Family Members

How to bring your loved ones to Britain

Spouses, fiancé(e)s, partners and other family members can join their loved ones in the UK when meeting certain criteria.

Spouses, partners and fiancé(e)s

If your husband, wife, partner orfiancé(e) is currently settled (or intends to settle) in the UK, you can apply to join them.

To join your spouse, you must show that:

• you are legally married to one another
• you intend to permanently live together as husband and wife
• you are able to support yourselves and any dependents without recourse to public funds
• you are both 18 or older.

To join your fiancé(e), you must show that:

• you intend to marry in the near future (usually within six months)
• you intend to permanently live together once married
• you are able to support yourselves and any dependents without recourse to public funds.

To join your unmarried partner, both you and your unmarried partner must show that:

• any previous marriage has permanently broken down
• you have been living together for at least two years
• you intend to permanently live together
• you are able to support yourselves and any dependents without recourse to public funds
• you are older than 18.

Family members

You can apply to join your parents in the UK if:

• your parents are currently settled (or intend to settle) in the UK
• your parents are able to support you without recourse to public funds
• you are under 18 years of age
• you cannot support yourself financially, and not married and are not living away from your parents.

Note that if only one of your parents is resident in the UK, you will not normally be able to join them unless the parent has sole responsibility for you.

If you are a widowed parent or grandparent aged 65 or over, or parents or grandparents travelling together and one of you is 65 or over, you can apply to join your (grand)child or (grand)children if:

• you are financially dependent on the (grand)child or (grand)children settled in the UK
• your (grand)child or (grand)children can support you without recourse to public funds.

Parents or grandparents under the age of 65 may also qualify if they satisfy the above conditions and there are “exceptional compassionate circumstances”.

Similarly, any other relative (sister, brother, aunt, uncle etc) of a person settled in the UK may apply to join them if there are “exceptional compassionate circumstances.

For further details, and how to apply to join your relative visit the UK Visas website ( www.ukvisas.gov.uk ) or contact your nearest British Diplomatic Mission abroad (for a list of all addresses and phone numbers click here ).