have an eligible relationship with an individual in the UK with refugee status or humanitarian protection
• You live outside the UK and your family member who has citizenship, settled status or refugee status is in the UK or you are in the UK on a visa that allows you to switch to one of the family visas.

There are also several other requirements that you and your family member must meet. These requirements are subject to the exact visa you choose. We will discuss some of those requirements below.

Contact IAS today for the latest information on the different types of UK Family Visas that are available for non-UK nationals and how we can help you successfully apply to join your family members in the UK.

UK Spouse Visa

Under the UK Family Visa, partners and spouses are eligible to remain in the UK for up to 2.5 years. After this time, you can apply for a further extension, which will take you to a total of 5 years remaining in the UK.

You may them become eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you have lived in the UK for more than five years.

In order to apply for a Family Visa as a partner or spouse, you will need to adhere to the following requirements:

• You and your partner must be over the age of 18 years old to qualify for a Family Visa
• You must be involved in a genuine relationship
• You must intend to live in the UK (for a minimum of 2.5 years)

If you apply for a UK Family Visa as a fiancee, then your time living in the UK on this visa will be limited to 6 months. During this time, you will have to marry your fiancee, or you may face the risk of being deported as you have failed to meet the visa requirements.

You will also be able to include dependent children in your spouse or fiancee visa application.

In order to be eligible for a fiancee or spouse visa, you will also need to meet the following financial requirements. The sponsoring family member, or together with the applicant if they have permission to work in the UK, have a minimum income of £29,000 earned in the UK. This requirement can be fulfilled in various ways, including solely through savings or in combination with a lower income.

You will also need to meet one of the following language requirements in order to be eligible for a Family Visa in the UK:

• You will have to pass the approved language test
• You have a qualification from an English-speaking course
• You are from a national or majority English-speaking country to qualify for a Family Visa

These language requirements are exempt from individuals who have a mental or physical disability that prevents them from meeting this requirement or are 65 years or older when applying for a Family Visa.

Child Dependent Visa

Children who are overseas nationals can apply for a UK Family Visa either on their parent’s application or as a separate application.

In order to qualify for a Family Visa, they must be under the age of 18 when the application was made. In addition to this, the child must also still be living and a dependent and can’t have formed an independent family unit.

In order to bring children to the UK to live, the parent or carer must also be financially eligible.

Similarly to the spouse visa applications, the child will be eligible to apply for British naturalisation after 5 years of residing in the UK after the Family Visa expires.

UK Ancestry Visa

A UK Ancestor Family Visa is a unique visa type.

Only those with a British born grandparent can apply for an Ancestry Visa.

This allows you to work, live and study in the UK and after the five years are up, you will be eligible to apply for settled status.

Adult Dependent Visa

If you’re over the age of 18 and are in need of long-term care, you may be eligible for an Adult Dependent Visa. This is reserved for individuals who want to enter the UK as a parent, grandparent or adult child of a British Citizen.

You can apply to live in the UK under an Adult Dependent Visa under exceptional circumstances. This Family Visa is reserved for those who are in need of long-term care, which can be provided by your relative in the UK.

Unlike the majority of Family Visa types, the Adult Dependent Visa allows you to remain in the UK indefinitely, as long as the UK relative is a British Citizen or has settled status in the UK. In addition to this, you are able to remain in the UK on this visa if your relative has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

This visa is reserved for special circumstances and is quite difficult to obtain. In order to be accepted, you must satisfy the following:

• You must provide a large amount of evidence that you don’t have adequate care in your country of origin for an Adult Dependent Family Visa
• You must be over the age of 18
• You must be related to the individual who has British Citizenship or settled status in the UK

Family Reunion Visa

Under the Home Office’s Refugee Family Reunion initiative it is possible for family members of refugees in the UK to apply to join them.

The Family Reunion Visa UK requirements mean the person granted refugee status will act as the sponsor for close family members. You will only be deemed a suitable sponsor if you do not have British citizenship status but are lawfully resident in the country and you must be able to provide evidence of the following applies to you:

• Have refugee status
• Been granted humanitarian protection status for at least five years
• Entered the UK under the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Refugee Programme or Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) scheme

PBS Dependent Visa

The Points Based System (PBS) Dependent leave to remain permits the family members of someone living in the UK to live, work and study in the UK. The PBS Dependant Visa is valid as long as the sponsoring visa holder has permission to stay in the country.

The primary visa holder will need to already hold or being applying for a qualifying visa route, such as a Skilled Work Visa, to enable family members to make a PBS Dependant UK Visa application.

Family Visa appeal

There is no single version of a UK Family Visa, rather there are a number of visas that are grouped in this category.

The application process and the appeals process vary depending on the type of visa you have applied for.

Below are the ways that you can appeal a refused Family Visa application (please note that the exact steps will vary depending on the type of visa).

1. Speak with a qualified immigration lawyer to discuss the options available to you
2. Carefully read your letter of refusal to identify what your next steps are (appeal or review)
3. Check the length of time you have to submit your request for appeal or review
4. Address the reasons for refusal so that you can maximise your chances of the decision being overturned
5. If it is possible to request a reconsideration of the application owing to a clear error on behalf of UKVI, this could be an option
6. Submit the relevant documents (where required)
7. Wait for a decision to be issued

Where you receive an unsuccessful decision, it may be more valuable to resubmit a fresh application, although this will mean having to pay the application fee again.

Reasons why a Family Visa might be refused

Some of the most common reasons for having a Family Visa refused include the following:

• The applicant failed to demonstrate how they met the requirements
• Adequate supporting information was not submitted
• The applicant is considered a risk to UK public good or public health
• False or misleading information included in the application

A criminal conviction is likely to negatively impact your feedback from your visa application or your eligibility to naturalise as a British citizen as it goes against the Good Character requirement. For applicants this particular issue applies to, you may be able to extend your leave instead. Contact us today to discuss when you will become eligible for this.

How can IAS help you apply for a Family Visa?

At IAS, we know that being close to family is important and obtaining a Family Visa can ensure that you don’t have to split up from your family. Our team of dedicated immigration lawyers can help you with applications for all types of Family Visas. We will work with you to assess your different options, check your dependent’s status and perform a thorough document check for you.

One of our lawyers will prepare a Letter of Representation, which will provide evidence of the merits of your application and supporting UK immigration laws, to be submitted with your Family Visa UK application.

Your lawyer will also liaise with the Home Office throughout your Family Visa application until a decision is reached and complete your application form using their experienced knowledge. This service will improve your chances of receiving a Family Visa.

You can contact us at +44 (0)333 414 9244 or complete a contact form by clicking on the ‘Contact Us’ button below.