Apply Entry Clearance as a Child of a Person With Partner/Parent Visa - Priority Service for a Decision Within 30 Working Days

: Written by: Arshad Mahmood; Last Updated: 14 April 2026

You can apply for UK visa entry clearance to accompany or join a parent who has a UK visa, or who is applying for a UK visa under the parent visa or partner visa category. If your entry clearance application is successful, you will be granted entry clearance, valid until the expiry date of your parents' visa. An application for a UK visa as a child of a person with a parent or partner visa is made under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. You will be able to apply for ILR in the UK at the same time as your parent applies for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

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Free Immigration Advice for a Child Visa Application

Our specialist team of child visa solicitors can provide 5 minutes of free, one-off immigration advice regarding your child's UK visa. Ask a question online to our specialist team of child visa solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our child visa solicitors concerning your child's UK visa.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for entry clearance as a child under this route, you should meet the following requirements:

Applicant outside the UK: The applicant must be outside the UK at the time of the entry clearance application.

Valid application: The applicant must obtain valid entry clearance in accordance with the Immigration Rules.

Suitability requirements: The applicant must not fall for refusal under any of the suitability grounds as set out in Appendix Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules.

Relationship requirements: The applicant must:

be related to the sponsor as a child of the sponsor.
be under the age of 18.
not be married or in a civil partnership.
not have formed an independent family unit.
not be leading an independent life.
One of the applicant’s parents must be in the UK with limited leave to enter or remain, or be being granted, or have been granted, entry clearance, as a partner or a parent under this Appendix (referred to in this section as the “applicant’s parent”), and
the applicant’s parent’s partner under Appendix FM is also a parent of the applicant; or
the applicant’s parent has had and continues to have sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing; or
there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make exclusion of the child undesirable, and suitable arrangements have been made for the child’s care.

Financial requirement: If your parent has a partner visa, you should meet the financial requirement of £22,400 (or above if there are other non-settled children) through the earnings of the UK sponsor, unless an exemption from meeting such requirement applies.

Adequate maintenance requirement: If your parent has a parent visa, you should meet the adequate maintenance requirement to support yourself and other household members without recourse to public funds.

Adequate accommodation requirement: There should be adequate accommodation for the applicant and the UK sponsors in the UK, without recourse to public funds and without the property being overcrowded.

Tuberculosis Test Certificate: A person applying for entry clearance as a child must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Sole Responsibility for a Child Visa

Where one parent of the child is in the UK on a partner or parent visa, and the other parent is outside the UK and is not applying at the same time as the child, the child must prove that the UK parent has sole responsibility for the child. The refusal rate in cases involving sole responsibility for the child is very high, as the threshold for sole responsibility is difficult to meet. The UK courts have defined the sole responsibility as follows:

Sole responsibility" is a factual matter to be decided upon all the evidence. Where one parent is not involved in the child's upbringing because he (or she) had abandoned or abdicated responsibility, the issue may arise between the remaining parent and others who have day-to-day care of the child abroad. The test is whether the parent has continuing control and direction over the child's upbringing, including making all the important decisions in the child's life. However, where both parents are involved in a child's upbringing, it will be exceptional that one of them will have "sole responsibility.

Adequate Accommodation Requirement for a Child Visa Entry Clearance

The applicant must provide specified evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family own or occupy exclusively: accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if-

it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
it contravenes public health regulations.

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 limited leave to enter as a child. Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application for limited leave to enter as a child will cover all the work of our child visa solicitors until the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) issues a decision on your application. The casework to be carried out by our child visa solicitors in relation to your entry clearance application for limited leave to enter as a child will entail the following:

Advice on requirements: Our child visa solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your entry clearance application for limited leave to enter as a child 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 for limited leave to enter as a child.

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 limited leave to enter as a child 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 entry clearance as a child.

Submitting application via Priority Service: Where possible, our child visa solicitors will submit your online entry clearance application via a Priority Service to obtain a faster decision on your limited leave to enter as a child.

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 explain that all relevant legal requirements have been satisfied for the approval of limited leave to enter as a child.

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 a limited leave to enter as a child.

Follow-up work: Our child visa solicitors will handle all follow-up until the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) issues a decision on the entry clearance application for limited leave to enter as a child.

Specialist Child Visa Solicitors

Our child visa solicitors are specialists in child visa applications. As one of the best child visa solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping clients obtain a UK visa child visa. 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 application.

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.

Meet Our Team of Child Visa Solicitors in London

At Premium Solicitors, our strength lies in the expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment of our child visa solicitors in London. We understand that immigration matters are life-changing events, and our team is here to guide you through every step of the application process with professionalism and care.

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