The parent of a British child visa lets a parent live, work and study in the UK with a British, Irish or settled child. It has no £29,000 threshold — only adequate maintenance. It leads to settlement in five years, and the earned-settlement reforms expressly leave that five years alone.
UK Family Visas
UK Visa for Parents of British Citizens: Complete 2026 Guide
Parent of a British Child Visa Requirements
Your child must be under 18 and British, Irish or settled — or, for in-country applications, have lived in the UK seven years where leaving would be unreasonable. You need sole parental responsibility or direct access rights, adequate maintenance and accommodation without public funds, A1 English, and evidence of an active role in the child's upbringing. There is no fixed income threshold.
The route sits in Appendix FM and is designed for parents who are not in a relationship with the child's other parent. If you are, the partner route applies instead — see our guide to the partner relationship requirements.
The Child's Status
The child must be a British or Irish citizen, hold indefinite leave or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or hold pre-settled status under Appendix EU. In-country applications also reach children who have lived in the UK continuously for seven years where it would be unreasonable to expect them to leave.
Where citizenship came through an overseas adoption, our guide on bringing an adopted child to the UK explains how a Hague Convention adoption confers citizenship automatically and settlement from arrival.
Parental Responsibility: Which Basis Applies
| Basis | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sole responsibility | You control every aspect of the child's upbringing; the other parent plays no active part |
| Direct access | The child lives with a British, Irish or settled parent and you have access, by agreement or court order |
| Not this route | You are in a relationship with the child's other parent — apply as a partner instead |
Source: Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, section E-ECPT and E-LTRPT.
Adequate Maintenance Instead of a Threshold
This is the route's most important difference from the spouse visa. There is no £29,000 requirement and no savings equivalent — you must show you can maintain and accommodate yourself and the child without recourse to public funds. Our guide to the spouse route financial requirement explains what the threshold looks like where it does apply.
In practice that means payslips, an employment letter and six months of bank statements, or self-employment accounts, or savings sufficient for the period. Third-party support is permitted here, with the supporter's own financial documents and a letter confirming the arrangement.
English Level at Each Stage
| Stage | Level | Skills tested |
|---|---|---|
| Initial application | A1 | Speaking and listening |
| Extension on FLR(FP) | A2 | Speaking and listening |
| Settlement | B1, or B2 from 26 March 2027 | Speaking and listening, plus Life in the UK |
Source: Appendix FM; Appendix KoLL paragraph 2.2; HC 1691 of 5 March 2026.
Part Suitability Now Applies to This Route
From 11 November 2025 the common suitability provisions in Part Suitability apply to the family and private life routes for the first time. Until then the family rules stood outside the general grounds for refusal. Criminality, immigration breaches and deception now bite here as they do on work and study routes.
How to Apply
Applications are made online: entry clearance from outside the UK, or FLR(FP) from inside it. Pay the fee and the health surcharge, book biometrics, then upload the evidence. The heart of the application is the parental relationship, not the paperwork around it.
- Identity: a valid passport or travel document.
- Parentage: the child's birth certificate naming you.
- Child's status: proof of British or Irish citizenship, or of settled or pre-settled status.
- Responsibility: court orders, formal access agreements, or evidence the other parent has stepped away.
- Relationship: photographs over time, communication records, involvement in school and health decisions.
- Finances: six months of bank statements with employment or self-employment evidence.
- Accommodation: tenancy agreement, ownership documents or a host's letter.
- English: an A1 SELT certificate or exemption evidence.
- Health: a TB certificate where you have lived six months or more in a listed country.
Proving the Parental Role
The test is whether you take, and intend to continue taking, an active role in the child's upbringing. Documentary evidence from institutions carries the most weight: school reports addressed to you, correspondence with teachers, GP letters, records of appointments you attended.
Alongside that, records of contact and of financial support for the child fill out the picture. Statements from teachers, social workers or family members support the case but cannot carry it, in the same way third-party letters cannot carry a partner application.
Fees and Processing Times
The fee structure matches the partner route, but the waiting times do not — and the difference is large enough to change how people plan.
Fees from 8 April 2026
| Charge | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Entry clearance | £2,064 | Per applicant; was £1,938 |
| Leave to remain | £1,407 | Per applicant; was £1,321 |
| Health surcharge, 30 months | £2,587.50 | At £1,035 a year |
| Priority service | £500 | Where offered |
| Super priority service | £1,000 | In-country only |
| Settlement after five years | £3,226 | Was £3,029 |
Source: Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026.
GOV.UK publishes eight weeks for partner and child applications made inside the UK. For the parent route it publishes 12 months, and notes there is no service standard at all — the figure reflects current volumes. Plan around a year, not around eight weeks, and use priority services where they are offered.
Entry clearance decisions typically take around 12 weeks. Our guides to processing time after biometrics and to chasing a delayed decision explain what to do when a case exceeds the published figure. Costs beyond this visa sit in our Home Office settlement fees guide.
If the Application Is Refused
Refusals on this route concentrate on the parental relationship rather than on money, which is the opposite of the partner route. Our guide to UK visa refusal reasons covers the general grounds.
