How to include Child Dependants on your UK Partner Visa Application

This article covers the different scenarios when children are involved and need to be considered in a UK Partner visa application. - Partners include:

• spouses
• civil partners
• fiancé(e)s or proposed civil partners
• unmarried partners (couples that have been living together in a relationship akin to a marriage, continuously for 2 years or more)

Biological Children of the Sponsor that are British:

Where the sponsor is a British Citizen or obtained British Citizenship before their child(ren) was born outside the UK, their child is automatically British and the child can therefore apply for a British Passport.  - British Citizenship can only be passed down to a child born outside of the UK if any of their parents was already a British citizen BEFORE the child was born.

If it the case that the parent has Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) before the child was born, it is only if the child is born inside the UK that they automatically become British Citizens.  So if the child was born outside the UK, even if the biological parent had ILR, they would still be required to apply for entry clearance as a family member to the UK.

Including Child Dependants on your Spouse/Partner Visa Application:

All children under the age of 18 of the partner applying for a spouse/partner UK visa can apply at the same time as the main applicant.  Note that for applications outside the UK (i.e., entry clearance), a separate application form must be completed for each child which will be linked to their parent's (the main applicant) application. For applications being made inside the UK i.e. partner visa extensions or switching to the partner route from another visa category (FLR M), the child needs to be added to the application form of the main applicant.

It is important to note that if the Spouse/partner application is successful, the child's visa is not 'automatically' granted. In order for the child's visa to also be granted, some additional requirements need to be met, which are covered further below. 

When granted, the length of their visa will be the same as their parent (the main applicant) i.e. 2 years and 9 months for entry clearance applications or 2 years and 6 months for applications being made inside the UK.

Additional Visa Fees

Each child to be included on the spouse/partner visa application will be treated as an individual applicant with regards to Home Office fees.  Therefore each child's application will cost the same as a spouse/partner visa application which is currently £1,846 (for applications outside the UK i.e., entry clearance). For applications being made outside the UK, the fee is currently £1,048.

Immigration Health Surcharge

As with the Spouse Visa Home Office fee, the IHS fee will also apply to each child, which is currently £1,410 (for entry clearance visa applications) or £1,175 for applications being made outside the UK.

Additional Financial Requirement

For spouse visas being made outside the UK, the Sponsor must be able to show that they are earning or receiving income from employment or other sources or else have significant savings, and that their income/savings is sufficient for themselves, their partners AND any dependants for the duration of their visas.  Where there are children also applying with the partner, there is an increase of £3,800 for the first child, and £2,400 for every additional child to the minimum income requirement of £18,600 gross per annum.