UK Visa to Come to the UK for Adoption in the UK

: Written by: Arshad Mahmood; Last Updated: 15 April 2026

Coming to the UK for the adoption visa route involves a child applying for entry clearance from a country whose adoptions are not recognised in the UK, and the child is coming to the UK to be adopted under UK law. Where applicable, the relevant UK authority must have issued the adopters with a certificate of eligibility to adopt.

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Requirements: Coming to the UK for Adoption

A child applying for entry clearance to come to the UK for adoption in the UK must satisfy the following requirements of Appendix Adoption of the Immigration Rules:

Valid Application

A child applying for entry clearance on the Adoption: coming to the UK for adoption route must submit a valid entry clearance application in accordance with the requirements set out in Appendix Adoption of the Immigration Rules. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements of the Adoption: de facto route may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability Requirements

The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability of the Appendix Suitability of the Immigration Rules.

Dependent Child Requirements for the Adoption: Coming to the UK for the Adoption Route

The applicant must meet the following requirements for a dependent child in Appendix Children:

age requirement; and
independent life requirement; and
care requirement.

Adoption Requirements for the Adoption: Coming to the UK for the Adoption Route

The applicant must:

be coming to the UK for adoption by an adoptive parent(s), in accordance with the laws relating to adoption in the UK; and
demonstrate that the adoption is not one of convenience arranged to facilitate the applicant’s admission to the UK; and
demonstrate they will have the same rights and obligations as any other child of the adoptive parent(s)’s family; and
be being adopted due to the inability of the applicant’s birth parent(s) or current carer(s) (or those looking after the applicant immediately before they were physically transferred to the care of their adoptive parent(s)) to care for the applicant and there has been a genuine transfer of parental responsibility to the adoptive parent(s).

The applicant must provide evidence from the relevant Central Authority (see AD 16.4) to confirm a Certificate of Eligibility has been issued if the adoption engages the requirements in:

section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002; or
articles 58ZA and 58ZB of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) order 1987; or
section 58 of Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007.

Financial Requirements for the Adoption: Coming to the UK for the Adoption Route

The applicant must show that they will be adequately maintained in the UK by the adoptive parent(s), without access to public funds. However, where an adoptive parent of the applicant has, or is applying for (and is granted), permission on a route to settlement, the applicant must meet the financial requirement as a dependent under that route.

The adoptive parent(s) must provide evidence of income or cash savings sufficient to show they can meet the financial requirements and:

evidence from income (other than self-employment) or savings must cover the 6-month period immediately before the date of application; or
where the sponsor is receiving maternity, paternity, adoption or sick pay, their income from salaried employment can be shown for either the 6 months immediately before the date of application or the start date of the maternity, paternity, adoption or sick leave; or
where the income is from self-employment, it must be shown for the last full financial year before the date of application, with additional evidence of ongoing self-employment as in paragraphs 7 or 9 (as relevant) of Appendix FM-SE; or
where there is non-employment income, it must be shown to have been received in the 12 months before the date of application, except where specified in paragraph 10 of Appendix FM-SE; or
where property has been sold, and the money received has been converted into cash savings, the requirements in paragraph 11A(d) of Appendix FM-SE must be met.
The applicant must show they meet the financial requirements as set out in Appendix FM-SE.

Adoptive Parent’s Immigration Status Requirements

The applicant must be accompanying their adoptive parent(s) and one of the following must apply:

both adoptive parents are British Citizens, are settled in the UK, or live in the UK and have a right to stay without restriction; or
the adoptive parent has sole responsibility for the applicant and is a British Citizen, is settled in the UK, or lives in the UK and has a right to stay without restriction; or
one adoptive parent is a British Citizen, or is settled in the UK, or lives in the UK and has a right to stay without restriction, and the other adoptive parent has, or is applying for (and is granted), entry clearance or permission to stay on a route to settlement; or
the adoptive parent has sole parental responsibility, and is applying for (and is granted), entry clearance or permission on a route to settlement; or
one adoptive parent is a British Citizen, is settled in the UK, or lives in the UK and has a right to stay without restriction, and the decision maker is satisfied there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the applicant entry clearance; or
one adoptive parent has, or is applying for (and is granted), entry clearance or permission to stay on a route to settlement and the decision maker is satisfied there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the applicant entry clearance.

Eligibility under Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention for the Adoption

If the applicant meets the Requirements for Adoption, but does not meet the suitability or other eligibility requirements (subject to AD 45.2.), the decision maker must be satisfied that refusal of the application would breach Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, because it would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their adoptive family.
Where AD 45.1. applies and the applicant falls for refusal under SUI 2.1, SUI 2.3, SUI 3.1, SUI 4.1, and SUI 5.1. of Part Suitability, the application on the Adoption: coming to the UK for adoption route, must be refused.

Accommodation Requirement

The applicant’s accommodation in the UK must not be overcrowded or contravene public health regulations.

Tuberculosis (TB) Test Requirements

A child applying for entry clearance under the Adoption: coming to the UK for adoption must, if Appendix Tuberculosis of these rules applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Period and Conditions of Grant

An applicant applying for entry clearance to come to the UK for adoption will be granted permission for 24 months.

The grant of entry clearance will be subject to the following conditions:

work is permitted; and
study is permitted; and
no access to public funds.

How Can We Help?

Our specialist team of child visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representation on a fixed fee basis in relation to your entry clearance application for coming to the UK for adoption. Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application for coming to the UK for adoption in the UK will cover all the work of our child visa solicitors on your entry clearance application until a decision is made by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on your application. The casework to be carried out by our child visa solicitors in relation to your entry clearance application for coming to the UK for adoption in the UK will entail the following:

Advice on requirements: Our child visa solicitors will advise you on the requirements you need to meet for your entry clearance application to come to the UK for adoption to succeed.

Advice on documents: Our child visa solicitors will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your entry clearance application to come to the UK for adoption.

Assessment of documents: Our child visa solicitors will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your entry clearance application for coming to the UK for adoption in the UK are in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Completing the application form: Our child visa solicitors will complete the relevant application form for your Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) entry clearance as an adopted child.

Submitting application via Priority Service: Where possible, our child visa solicitors will submit your online entry clearance application via Priority Service to obtain a faster decision on your coming to the UK for adoption.

Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your entry clearance application online, our child visa solicitors will book your appointment with the application centre to enrol your biometrics.

Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist child visa solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the entry clearance application to come to the UK for adoption, explaining that all relevant legal requirements have been satisfied.

Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our child visa solicitors will upload all supporting documents online to support the entry clearance application for coming to the UK for adoption.

Follow-up work: Our child visa solicitors will carry out all follow-up until the decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on the entry clearance application to come to the UK for adoption.

Specialist Immigration Solicitors for Adopted Children

Our child visa solicitors are specialists in entry clearance applications for a child coming to the UK for adoption. As one of the best child visa solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping clients obtain a UK visa to come to the UK for adoption. Our highly experienced and fully qualified child visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and legal representation for your child's UK visa to come to the UK for adoption.

The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients. Our London-based immigration solicitors are available 7 days a week, 365 days a year, offering unwavering dedication and exceptional legal support for a wide range of UK visa and immigration cases. Our team of highly regarded immigration solicitors brings together more than 6 decades of collective, specialised expertise in successfully handling UK visa and immigration applications.

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