Bring your child to live with you in the UK

A UK Dependent Child Visa lets a child under 18 join or remain with a parent who is a British citizen, has Indefinite Leave to Remain (settled), has refugee status, or in some cases has limited leave on a qualifying route. The application sits under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules — Section EC-C handles entry clearance from outside the UK, and Section R-LTRC handles leave to remain for children already in the UK.

Five eligibility limbs need to be met. Age is fixed at the date of application — the child must be under 18 — though they will not lose status if they turn 18 between submission and decision. Parental relationship needs documentary proof: birth certificate, adoption order or family-court order. Either sole responsibility or serious and compelling considerations applies under E-ECC.1.6(b) and (c). Adequate accommodation requires a UK home of sufficient size for the whole family without overcrowding (the relevant test is in Appendix FM-SE). Adequate maintenance means the family can support itself without recourse to public funds.

Sole responsibility is the test that defeats most weak applications. The leading authority is TD (Paragraph 297(i)(e): "sole responsibility") Yemen [2006] UKAIT 00049 — still applied today despite predating Appendix FM. The case made clear sole responsibility is a question of fact, not legal status, and not defeated by a relative providing day-to-day care abroad if the UK-based parent retains continuing control over major life decisions: schooling, religion, residence, healthcare, and welfare. Strong applications back this up with school correspondence, financial support records, communication logs and witness statements.

Where sole responsibility cannot be shown, the alternative is to demonstrate serious and compelling family or other considerations under E-ECC.1.6(c). This is a higher threshold and typically applies where the child has lost their other parent, where the carer abroad has died or become incapacitated, or where the child is at serious physical or psychological risk. UKVI applies this strictly.

Where the family relationship is genuine but the application falls outside the Rules — for example a child slightly over 18, or where evidence of sole responsibility is incomplete — Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights may provide a residual route under GEN.3.2 of Appendix FM. Article 8 is not a primary route; it is a proportionality safeguard, and section 117B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (inserted by section 19 of the Immigration Act 2014) sets out the public-interest considerations decision-makers must apply.