Your child may be able to join you in the UK after you receive indefinite leave to remain (ILR), but your settlement does not give them immigration permission automatically. The right application depends on your child's circumstances, both parents' status and the family route involved. Before choosing a form, establish whether your child is seeking settlement on entry, a family visa or permission under another route.
This guide focuses on a child applying from outside the UK. A child already living here may face different settlement requirements, especially if they have existing permission as a dependant.
Start with the child's route
The official child family-visa guide makes an important distinction: where a parent has ILR, the child may need to check settlement eligibility instead of applying for a family visa. It also identifies separate EU Settlement Scheme possibilities. “My parent is settled” is therefore a starting fact, not a complete route decision.
| Your starting situation | What to establish before applying |
|---|---|
| Your child is overseas and you are settled | Whether the child meets the rules for settlement on entry, including the requirements concerning the other parent. |
| The child's other parent is applying for, or holds, a family visa | Which child application fits that parent's circumstances and what permission the child would receive. |
| Your child already has permission linked to a parent's work route | Whether that existing dependant route remains relevant. Do not assume your ILR means the child must switch immediately. |
| There is a possible British nationality or EU Settlement Scheme entitlement | Resolve that question before paying for a visa application that may be unnecessary. |
Write down where your child is now, their nationality, date of birth, any UK permission and the permission you want them to receive. Then record each parent's current immigration status. Those facts are more useful than choosing a form because another family used it.
Check both parents before assuming settlement is available
For an overseas child seeking indefinite leave to enter, paragraph 297 of the Immigration Rules is a key starting point. It includes arrangements where both parents are settled or are being admitted for settlement, as well as specified situations involving one parent. The latter include a deceased other parent and a settled parent who has had sole responsibility for the child's upbringing.
The current rules also contain a separate branch dealing with the other parent's limited leave and serious and compelling reasons. Do not turn that wording into an assumption that any child with one settled parent qualifies. If both parents are alive and share responsibility, identify the exact provision that fits their immigration positions; a mixed-status family may need individual advice.
Paragraph 297 also requires the child to be under 18, not leading an independent life, unmarried and not in a civil partnership, and without an independent family unit. Maintenance, accommodation, valid entry clearance and suitability requirements also matter. Meeting the parent-status condition alone does not complete the assessment.
Keep overseas and in-country rules separate. Paragraph 298 covers settlement in the UK and has provisions for some applicants aged 18 or over with qualifying previous child permission. Those provisions do not make a first overseas settlement application available simply because an adult applicant remains financially dependent on a parent.
Build evidence around the facts the route needs
Start with a short family-status sheet rather than a large unsorted document folder. Include both parents, where they live, their immigration permission, who the child lives with and who makes important decisions. If a fact is uncertain or disputed, flag it rather than writing a confident account that the records cannot support.
These evidence groups are a way to organise your preparation, not a universal application checklist:
| Question your file should answer | Records to consider, where relevant |
|---|---|
| Who is the child, and how are you related? | Travel documents, birth records and documents explaining differences in names or family circumstances. |
| What is each parent's position? | Evidence of immigration status, location and any relevant death certificate, court order or separation arrangements. |
| Who directs the child's upbringing? | Records showing who decides about education, health and other important matters, alongside the explanation of everyday care. |
| How will the child be supported and housed? | The financial and accommodation evidence required by the chosen route, supported by a realistic account of the proposed household. |
| Are the documents usable for this application? | The current form's requested evidence, required translations and any applicable identity or health requirements. |
For a sole-responsibility case, distinguish practical help from parental control. A grandparent may provide everyday care while a parent directs important decisions. Conversely, regularly sending money does not by itself demonstrate sole responsibility. The Home Office settlement guidance examines continuing responsibility and control over upbringing; a custody label alone does not settle that question.
For example, school correspondence may help explain who selected a school and dealt with a significant decision. It should fit the wider account of both parents' involvement. A few messages selected in isolation cannot safely stand in for the family history, and evidence of shared decision-making needs to be addressed honestly.
The family-visa information guide covers identity, immigration history and family information, and requires certified translations for documents that are not in English or Welsh. Use the requirements for your actual application when finalising the file. This guide is useful preparation for a family visa; it should not be treated as a substitute checklist for every settlement application.
Coordinate the other parent's application separately
If your partner plans to come to the UK with your child, first establish the adult's route. Our guide to sponsoring a partner after ILR explains the partner-route, relationship and income checks that can affect that plan.
Then check how the child's application connects to it. A partner's family-visa application and a child's settlement application are not interchangeable. Do not copy a partner income figure into a child-settlement assessment without checking the applicable rules: paragraph 297 uses adequate maintenance and accommodation requirements, while a family-visa route may involve different financial provisions.
Keep the accounts consistent. Each application should describe the same intended household, care arrangements and parental circumstances, while supplying the evidence required for that applicant's route.
Resolve the uncertain branch before paying
Before submission, compare three things: the permission you intend your child to receive, the rule or route supporting it, and the application form you are about to pay for. Recheck any relevant family or immigration change that occurred while you gathered evidence.
Seek advice from a regulated immigration adviser or qualified solicitor if parental responsibility is disputed, the other parent's status makes the route unclear, or your child is approaching an age or permission boundary. Bring your family-status sheet and identify the unresolved question. That gives the adviser a concrete issue to assess before you commit to an application.
ILR Calculator UK is independent of the Home Office. This article provides general information; it cannot determine a child's eligibility or replace advice on the family's circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child get ILR automatically when I do?
No. Your ILR is your own immigration status, and it does not automatically grant permission to your child. A child may qualify for a separate application, but the route and conditions depend on their circumstances and both parents' positions. Check whether they are applying from overseas or already hold UK permission, and establish whether the intended outcome is settlement or limited leave before selecting a form.
Is sending money enough to prove sole responsibility?
Financial support can be relevant evidence, but it does not by itself establish sole responsibility for upbringing. The assessment concerns continuing control and direction, including important decisions about the child's life. Explain what both parents actually do, who provides everyday care and who makes significant decisions. Supporting records should match that account; neither a transfer history nor a legal custody document automatically resolves the full question.
Can a child aged 18 or over apply from overseas under these rules?
Paragraph 297 requires the child to be under 18. Do not assume financial dependence creates an exception for a first overseas settlement application. Some in-country settlement provisions address applicants aged 18 or over who previously held qualifying child permission, but those are different circumstances. If your child is approaching 18 or has already reached it, obtain a route-specific assessment rather than relying on a younger child's application example.
Do I need to meet the partner visa income threshold for my child?
That depends on the route being used. Settlement entry under paragraph 297 includes adequate maintenance and accommodation requirements; this should not be treated as identical to every family-visa financial test. If your partner and child are applying through a family route, check the financial provisions that apply to those applications. Establish the route first, then collect the evidence it requires instead of borrowing an income figure from another family's case.
Can my partner and child apply at the same time?
There are family circumstances in which coordinated applications are possible, but the correct forms and the child's eligibility depend on both parents' positions and the permissions sought. Establish your partner's route, then check the child's corresponding route and requirements. Describe the proposed household consistently across the applications. Do not assume that submitting them together guarantees matching decisions, simultaneous decisions or settlement for both applicants.
Is a birth certificate and my ILR evidence a complete application?
Those documents may help establish the relationship and your status, but they do not answer every eligibility question. The application may also need evidence about the other parent, dependency, care arrangements, finances, accommodation and other route-specific requirements. Start with the current form and applicable guidance, then check that your records explain the family circumstances consistently. Where evidence is missing or conflicting, resolve the issue rather than assuming two documents are sufficient.
