Calderwood House, Montpellier Parade, Cheltenham GL50 1UA
Our immigration solicitors provide clear legal advice on family visa applications for individuals and families who want to join or remain with close family members in the UK. We can advise on eligibility, financial and accommodation requirements, supporting evidence, applications and visa refusals.
Family Visa Advice
Time apart from a partner or child can make a visa application feel much more than an administrative task. You may be trying to arrange a home, keep a family together or decide when it is safe to make travel plans. Our immigration solicitors help you understand the available family visa routes and the evidence each requires. We begin with your relationships, the UK family member's status and any existing permission, so you have a clear explanation of your options before committing to an application.
We can prepare or review the application, check financial and relationship documents and explain any issue that needs legal representations. Our work includes coordinating applications for several family members, dealing with previous refusals and planning extensions. You receive practical legal advice about the requirements, likely costs and next steps, with time to address missing evidence before submission. We also explain if a dependant route, settlement or nationality application is more appropriate for someone in your family.
Family visa routes allow eligible applicants to join or remain with qualifying relatives in the UK. Most provide permission for more than six months; the fiancé route initially provides six months for the ceremony. It can cover a spouse or partner, fiancé or proposed civil partner, parent, child or adult dependent relative. It is different from applying as the dependant of someone who is temporarily in the UK on a work or student route.
Each route has separate rules on relationship, immigration status, finances, accommodation, English language and previous immigration history. Applying under the wrong category can lead to an invalid application or refusal, even where the family relationship itself is genuine.
A family application may be rejected as invalid or refused if the wrong route is used, a required step is missed or the evidence does not meet the rule being relied upon. A genuine family relationship does not by itself overcome problems with sponsor status, finances, accommodation, English language or immigration suitability.
We identify these issues before submission and explain if the standard family route, a human-rights application or a different immigration category is the more appropriate approach.
We review the family circumstances and immigration history before preparing a route-specific document list. We can check civil-status documents, financial evidence, accommodation, English-language evidence and records showing the family relationship, then complete or review the form and supporting representations.
We also advise on extensions and refusals. In spouse visa applications, we check the marriage and financial category together; unmarried partner cases require evidence of the durable relationship as well as the other eligibility requirements.
Costs can include a Home Office application fee for each applicant, the Immigration Health Surcharge for each year of limited permission, an approved English test, certified translations and an optional priority service where available. At 15 September 2026, the main family-route fee is £2,064 outside the UK or £1,407 inside the UK. The health surcharge is usually £1,035 per adult per year and £776 per child per year, calculated against the length of permission.
Some family and human-rights applications may qualify for a Home Office fee waiver where the financial conditions are met. Our legal fee is separate and depends on the route, the number of applicants, the evidence and any previous refusal or complicating issue. We will confirm the work covered and the legal fee before substantive work begins.
We begin with the route and eligibility rules, then build the evidence around the points the Home Office must decide. This avoids a generic bundle that contains many documents but does not prove the required facts.
Family Visa FAQs
Answers about routes, evidence, applications from inside and outside the UK, charges and refusals.
The routes include eligible spouses, partners, fiancés, parents, children and adult dependent relatives. The UK family member must hold the status required by the route. We check the precise relationship and status before selecting the form. Joining a parent, joining a partner and bringing an adult relative for care involve different eligibility tests and cannot simply use the same evidence.
No. A family visa normally relates to a British, Irish, settled or otherwise qualifying family member. A partner or child joining someone on a temporary work or study route will usually apply as that person's dependant. The sponsor’s grant letter is a useful starting point. It can determine the application route, permitted length of stay and if dependants are allowed at all; the everyday description “family visa” is not enough.
This depends on your current permission. Visitors and people granted permission for six months or less usually need to leave the UK, subject to limited exceptions. We review your current grant and expiry date before advising. An in-time application may protect existing permission only if the relevant legal conditions are met, so a contact enquiry or draft form is not a substitute for a valid application.
The documents depend on the route and can include passports, civil-status records, relationship evidence, financial documents, accommodation, English-language evidence and earlier immigration decisions. The financial category determines the required documents and dates. We check translations, consistency between forms and records, and any previous decisions so significant gaps can be addressed before the application is submitted.
Children can often apply as dependants if they meet the age, relationship and dependency requirements. Each child normally needs an application and pays the relevant charges. The position of the other parent and the proposed care arrangements can also matter. We assess each child individually, including nationality or settlement options, before coordinating applications for the household.
The total can include the application fee, Immigration Health Surcharge, tests, translations, priority processing and legal advice. The exact total depends on the route, where the application is made, the visa length and the number and ages of applicants. For example, an adult applying from overseas for an initial 33-month partner visa normally pays £2,064 plus £3,105 IHS, a combined £5,169 before tests, translations and legal fees at September 2026 rates.
A waiver can be available for specified family and human-rights applications where paying would make essential living or housing costs unaffordable or harm a child's wellbeing. Detailed financial evidence is required. A waiver does not remove the immigration eligibility requirements. We assess the eligible route and financial evidence separately, including income, unavoidable expenditure and support that is actually available to the family.
The refusal letter should be reviewed promptly. The appropriate step may be a corrected application or an appeal on human-rights grounds. The decision and deadline determine the available route. Keep the refusal, submitted form and full evidence bundle. We compare the decision with what was supplied and assess if the problem is missing evidence, an incorrect application of the rules or a requirement the family does not meet.
Many family routes can lead to indefinite leave to remain after the required period, but the qualifying period and requirements differ. Time on another route may not count. Your grant letter matters because it identifies the permission actually given. We review the qualifying route and expiry dates rather than assume every family grant starts the same five-year settlement period.
You can apply yourself. Legal advice can be useful where the financial rules, sponsor status, children’s arrangements or immigration history are complicated. We explain the eligibility issues and evidence needed, then agree if the work involves an initial assessment, document review or preparation of the full application.
Arrange a telephone call or visit our Cheltenham office by appointment. We will discuss your circumstances, any deadline and the legal work required, then explain the scope and fees before proceeding.
Call 0330 900 0377, email info@pembridgesolicitors.co.uk or request a consultation.
We assist clients in Cheltenham and the surrounding Gloucestershire area, including applications involving family members or applicants overseas.
Pembridge Solicitors
Calderwood House, Montpellier Parade
Cheltenham GL50 1UA
Office visits by appointment.