Common Grounds and What Answers Them
| Ground | What answers it |
|---|---|
| Thin relationship evidence | School and medical records naming you, contact records, photographs over years |
| Responsibility not proven | Court orders, access agreements, or evidence the other parent has withdrawn |
| Maintenance not shown | Six months of statements with income clearly exceeding outgoings, or third-party support evidenced |
| Accommodation | Tenancy or ownership documents, and a host's letter where you live with others |
| Suitability | Address criminality or immigration history directly, with documents and explanation |
Source: Appendix FM; Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules from 11 November 2025.
A refusal engages family life under Article 8, so an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal is normally available — see our First-tier Tribunal appeal guide. Whether to appeal or reapply turns on the kind of error, and our guide to the chances of success after refusal works the comparison through.
Extension and Settlement
The initial grant is 30 months. You extend on FLR(FP) for another 30, then apply for ILR at five years. The extension needs a continuing parental role, maintenance without public funds, A2 English and adequate accommodation.
Settlement Requirements
At five years you need B1 English — B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027 — a pass in the Life in the UK test, a parental relationship that is still active, and no suitability problem. The fee is £3,226.
Absences Are Weighed, Not Counted
A widespread claim puts a 180-day absence cap on this route. Appendix Continuous Residence, which sets that limit, lists the routes it governs and Appendix FM is not among them. What matters instead is whether the parental relationship remained active and the UK remained your home — see our continuous residence guide.
Where EX.1 Opens the Route
Paragraph EX.1 of Appendix FM waives certain eligibility requirements for a parent whose child has lived continuously in the UK for at least seven years immediately before the application, where it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave. It is the provision that carries most in-country parent cases that cannot meet the rules in full.
The family life guidance, version 29.0 of 5 August 2026, is candid that caseworkers start from the position that it is ordinarily reasonable for a child to leave with their parents, and that seven years' residence is what displaces it. Build the case around what those years contain — schooling, friendships, medical care, language — rather than the number itself.
A Ten-Year Grant Can Carry Access to Public Funds
Where permission is granted outside the rules on exceptional circumstances, the route to settlement becomes ten years rather than five. The same guidance directs caseworkers to consider whether to allow access to public funds in those cases — a discretion that does not exist on the five-year route, where the no-recourse condition is mandatory. Ask for it expressly where the family cannot otherwise be maintained.
Earned Settlement Does Not Reach This Route
The earned-settlement consultation closed on 12 February 2026 and no rules have been laid. It expressly carves out people admitted as the partner, parent or child of a British citizen who have held that status throughout the qualifying period: they settle after five years as now, and that treatment was not put out to consultation.
Sources: the parent route pages on GOV.UK; Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules; published in-country decision waiting times; the statement of changes HC 1333 of 14 October 2025; and the earned settlement consultation document. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about the Parent of a British Child Visa
A child under 18 who is British, Irish or settled — or who has lived in the UK for seven years where leaving would be unreasonable, for in-country applications. You need sole parental responsibility or direct access rights, adequate maintenance and accommodation without public funds, A1 English, an active role in the child's upbringing, and to satisfy Part Suitability.
No. Unlike the partner route's £29,000, this route asks only for adequate maintenance: enough to support yourself and the child without recourse to public funds. Evidence is six months of bank statements with employment or self-employment documents, or savings. Third-party support is permitted, with the supporter's own financial evidence and a letter.
Around 12 weeks for an application made outside the UK. Inside the UK, GOV.UK publishes 12 months for the parent route and states there is no service standard — the figure reflects volumes. Partner and child applications in-country are published at eight weeks, so do not assume the parent route matches them.
From 8 April 2026, £2,064 from outside the UK or £1,407 from inside, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 a year — £2,587.50 for the 30-month grant. Priority adds £500 and super priority £1,000 where offered. Settlement after five years costs £3,226 per person.
Yes, without restriction — employment, self-employment or running a business, and you may study as well. The condition that does apply is no recourse to public funds: benefits and housing assistance are not available while you hold permission on this route, and claiming them breaches the grant.
Show that decisions about the child's upbringing rest with you alone. The strongest evidence is institutional: court orders, school and medical records naming only you, and financial records showing you support the child. Evidence that the other parent is absent, deceased or has withdrawn completes the picture. Statements from teachers or social workers support it.
You can continue on the route, extend and eventually settle, provided the child was under 18 at your initial application or most recent extension. The relevant date is when the application was made, not the child's age today. The parental relationship must still be genuine and continuing at each stage.
No. Appendix Continuous Residence, which sets the 180-day limit, lists the routes it governs and Appendix FM is not among them. Absences on this route are weighed rather than counted: the question is whether the parental relationship stayed active and the UK stayed your home across the qualifying period.
Not on the evidence so far. The consultation that closed on 12 February 2026 expressly carves out people admitted as the parent of a British citizen who have held that status throughout their qualifying period — they settle after five years as now, and that treatment was not consulted on. No implementing rules have been laid.