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You can apply to live in the UK to care for your child.

Your child must either:

• be under 18 on the date you apply
• have been under 18 when you were first granted leave

Your child must:

• live with you, unless they鈥檙e living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university
• not be married or in a civil partnership

Your child must be living in the UK. One of the following must also be true:

• they鈥檙e a British or Irish citizen
• they鈥檝e settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence
• they鈥檙e from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021
• if you鈥檙e applying in the UK, they must have lived in the UK for 7 years continuously and it would not be reasonable for them to leave

Parental responsibility

You need to have sole or shared parental responsibility for your child.

If you share parental responsibility, the child鈥檚 other parent must not be your partner. They must also either:

• be a British or Irish citizen
• have settled in the UK - for example, they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence
• be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status - they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021

If the child lives with their other parent or carer, you must have access to the child in person, as agreed with the other parent or carer or by a court order.

What you鈥檒l need to prove

You must be able to prove that you鈥檙e taking an active role in your child鈥檚 upbringing and you plan to continue after you apply.

Send evidence that:

• comes from the government, school, court or a medical professional
• shows you鈥檙e living with or caring for your child
• is less than 4 years old

You can use things like:

• a letter from your child鈥檚 school confirming you take them to school or go to parent evenings
• a letter to your address from the local authority confirming your child鈥檚 school
• a letter from your child鈥檚 doctor, dentist, or health visitor confirming that you take them to appointments
• court order paperwork confirming that your child lives with you or that you鈥檙e taking an active role in their upbringing

If you do not have any evidence that meets this criteria, there is other evidence you can provide instead. However, it鈥檚 less likely that you鈥檒l be given a visa in this case.

Other evidence you can provide includes:

• a parental agreement drafted by a solicitor and signed by you and the child鈥檚 other parent
• a letter from HMRC confirming that you鈥檙e claiming Child Tax Credit
• social services paperwork confirming that you spend time with your child, or that you鈥檙e applying for access

Things like greetings cards, photographs and text or social media messages are not considered strong evidence of your role in your child鈥檚 upbringing and are unlikely to help your application.

English language and financial requirements

You must also prove you:

• have a good knowledge of English
• can financially support yourself without claiming public funds

The caseworker uses your income and housing costs to check if you can support yourself.

If your child or any other dependants live with you, you must also prove you can financially support them without claiming public funds.

Check the information and evidence you鈥檒l need to prove your income.

If you do not meet the English language and financial requirements you can still extend your permission to stay if:

• your child in the UK is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years
• it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa. After this you鈥檒l need to apply to extend your stay.

If you extend your family visa or switch to this visa you can stay in the UK for 2 years and 6 months.

How to apply

You鈥檒l need to prepare information and evidence to provide with your application.

How you apply depends on whether you鈥檙e in the UK or not.

Outside the UK

You must . You must also complete Appendix 5.

In the UK

You must .

If you cannot pay the fee

You can apply for a fee waiver if you cannot pay the fee because you:

• do not have a place to live and cannot afford one
• have a place to live but cannot afford essential living costs like food or heating
• have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child鈥檚 wellbeing

.

Apply for a fee waiver online from inside the UK.

Get help to apply online

You can get help with completing the online visa application form if you:

• do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device
• do not have internet access

You can only use this service if you鈥檙e applying in the UK.

How long it takes

If you apply outside the UK you鈥檒l usually get a decision within 12 weeks.

If you apply inside the UK it currently takes about 12 months to get a decision.

You may be able to pay for a faster decision.

Applying with other children

You can add other children to your application as dependants if one of the following applies:

• they are under 18 on the date you apply
• they were under 18 when they were first granted leave on a family visa

They must also:

• live with you, unless they鈥檙e living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university
• not be married or in a civil partnership

When you can settle permanently

The earliest you can apply to settle in the UK (called 鈥榠ndefinite leave to remain鈥�) is after you鈥檝e lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a parent.

You cannot include time you鈥檝e spent in the UK on any other visa.

The rules are different if you applied before 9 July 2012.