UK Family Immigration Program Routes

Visiting the UK

Our work involves working with private clients (individuals), their families and their advisors in choice, advice and filing relevant immigration program applications either in the UK or overseas.

We advise on the legal complexities of family-based immigration applications - to maximize immigration choices—both in terms of lifestyle and opportunities. UK is one of the forefronts in opportunities for relocation.

Our approach is to advise our clients in immigration options that delivers flexibility, possible outcomes including risks. This allows our clients to understand both the short-term and long-term benefits.

Applying to bring or extend your family members in the UK

As Immigration Laws are evolving, the requirements to bring family members to the UK will continue to change and the specified evidence to meet the strict policies are also changing. 

1. In short, a UK partner visa enables your un-married partner, husband, wife, or civil partner to apply for leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK on the basis that they are either in a relationship or is married to a person who is present and settled in the UK.

2. The term is being used both in Immigration Laws and European Laws.

3. A person can hold ILR, Permanent Residency, EUSS Settled Status or British nationality to be termed as a person "present and settled" in the UK.  

Immigration program routes and duration

In summary, a person who is granted a UK partner visa is able to live in the UK for 30 months and a biometric residency card is issued.

Prior to completing the 30 months visa, an extension is then applied and completion of the 5 years or 60 months allows a person to apply for indefinite leave to remain or settled status following the changes.

This will allow a person to live here indefinitely and allow them to a route to become a British national.

Depending on your circumstances at the time of applying for British Nationality, the applicable British Nationality Law will apply. 

1. Those intending to marry in the UK, so the visa category "fiancé visa" is another useful read and further details can be found by clicking here.

2. It is vital to understand the conditions of the visas attached, as this fiancé visa category does not permit employment in the UK unless a switch is made to the correct visa route. 

Those not considering the marriage route should be able to consider the criteria of the un-married partner route, which considers that a couple living together 2 years continuously prior to the date of application are able to apply under the Partner route. The grant of leave to enter or remain is similar. 

Children applications

In reference to children, those who are under the ages of 18 years and the sponsoring parents are here in the UK, would be entitled to apply for the visa to join them or if the sponsoring parents are applying to settle, an application for a child could also be applied for in the UK. 

How we work with you

We understand that you, your family members including your advisors, may wish to explore immigration program options before embarking on the entire relocation process.

In doing so, we offer consultations which can enable us & you to discuss the intent, plan and the future.

Our Lawyers will then write our advice, including details of our legal managed services, to provide you and your family members with end-to-end immigration services. In summary, our services can entail:

1. Application advice and guidance’s.

2. End-to-end application process management, including submissions.

3. Manage the legal matter between us and the Home Office.

Resources & references

The content has been written in line with the following policy law and guidance’s. Any changes are updated in the following:

1. Appendix FM Immigration Rules - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-family-members.

2. Immigration Act 1971 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/77/contents.

Author

The contents on this page has been written by a qualified Lawyer at ICS Legal. We are a regulated law firm in the UK by the Immigration Advice Authority. ICS Legal have been advising & helping our client's since 2006. You can find all our information related to our regulatory bodies here.

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