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Settlement visas for dependent relatives |
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How to join the settled relative you are financially dependent on in the UK
 02 April 2010. It is not a new visa category, as other international media have said, but it nonetheless might come to you as a surprise: the British government will allow you to enter the UK and even settle there if you prove you are financially dependent on the income of your relative settled there. Even the more so if they have become British citizens in the meantime.
Let’s run through the UKBA rules.
You can apply for a settlement visa as a dependent relative if you are related to a person present and settled in the United Kingdom in one of the following ways:
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mother or grandmother who is a widow aged 65 years or over; or
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father or grandfather who is a widower aged 65 years or over; or
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parents or grandparents travelling together of whom at least one is aged 65 or over; or
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parent or grandparent aged 65 or over who has entered into a second relationship of marriage or civil partnership but cannot look to the spouse, civil partner or children of that second relationship for financial support; and where the person settled in the United Kingdom is able and willing to maintain the parent or grandparent and any spouse or civil partner or child of the second relationship who would be admissible as a dependant; or
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parent or grandparent under the age of 65 if living alone outside the UK in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances and mainly dependent financially on relatives settled in the United Kingdom; or
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son, daughter, sister, brother, uncle or aunt over the age of 18, if living alone outside the United Kingdom in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances and mainly dependent financially on relatives settled in the United Kingdom; and
You will need to prove that:
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you are joining or accompanying a relative who is present and settled in the United Kingdom or who is on the same occasion being admitted for settlement; and
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you are financially wholly or mainly dependent on that relative
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you can, and will be accommodated adequately, together with any dependants, without recourse to public funds, in accommodation which the sponsor owns or occupies exclusively; and
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you can, and will, be maintained adequately, together with any dependants, without recourse to public funds; and
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you have no other close relatives in your own country to whom he could turn for financial support.
If you are a child, under age 18:
If both your parents are living and settled in the UK or are applying for settlement, you can join them if:
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your parents live in the UK legally, with no time limit on their stay, or they are applying at the same time as you
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you cannot support yourself financially, are not married or in a civil partnership and are not living independently away from your parents.
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your parents can support you without help from public funds
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your parents have enough accommodation, which they own or live in, where you can live without help from public funds
If only one of you parents is living and settled in the UK or is applying for settlement, you can apply only if:
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that parent has the sole responsibility for looking after you
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or there are special reasons why you should be allowed to join your parent in the UK.
For all of the above, ‘parent’ includes a step-parent where the father or mother is dead, either the father or mother of an illegitimate child and, in certain circumstances, an adoptive parent.
How to apply
To apply, you will need to make your application online on the UKBA Visa Services website
or fill in the UKBA settlement visa application form
and send it to the visa application centre in your country.
You will need to provide the following, along with the completed form:
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Your passport or travel document.
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A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of yourself.
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The GBP 1680 visa fee. This cannot be refunded, and you must normally pay it in the local currency of the country where you are applying.
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Supporting documents relevant to your application.
For any questions regarding the subject covered in this guide,
please register in our forum and post your question under the
appropriate category.
by Federica Gaida - 02 April 2010
Disclaimer: No information on www.foreignersinuk.co.uk shall be construed as legal advice and information is offered for general information purposes only, based on the current law when the information was first displayed on this website.
You should always seek advice from an appropriately qualified solicitor on any specific legal enquiry.
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