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UK immigration rules generally allow spouses, unmarried partners, fiancés, and dependent children to join a person who is either a British citizen or has settled status in the United Kingdom. Our immigration lawyers have extensive experience advising clients concerning UK family visa applications.
Our expert UK family visa solicitors can help with all types of UK family visa applications, including switching to a family visa and an extension of a family visa.
Our highly experienced immigration solicitors based in Manchester, can provide free general immigration advice online via email, online chat, or an enquiry form. For detailed professional advice, please book an appointment with our expert immigration solicitor today.
A range of UK Family visas allows people to live with a family member in the UK for more than 6 months. Our family visa solicitors are experts in dealing with all types of UK family visas, including challenging refusals, appeals and judicial reviews. Below is a list of some common types of family visas:
You can apply for a family visa to live with your:
If you’re visiting the UK for 6 months or less, check if you need a Standard Visitor visa or Marriage Visitor visa.
You can apply to extend your stay with your family member if you’re already in the UK on a family visa.
You can extend at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.
If you’re extending to stay with the same family member, you’ll only get up to 28 days left on your current stay added to your new visa.
You must live in the UK for a certain amount of time before you’re eligible for settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’). Before you extend your visa, check how much time you need to settle in the UK.
You might be able to apply to stay on the basis of your private life if you’ve lived in the UK for many years already.
If you came to the UK on a different visa, you might be able to switch to a family visa to stay with your:
You can switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.
How much it costs depends on how you apply.
Apply outside the UK | Apply in the UK | |
Cost if joining your partner, parent or child | £1,538 | £1,048 |
Cost for each dependant added to your application | £1,538 each person | £1,048 each person |
Cost for an adult who needs to be looked after by a relative | £3,250 | £1,048 |
Let your bank know that a large amount of money will be coming out of your account – otherwise it might cancel your payment.
If you cannot pay the fee, you may be eligible for a fee waiver in certain situations – for example if you cannot afford a place to live or your essential living costs.
You might also need to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.
For each adult (18 or older) it costs:
For each child (under 18), it costs:
If you’re applying from the UK, you may be able to pay an extra £800 for the super priority service to get a faster decision.
You cannot use the super priority service if you’re applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative.
Once you’ve got your decision letter, your biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive.
If you apply outside the UK a decision will usually be made within 24 weeks.
If you apply in the UK a decision will usually be made within 8 weeks of your application date if you use the standard service.
If you use the super priority service a decision will usually be made:
Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays.
It might take longer if your application is complex, for example, you:
You might be able to apply to settle in the UK if you had permission to stay in the UK as a partner when either:
You might be able to apply for a ‘family reunion’ to join a partner or parent who has either:
If you or a close family member started living in the UK before 1 January 2021, you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme. Otherwise, you need a visa or family permit to come to the UK.
Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.
In some circumstances you cannot apply for, or switch to, a family visa.
You cannot apply for a family visa if your family member is in the UK temporarily on a work visa or student visa.
You can apply to stay with them as a dependant instead.
You’ll usually need to leave the UK to apply for a family visa if either:
However, you might be able to switch to a family visa in the UK if you have either:
Excellum Legal Immigration Lawyers have demonstrated their capabilities in serving various applications for Spouse, Fiancée, and Partner visas.
Excellum Legal has extensive expertise in handling all sorts of applications. They will ensure that your application is ready for a favourable result.