Child visas to the UK: plan each child’s route

Does our child need a visa?

Check any existing British citizenship or other entitlement before treating a child as a visa applicant. One British parent does not by itself answer every nationality question. Citizenship already held, a possible application to register as British, and a visa enquiry are separate questions. Establish the child’s position before selecting a passport, registration or visa application. If a visa is needed, identify the applicable family or dependant route using both parents’ status and the child’s circumstances.

A child joining a parent on a family visa, a child joining settled parents and a child accompanying a work-visa holder may fall under different provisions. Do not select the form solely because an adult has been approved. Compare dependant routes.

What if the British partner is a stepparent?

For the Appendix FM child route linked to a parent’s partner application, the parent’s partner normally must also be a parent of the child. Where that is not the case, the sole-responsibility or serious-and-compelling provisions need examination. A new marriage does not automatically make a child eligible through a stepparent. Other child settlement routes have their own rules.

What matters when one parent is not moving?

Explain where each parent lives, their involvement and who makes the important decisions for the child. Depending on the route, sole responsibility or serious and compelling circumstances may need examination. Consent to travel is a separate question; it does not, on its own, demonstrate sole responsibility.

The evidence should describe the child’s upbringing over time: education, medical decisions, contact, care and financial support. Sole responsibility concerns continuing control of major decisions, rather than simply who pays school fees or has day-to-day care. See Home Office child guidance.

How do age and independence affect the plan?

An initial child application is normally considered while the child is under 18. Some continuation provisions apply after 18 where permission began as a child. The exact route and existing leave matter; an adult child cannot assume they qualify because a sibling does.

Marriage, a civil partnership and an independent household can affect the child category. Full-time education away from home needs to be distinguished from an independent life. Flag an approaching birthday early so the relevant rule and application date can be checked.

Build the child’s evidence picture

• Birth or adoption records and any name changes linking the child to the parents.
• Both parents’ passports, UK status and relevant application history.
• Existing court orders, consent arrangements and a factual account of parental involvement.
• Where the child lives, studies and receives care, and who makes key decisions.
• Proposed UK home, care and school arrangements; record any gaps that need resolution.

Do children change the financial plan?

The current standard £29,000 partner minimum does not add a child uplift; older transitional partner rules can differ. Visa charges and any healthcare surcharge are separate costs for each relevant applicant. Read the financial categories and exceptions and check applicant-by-applicant costs.

What does the existing child case material illustrate?

Move Up’s published child-dependant reapplication account highlights the value of understanding the child’s own circumstances. It is a particular case, rather than proof that another child meets the same route. Include the child’s actual daily life in the account you bring for review.