If you are married to or in a civil partnership or unmarried partner of someone who is a British citizen or has settled status in the UK, you can apply for a UK partner visa to join them. You must meet certain eligibility requirements for a successful UK partner visa application.
Your partner in the UK is known as 'sponsors'. If you have a child or children, from a previous relationship or marriage you can include them in your application, and they will be able to apply for Entry Clearance as a Child at the same time or even after you have arrived to the UK.

Who is a dependent child?

In connection with these applications, a child who you want to include in your UK partner visa application is:

 Below the age of 18;
 Was born outside the UK;
 You have sole responsibility; or
 You are sole surviving parent; and
 The child is single and not living an independent life

Such a child can be included in your UK partner visa application to accompany you to the UK. However, if your child is turned over the age of 18 years after they were first granted the visa while they were under the age of 18 years they will still be considered to be dependent on you and can be included in your UK partner visa application as a dependent if you apply for the visa from inside the UK.

How to include child dependents on your UK partner visa application?

There can be two situations:

 You may be applying for a UK partner visa from outside the UK; or
 You may already be in the UK on a different visa, and in that period, you got into a relationship with and married a British citizen or one with settled status in the UK, and now you want to switch to a UK partner visa

You can include child dependents on your UK partner visa in either situation. Let us see how:

Applying from outside the UK

If you are applying from outside the UK for a UK partner visa as a partner of a British or settled person, the child will need to apply simultaneously under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

Applying from inside the UK

If you are in the UK on a valid visa and now switching to a UK partner visa, you can include your dependent children. The requirements that have to be met depend on whether the child dependent is below or above the age of 18.

Child dependents born in the UK will get the same leave as their parent.

If your child is below the age of 18

If the child dependent is below 18 at the time of your UK partner visa application, they can be added to your application as a dependent or apply separately. They must also:
 Not be married or in a civil partnership 
 Live with you and not independently 
 Be financially dependent on their parent(s) without state support or claiming public funds.

If you fail to meet these requirements, you may still be able to apply to include the child's dependents if there are compelling reasons for your child to stay with you in the UK only.

If your child is above the age of 18

If your child is above 18, you can include them in your UK partner visa application as a dependent child, or the child can apply separately as well. They must: 
 Have already received permission to stay in the UK when they were below the age of 18 under a UK family visa.
 Not be married or in a civil partnership 
 Live with you and not independently, which means they must not have a home of their own, must not be married, must not have children, and must be supported by parent(s)

Meeting the financial requirement for your child's dependents 

When you apply for a UK partner visa, you must meet the eligibility requirements. And in case you have a child dependent to be added to your application, the financial requirement changes, which is the following:

The minimum combined annual income of the applicant and their partner when there is no child dependent - £18,600 The minimum combined annual income of the applicant and their partner when there is one child dependent - £3,800 plus £18,600, which is equal to £22,400

The minimum combined annual income of the applicant and their partner when there is more than one child dependent – £22,400 plus 2,400 for each extra child  

How can we help?

If you need more information or support when applying to include your child's dependents in your UK partner visa, our immigration advisors can help you. Our dedicated team is always
ready to help our clients when they require support in applying to the UK on any visa route, including a UK partner visa. You can call us at 02034111261 or email us – info@visaandmigration.com