FAMILY LIFE APPLICATIONS

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to respect for family life.

In UK immigration law, the main framework for applications by partners and parents is Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

Many applicants satisfy all of the ordinary requirements and qualify on the standard 5-year route to settlement. Those ordinary partner and parent routes are considered in our separate guides to the Spouse Visa, Civil Partner Visa, Unmarried Partner Visa and Parent of a Child Visa.

This guide addresses a different situation: where an applicant cannot satisfy one or more of the standard requirements but may nevertheless be able to obtain permission because refusing the application would breach Article 8.

This may arise through paragraph EX.1, the exceptional-circumstances provisions of Appendix FM, or another relevant human-rights consideration.

Successful applicants in these circumstances will commonly be placed on a 10-year route to settlement rather than the ordinary 5-year route.

1. What Is a Family Life Application?

A family life application relies upon a person’s relationship with family members and the protection afforded to family life by Article 8.

For partners and parents, the starting point is normally Appendix FM.

Family life applications can involve:

• a spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner;
• a parent and child;
• a child applying with or to join a parent;
• exceptional circumstances affecting other family members; or
• in less common cases, dependency between adult or wider family members.

The fact that a family relationship exists does not automatically confer a right to live together in the UK.

The Immigration Rules seek to balance the individual’s Article 8 rights against the public interest in effective immigration control.

2. The 5-Year and 10-Year Family Routes

Appendix FM provides different routes towards settlement.

The 5-Year Route

The 5-year route is generally available to a qualifying partner or parent who satisfies all relevant suitability and eligibility requirements.

Depending on the route, these may include requirements relating to:

• the family relationship;
• immigration status;
• finances;
• accommodation;
• English language; and
• suitability.

The 10-Year Route

An applicant who cannot meet all of the standard requirements may nevertheless qualify on a 10-year route where the relevant human-rights provisions apply.

This can include cases where:

• paragraph EX.1 applies; or
• exceptional circumstances mean refusal would breach Article 8.

The distinction matters because it affects how long the applicant will ordinarily need to hold qualifying permission before settlement.

Applicants should therefore identify not merely whether their application can succeed, but the route on which permission is likely to be granted.

3. When Can Article 8 Help if the Standard Requirements Are Not Met?

Appendix FM expressly recognises that refusing an application can sometimes breach Article 8 even though an applicant does not meet every standard eligibility requirement.

Two concepts are particularly important:

• EX.1, which applies in specified partner and parent cases; and
• exceptional circumstances, under which refusal would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or another affected Article 8 family member.

These provisions should not be treated as a general discretion to waive the Immigration Rules whenever compliance is difficult.

The applicant must engage the relevant legal test through their particular facts and evidence.

4. Paragraph EX.1 of Appendix FM

EX.1 contains two distinct limbs.

One concerns an applicant with a genuine and subsisting parental relationship with a qualifying child.

The other concerns an applicant with a genuine and subsisting relationship with a qualifying partner, where there are insurmountable obstacles to family life continuing outside the UK.

An applicant does not need to satisfy both limbs.

The relevant provision depends upon whether the application is properly made as a partner or parent.

5. Family Life Applications Based on a Child in the UK

EX.1(a) can apply where the applicant has a genuine and subsisting parental relationship with a child who:

• is under 18, or was under 18 when the applicant was first granted permission on the basis that EX.1 applied;
• is in the UK; and
• is either a British citizen or has lived continuously in the UK for at least the seven years immediately preceding the application.

It must additionally be established that, taking the child’s best interests as a primary consideration, it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK.

The existence of a British or seven-year child is therefore highly important, but the test remains fact-sensitive.

The applicant must also establish that the parental relationship is genuine and subsisting.

6. The Seven-Year Child Requirement

For a non-British child, EX.1 requires at least seven years’ continuous residence in the UK immediately before the application.

The length of residence recognises that a child may, over time, develop significant educational, social and personal ties to the UK.

The assessment should nevertheless consider the child’s circumstances as a whole.

Relevant evidence can include:

• school reports and attendance records;
• letters from teachers;
• medical evidence;
• evidence of special educational needs;
• information about friendships and activities;
• evidence concerning wider family;
• the child’s language ability;
• evidence concerning the proposed country of relocation; and
• age-appropriate evidence of the child’s own views.

A separate Private Life application may also need to be considered where the child independently meets the requirements of Appendix Private Life.

