My child is British – can I join them in the UK?

If your child is British, you may eligible to make an application to live in the UK under the Parent route of Appendix Family Members of the Immigration Rules.

Under the Parent route you can live in the UK and eventually apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also known as permanent residence, if you meet the Home Office’s stringent requirements. We outline these requirements below.

1. You must be above the age of 18;
2. Your British child must be living in the UK;
3. Your British child must be under the age of 18;
4. You must meet the parental relationship requirements which are that you either:
   1. Have sole responsibility for your child (and you must be able to evidence this); OR
   2. The parent or carer with whom your child normally lives with is:
   1. In the UK and is either a British citizen, has ILR or permission to be in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme;
   2. Not your partner;
   3. You must not be eligible to apply to live in the UK under the Partner route, e.g., as the partner of a British citizen, a person present and with ILR in the UK or a person with permission to be in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme etc. (again, this means that the parent or carer with whom your child normally lives with cannot be your partner); and
   4. You must have direct access to your child (in person), as agreed with the parent or carer with whom the child normally lives in the UK.
5. You must provide evidence that you are taking, and intend to continue to take, an active role in your child’s upbringing;
6. You must be able to maintain and accommodate yourself in UK without recourse to public funds (and you must be able to evidence this);
7. You must meet the English language requirements in speaking and listening at a minimum level of A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

As above, the requirements to be met under the Parent route are very stringent. You would need to ensure that you are fully aware of, and are able to meet, the requirements in order to submit a successful application.

If you are unable to meet any of the requirements, the Home Office may be able to exercise discretion as they have a primary duty to consider the best interests of the child when making a decision pursuant to Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. If your application is approved, you will be placed on either a 5 or 10 year route to ILR (depending on your particular circumstances).

How Gherson can assist

If you would like to make an application to live with your British child in the UK and would like to discuss your particular circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Gherson’s general immigration team has extensive experience in advising on Family Route applications and immigration matters. If you have any queries relating to the blogs published or are interested in talking to us about your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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