Parent of a Child Visa: Settlement Eligibility and Requirements
In This Article
1. Overview of the Parent of a Child Visa and Settlement (ILR) Eligibility
2. Parental Relationship Requirement for ILR
3. Sole Responsibility Requirement for Settlement
4. Demonstrating Direct Access to the Child in Parent of a Child Visa Applications
5. Financial and Accommodation Requirements in Parent of a Child Visa Applications
6. English Language and Life in The UK Test
7. Proving Continuous Residence for ILR
8. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
9. Frequently Asked Questions
10. Glossary
1. Overview of the Parent of a Child Visa and Settlement (ILR) Eligibility
The Parent of a Child visa enables a parent to join their child in the UK in order to care for them. If granted, you will be on a 5-year route to settlement (ILR). This means that once you have spent a continuous period of 60 months in the UK, subject to the requirements, you may be eligible for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain/ILR). This pathway plays a vital role in family reunification, enabling parents to live with their child in the UK. This article will set out the requirements and guidance relevant to applying for ILR as the Parent of a Child in the UK.
If you are thinking of applying for settlement under the Parent of a Child Visa route, the requirements you need to meet are relatively similar to those you would have had to meet at the initial application and extension stages. This is because you must demonstrate that, at the date of application, you still meet all of the eligibility requirements for leave to remain as a parent in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
Your child must be living in the UK. If your child resides elsewhere, you are not eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the Parent of a Child Visa route, as the visa was designed to facilitate family unification in the UK. As well as living in the UK, your child needs to either:
- be settled in the UK as either a British citizen or a person with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR);
- be applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain at the same time as you.
2. Parental Relationship Requirement for ILR
In order to apply to settle on the basis of your child, you must demonstrate a parental relationship to the child. For immigration purposes, ‘parent’ is defined in Part 6 of the Immigration Rules and includes:
a) a biological parent; and
b) a legal parent, including the birth mother where the child is not genetically related, spouse or civil partner of the birth mother at the time of the child’s birth, and person with a parental order under section 54, or section 54A of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008; and
c) adoptive parent:
i) who, when habitually resident outside the UK, adopted a child in accordance with a decision taken by the competent administrative authority or court in a country whose adoption orders are recognised by the UK; or
ii) whose adopted child has been granted permission under Appendix Adoption, or Part 8 of these Rules, and, if applicable, the adoption has been formally completed in the UK.
As set out above, the definition of ‘parent’ is quite broad and emphasises the responsibility over the child, as opposed to the biological relationship between the applicant and the child. In fact, one of the main requirements you may need to demonstrate is that you have sole responsibility over the relevant child. We will look at this in more detail below.
3. Sole Responsibility Requirement for Settlement
According to the Family life (as a partner or parent) and exceptional circumstances guidance, sole responsibility means that “one parent has abdicated or abandoned parental responsibility, and the remaining parent is exercising sole control in setting and providing the day-to-day direction for the child’s welfare”.
This is reflected in TD (Paragraph 297 (i) (e): “sole responsibility”) Yemen [2006] UKAIT 00049 which held the test for sole responsibility to be ‘not whether anyone else has day-to-day responsibility, but whether the parent has continuing control and direction of the child’s upbringing including making all the important decisions in the child’s life’. To understand more about how the Home Office interprets sole responsibility, you may wish to read our previous article Child Visa Applications: How To Prove ‘Sole Responsibility’.
It is important to note that the Parent of a Child visa can only be granted to one parent who has sole responsibility over the relevant child. If the child has two parents who wish to join their child in the UK, they may be able to apply on the 10-year route to settlement on the basis of having a British child.
The Home Office will take into account multiple factors when assessing if you have sole responsibility over your child. Sometimes there is very clear evidence of sole responsibility such as a parent signing over rights to the applying parent. Other times, you must think about the evidence you can gather to demonstrate that you exercise sole control over the direction of the relevant child’s life, and that the other parent no longer impacts those decisions. The Home Office is aware that it is unrealistic that the child will only receive care from only one adult. They accept that there will be other adults, such as relatives, that offer an element of care towards the child, for example taking the child to school. Providing the applicant has overall responsibility for the welfare of the child, actions such as these are considered to be practical support, as opposed to overall responsibility.