7. Would It Be Reasonable to Expect a Child to Leave the UK?

This is an evaluative question focused on the particular child.

Relevant considerations may include:

• whether the child is British;
• their age;
• length of UK residence;
• education;
• health and development;
• relationships with both parents;
• wider support networks;
• nationality;
• cultural and linguistic ties;
• previous experience of the country of proposed relocation;
• the circumstances of the parents; and
• conditions the child would actually face if they left.

The child’s best interests must be treated as a primary consideration.

The analysis should not be reduced to whether the child could physically live in another country. The question is whether it would be reasonable, in all the circumstances, to expect them to do so.

8. Family Life Applications Based on a Partner in the UK

EX.1(b) concerns an applicant with a genuine and subsisting relationship with a qualifying partner in the UK.

The relevant sponsor categories include, amongst others, British citizens, settled persons and certain individuals with protection status or other specified forms of permission.

The applicant must establish that there would be insurmountable obstacles to family life with their partner continuing outside the UK.

This is a demanding test.

The fact that a couple strongly prefer to live in the UK will not by itself be sufficient.

9. What Are “Insurmountable Obstacles”?

Appendix FM defines insurmountable obstacles as very significant difficulties that the applicant or partner would face in continuing their family life together outside the UK and which:

• could not be overcome; or
• could only be overcome with very serious hardship for the applicant or partner.

The words “insurmountable obstacles” therefore do not require literal impossibility in every case.

Potential factors may include:

• inability of the British or UK-based partner lawfully to enter or remain in the relevant country;
• serious health conditions;
• disability;
• very substantial caring responsibilities;
• a genuine risk to fundamental rights;
• severe practical or legal barriers affecting relocation; or
• a combination of circumstances creating very serious hardship.

Ordinary difficulties associated with relocation will not normally satisfy the test.

For example, disruption of employment, a preference for UK healthcare, separation from friends or a lack of fluency in the local language may be relevant to the overall circumstances but will not generally amount to insurmountable obstacles by themselves.

10. Exceptional Circumstances Under Appendix FM

Even where EX.1 does not resolve the case, Appendix FM contains a broader Article 8 assessment.

Where an application does not otherwise meet the requirements of the Appendix, the decision-maker must consider whether there are exceptional circumstances such that refusal would breach Article 8 because it would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences.

The relevant consequences can affect:

• the applicant;
• their partner;
• a relevant child; or
• another family member whose Article 8 rights would evidently be affected.

This is important because Article 8 analysis does not stop simply because a case falls outside the precise wording of EX.1.

11. What Are “Unjustifiably Harsh Consequences”?

The test concerns consequences that are sufficiently severe to make refusal disproportionate under Article 8.

There is no single exhaustive checklist.

Relevant matters can include:

• the strength of the family life relied upon;
• the likely duration of separation;
• whether family life can realistically continue abroad;
• the circumstances of any children;
• disability or serious illness;
• caring responsibilities;
• dependency;
• inability to obtain immigration permission in another country;
• safety or fundamental-rights concerns;
• practical circumstances affecting relocation; and
• cumulative hardship affecting the family as a whole.

The case should be assessed cumulatively.

Several factors that would not independently establish exceptional circumstances may assume greater significance when considered together.

12. The Best Interests of Children

Where a relevant child would be affected by the decision, their best interests must be treated as a primary consideration.

This applies both in the specific EX.1 child assessment and when exceptional circumstances are considered.

Evidence should address the child rather than simply the parents’ preferences.

Relevant matters may include:

• stability;
• education;
• health;
• emotional welfare;
• relationships with parents and siblings;
• additional care needs;
• nationality;
• length of UK residence;
• wider family support; and
• the impact of separation or relocation.

The fact that a child is British is highly significant, but every case still requires consideration of the actual circumstances.

13. Financial and English-Language Requirements on the 10-Year Route

A major practical feature of EX.1 is that it can provide an exception to specified partner or parent eligibility requirements.

For example, in relevant in-country cases EX.1 can affect requirements concerning:

• immigration status;
• the partner financial requirement;
• adequate maintenance;
• accommodation; and
• English language.

This does not mean that finances or English-language ability become irrelevant to Article 8 altogether. Broader public-interest considerations can still form part of the proportionality assessment.

Applicants who can meet the ordinary requirements should ordinarily do so rather than treating the 10-year route as an alternative chosen simply because it is easier.

14. Immigration Status, Overstaying and Family Life Applications

An applicant’s existing immigration status is important.

