FAMILY MEMBERS OF SETTLED RESIDENTS AND CITIZENS

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• Family members of certain UK residents and British citizens can apply to come to, or remain, in the UK on the basis of that relationship. Such family members include partners, children, parents and adult dependent relatives.

• Spouse

• Civil partner

• Unmarried partner

• Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners

Successful applicants get six months’ leave to enter. Once they are married, they can apply again under Appendix FM for 30 months’ leave as a partner. They can make this second application from within the UK.

• Parent of a Child in the UK

Appendix FM permits parents living overseas, who have children living in the UK who are British, settled or have EU pre-settled status, to apply for a visa to come to live with them.

• Children

As with other applications for entry clearance, the child must be outside of the UK, make a valid application, and meet suitability and eligibility criteria.

This route is for a person who wants to visit the UK for a temporary period, (usually for up to 6 months), for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends or family, carrying out a business activity, or undertaking a short course of study. Visitors cannot work in the UK unless this is expressly allowed under the permitted activities set out in Appendix Visitor: Permitted activities.

Standard Visitors

• Normal/standard visitor
• Child visitor
• Private medical visitor
• Approved Destination Status Agreement
• Organ donor
• Short-term study
• Academic 12-month visa
• Work-related training
• Permitted Paid Engagement visitor

Marriage and civil partnership visitors

• Up to 6 months
• Ideal for same sex couples from countries which do not allow them to marry in their country of residence.

Permitted Paid Engagement visitors

Permitted Paid Engagement (PPE) visitors are formally invited by a UK-based organisation to carry out specific paid work from a particular profession or area of expertise

Transit Visitors

To qualify for a transit visa or leave to enter on arrival for transit the traveller must show they

• are genuinely in transit to another country outside the common travel area, meaning the main purpose of their visit is to transit the UK (passing through immigration control) and that the applicant is taking a reasonable transit route; and
• will not access public funds or medical treatment, work or study in the UK; and
• genuinely intend and are able to leave the UK within 48 hours after their arrival; and
• are assured entry to their country of destination and any other countries they are transiting on their way there.

British Citizenship Guidance

From 1 January 1983, under the 1981 Act, nationality could be obtained in three ways:

Naturalisation

An application for “naturalisation” is an application by an adult who is not a British citizen to become a British citizen. Naturalisation is, inherently, a discretionary application; one can ask for it, but it is not an entitlement.

Registration

Individuals who do not automatically become British citizens by virtue of the law may still be able to register as British citizens. Applicants are required to provide evidence that they are entitled to British citizenship by applying to the Home Office under certain sections of the 1981 Act.

Applications for registration are most commonly made by children but these registration categories are time-limited: the right to register ends when a child turns 18.

Adults can also register. In particular, this type of registration occurs among adults who would have been born British if nationality laws had not been discriminatory at the time of their birth.

The Home Office will issue a certificate of registration, confirming the date of registration and the statutory provision under which the person was registered. Anyone over the age of 18 at the date of registration will have to attend a citizenship ceremony and swear an oath of allegiance.

Birth or adoption

If you are living in the UK and wish to adopt a child (under 18 years of age)  from overseas you will first of  all need to contact a UK adoption agency who will assess your eligibility criteria..  You should be aware that Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different processes than England and Wales so best to check first.  You need to be assessed and approved by the agency before you can proceed with an adoption of an overseas child.   The process in the UK can take up to  6 months or more. If you are living overseas then you will need to comply with the adoption laws of that country.

Online British Nationality Checker