It must be noted that sole responsibility does not only include day-to-day responsibility over the child. The responsibility over the child must amount to sole control in relation to the child’s upbringing, important life decisions and general life direction. The burden of proof is on the applying parent to demonstrate that they do in fact exercise sole responsibility for the child. Examples of evidence can include, but is not limited to:
- evidence of the applying parents role in the child’s education, such as correspondence between the applying parent and the relevant child’s schools or colleges;
- evidence of medical decisions or appointments made by the applying parent;
- evidence of financial responsibility over the relevant child;
- evidence of the applying parent exercising control over the child’s religious practices;
- evidence of any other expenses spent on the relevant child such as extra-curricular activities and holidays.
4. Demonstrating Direct Access to the Child in Parent of a Child Visa Applications
There may also be cases where both parents share responsibility over the child. If you are unable to prove sole responsibility, you may be able to demonstrate that you have direct access to the relevant child. If you and the child’s other parent or carer share responsibility for the child, you must show that you are no longer in a relationship with them. The other parent or carer must also:
- be a British or Irish citizen; or
- have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), settled status or permanent residence in the UK; or
- have pre-settled status under Appendix EU.
As well as the above, you must also show evidence that you have direct access to the relevant child. If the child normally lives with you, then there is no need to demonstrate this. However, your child may be living with the other parent or carer, in which case you need to show that either by agreement between each other or a court order, you have access to the child in person.
5. Financial and Accommodation Requirements in Parent of a Child Visa Applications
As well as demonstrating sole responsibility over the child, you must also show that you have the funds and accommodation to maintain them. The approach to adequate maintenance is set out in the Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative – Adequate Maintenance and Accommodation guidance:
The Upper Tribunal case of Ahmed [benefits; proof of receipt; evidence] Bangladesh [2013] UKUT 84 [IAC] directed the Home Office to evidence financial figures in all decision letters in which refusal was based on inadequate maintenance.
Therefore, decision makers considering an application for entry clearance, leave to remain, further leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain which has to meet a requirement for adequate maintenance must set out the financial position of the applicant/sponsor in all cases that fall for refusal using the following formula:
A – B ≥ C A minus B is greater than or equal to C.
Where:
A is the net income (after deduction of income tax and National Insurance contributions);
B is housing costs(i.e. what needs to be spent on accommodation); and
C is the amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of that size can receive.
Unlike immigration applications under Appendix FM where you need to meet a minimum income requirement, for Parent of a Child visa applications, you just need to show that after your housing costs, you still have enough income to maintain your child. This must be greater than the amount set by the UK government in regards to Income Support. You can check the Income Support amounts equivalent to the size of your family unit.
You can demonstrate your income through multiple ways permitted under Appendix FM-SE such as employment, self-employment and savings. If you are unsure on which type of income you should rely on, please contact our immigration barristers below to discuss your options.
6. English Language and Life in The UK Test
As with most ILR applications, unless you are exempt, then you must meet the English Language requirement, and also pass the Life in the UK test.
There are multiple ways you can meet the English Language requirement. Our article on A Guide to the UK Visa English Language Requirement explains the various ways you can meet this requirement for your Parent of a Child visa application.
Book your Life in the UK test.
7. Proving Continuous Residence for ILR
For ILR, you must show that you have lived in the UK on this route continuously for at least 60 months. You can demonstrate your residence through your employment, social life, family connections and involvement in your local community. Demonstrating this requirement relies heavily on the evidence you are able to provide, and varies on a case-by-case basis.
You may also wish to set out the limited ties you have to your country of nationality, in order to further demonstrate your ties to the UK. For example, explaining that you have no friends or family in your country of nationality.
8. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
For expert advice and assistance in relation to Parent of a Child visa application and/or settlement/ILR applications and compliance, contact our immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or via the enquiry form below.