Appendix FM contains ordinary restrictions affecting, for example, certain visitors, people with short periods of permission and people in breach of immigration laws.

EX.1 can provide exceptions to specified immigration-status requirements in qualifying cases.

This is one of the reasons the 10-year family route is particularly important for individuals who have established protected family life but cannot satisfy the standard immigration-status provisions.

However, historic immigration breaches remain relevant to the wider proportionality assessment and may affect future settlement.

Anyone who is overstaying or on immigration bail should obtain advice on the precise requirements before making an application.

15. Evidence for a Family Life Application

The evidence should address the legal route relied upon.

Partner Cases

Evidence may include:

• marriage or civil-partnership certificates;
• evidence of cohabitation;
• joint financial commitments;
• correspondence showing shared residence;
• evidence of the history of the relationship;
• witness statements; and
• evidence explaining the practical reality of family life.

Parent Cases

Evidence may include:

• birth certificates;
• parental-responsibility documents;
• court orders where relevant;
• evidence of direct contact;
• school and medical records;
• correspondence between parent and child;
• evidence of financial support; and
• evidence demonstrating an active role in the child’s upbringing.

EX.1 and Exceptional Circumstances

Additional evidence may include:

• medical reports;
• expert evidence;
• evidence about overseas conditions;
• evidence concerning immigration possibilities abroad;
• care assessments;
• evidence regarding a child’s welfare;
• evidence of disability;
• financial evidence; and
• detailed witness statements explaining the anticipated consequences of refusal.

The evidence should demonstrate the actual consequences rather than relying primarily on assertions that separation or relocation would be difficult.

16. How To Make a Human Rights Application Based on Family Life

The application process depends on whether the applicant is applying as a partner, parent or child and whether the application is being made from inside or outside the UK.

In-country applicants seeking permission as a partner or parent will generally use the relevant Appendix FM online process.

Applicants should identify:

• the substantive family route;
• which ordinary requirements are satisfied;
• which requirements cannot be met;
• whether EX.1 applies;
• whether GEN.3.2 exceptional circumstances are relied upon; and
• the Article 8 evidence supporting the application.

A case advanced on human rights grounds should make the legal basis clear rather than leaving the decision-maker to identify the argument from a large collection of documents.

17. Family Life Application Fees and Fee Waivers

As at 7 October 2026, the application fee for a family visa to join a partner, parent or child is:

• £2,064 where the application is made outside the UK; and
• £1,407 where the application is made inside the UK.

An Immigration Health Surcharge will normally also be payable.

For an adult, the current IHS for a 2-year-and-6-month grant is £2,587.50. For a child under 18, it is £1,940 for the same period.

A fee waiver may be available in qualifying family-life cases where the applicant cannot afford the application fee and/or Immigration Health Surcharge.

This can include circumstances where the applicant:

• cannot afford adequate housing;
• cannot meet essential living needs;
• has a very low income; or
• could not meet a child’s needs if required to pay the immigration fees.

The fee-waiver process should normally be completed before the substantive immigration application is submitted.

18. Family Life Application Processing Times

Processing time depends upon the type of family application.

Current published in-country processing periods include:

• approximately 8 weeks for a partner or spouse meeting the standard financial and English-language requirements; and
• approximately 12 months for a partner relying on the private/family-life provisions where the standard financial and English requirements are not met, and for Parent route applications.

There is no formal service standard for some of the latter human-rights-based categories, and processing times can change.

19. How Long Is Permission Granted For?

An in-country partner or parent granted permission on the 10-year route will generally receive up to 30 months’ permission.

Different provisions can apply in certain cases involving a sponsor with a time-limited protection grant.

Further applications will normally be required before settlement.

Where the person already has extant partner or parent permission, up to 28 days of remaining permission can in appropriate circumstances be added to the new grant.

20. Access to Public Funds

Family permission will commonly be granted subject to a no access to public funds condition.

However, for relevant 10-year-route grants the decision-maker must consider whether the applicant should instead be permitted access to public funds.

This may be appropriate where:

• the applicant is destitute or at risk of imminent destitution;
• reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child justify access; or
• exceptional circumstances affecting income or expenditure apply.

An applicant’s financial circumstances should therefore be explained and evidenced where access to public funds is required.

21. Settlement on the 10-Year Family Life Route

Settlement following permission on the 10-year partner or parent route is governed by Appendix Settlement Family Life.

The applicant will normally require a qualifying period of 10 years.

