Indefinite leave to remain (permission to stay as a refugee, humanitarian protection, Discretionary or Section 67 Leave)

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Family reunion

Your partner or child may be able to join or stay with you in the UK if:

  • you were part of a family before you were forced to leave your country
  • you have protection status (permission to stay as a refugee or person with humanitarian protection)

If you formed your family after you left your country, your partner or child must first apply for a visa to join you in the UK. This also applies if they’re not eligible to apply as your partner or child.

Your partner or child cannot join you if:

  • you have not received a decision on your asylum claim
  • you’re under 18

If their application is successful, your family members will be allowed to come to or stay in the UK with the same permission as you.

Eligibility

Your partner and any children must meet the following requirements.

Partner

Your partner is someone you’re in a genuine relationship with. You must be able to prove one of the following:

  • you’re married
  • you’re in a civil partnership

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, your partner may be able to join you if you’ve lived together in a relationship like a marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years in your country you had to flee.

Children

Your child is:

  • under the age of 18
  • not married or in a civil partnership

If your child is aged 18 and over, they can apply as a child if all of the following apply:

  • your child is dependent on your financial and emotional support
  • the parent of the child is in the UK or they’re eligible to come to the UK for family reunion and are planning on travelling to the UK
  • your child does not live an independent life and cannot afford essential living costs
  • your child has no other relatives for support and cannot get support or work in the country where they are living

Apply outside the UK

Your partner or child must apply online for family reunion.

They’ll need to have their fingerprints and photograph (known as ‘biometric information’) taken at a visa application centre as part of their application.

Getting a decision

If they have not heard back after 9 months they can contact UK Immigration and Visas for help.

Choose ‘Something else’ to get to the right contact details.

Apply in the UK

Your partner or child can apply to stay with you in the UK if both of the following are true:

  • you have protection status (permission to stay as a refugee or person with humanitarian protection) in the UK
  • they can prove they had a relationship with you before you fled your home country to get protection

Your partner or child can apply by email or by letter.

UKVI Family Reunion Team acscincountryfamilyreunion@homeoffice.gov.uk


UKVI Family Reunion Team

Admin Team

Level 0

Capital Building

Liverpool

L3 9PP

Providing biometric information and supporting documents

When your family member applies, they’ll be asked to make an appointment at a Service and Support Centre to provide their biometric information (their fingerprints and a photo) and have their supporting documents checked.

Fees

There’s no fee for applying for family reunion for eligible family members.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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