The Rules can permit qualifying time to be accumulated through certain combinations of:

• partner permission under Appendix FM;
• parent permission under Appendix FM;
• private-life permission;
• qualifying permission as a dependent child;
• specified Article 8 leave outside the Rules; and
• in some circumstances, another immigration route that itself leads to settlement.

Different conditions apply where time from another settlement route is relied upon.

Applicants must also satisfy the applicable:

• suitability;
• continuous-residence;
• relationship;
• English-language; and
• Knowledge of Life in the UK requirements.

For settlement applications made before 26 March 2027, the English-language requirement is generally B1 unless an exemption applies. Under the Rules already published, applicants applying on or after 26 March 2027 will generally need B2 English unless exempt.

Settlement planning should therefore begin well before the final application.

22. Wider and Adult Family Relationships

Most Appendix FM family-life applications concern partners, parents and children.

Article 8 family life can sometimes exist between other adult relatives, but the existence of a family relationship does not automatically establish protected family life.

For relationships such as those between:

• parents and adult children;
• adult siblings;
• grandparents and grandchildren; or
• other extended relatives,

there will normally need to be evidence of an unusual or exceptional level of dependency.

This may involve physical care, disability, emotional dependency, financial support, cohabitation or other circumstances extending beyond an ordinary close family relationship.

Cases based principally on this type of dependency are considered in more detail in our Human Rights Applications guide.

Potential applicants should also consider whether a specific route, such as the Adult Dependent Relative route, applies.

23. Refusal and Appeal Rights

A family-life application engaging Article 8 constitutes a human rights claim where the statutory definition is met.

A refusal of a human rights claim will normally carry a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal under section 82 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, subject to applicable statutory exceptions.

A family-life appeal may require the tribunal to determine issues such as:

• whether a relationship is genuine and subsisting;
• whether there is a genuine parental relationship;
• whether EX.1 applies;
• whether it is reasonable to expect a child to leave;
• whether insurmountable obstacles exist;
• whether exceptional circumstances would produce unjustifiably harsh consequences; and
• whether refusal is ultimately proportionate under Article 8.

The evidence available at appeal can therefore be critical.

24. Frequently Asked Questions: Family Life Applications

What is a family life application?

It is an immigration application relying on a person’s protected family life under Article 8. Partner and parent applications are principally governed by Appendix FM.

What is the 10-year family route?

It is a route to settlement commonly used where permission is granted on family-life grounds even though not all standard 5-year-route requirements are met, including qualifying EX.1 or exceptional-circumstances cases.

What is EX.1?

EX.1 is an Appendix FM provision applying in specified in-country partner and parent cases involving either a qualifying child whom it would not be reasonable to expect to leave the UK or insurmountable obstacles to family life with a qualifying partner continuing abroad.

Does having a British child mean I automatically qualify?

No. The relationship and other applicable requirements must still be considered. However, British citizenship is highly significant when assessing whether it would be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK.

What is the seven-year child rule?

A child relied upon under the relevant limb of EX.1 can qualify if they have lived continuously in the UK for at least the seven years immediately before the application and it would not be reasonable to expect them to leave.

What are insurmountable obstacles?

They are very significant difficulties in continuing family life outside the UK that could not be overcome or could only be overcome with very serious hardship for the applicant or their partner.

Do insurmountable obstacles have to be literally impossible to overcome?

No. The definition also covers very significant difficulties that technically could be overcome but only at the cost of very serious hardship.

What are exceptional circumstances?

In this context, they are circumstances in which refusal would breach Article 8 because it would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or another relevant affected family member.

Can I qualify if I do not meet the £29,000 partner financial requirement?

Potentially, depending on the circumstances. EX.1 and the exceptional-circumstances provisions can be relevant where the ordinary partner requirements are not met. The existence of a financial shortfall alone does not establish an Article 8 entitlement.

Can an overstayer apply on the basis of family life?

Potentially. Appendix FM contains human-rights provisions that can apply despite certain immigration-status problems where the relevant requirements are met. The precise circumstances and immigration history require careful analysis.

Can I work on the 10-year family route?

Partner and parent permission generally permits work. Applicants should always check the conditions recorded on their immigration status.

Does the 10-year route always require ten more years from the date I switch onto it?

Not necessarily. Appendix Settlement Family Life allows certain categories of qualifying permission to be combined. The individual’s complete immigration history should be reviewed before calculating the settlement date.