Child Dependant Visa Glasgow: Bring Your Child to the UK 2026

What is the Child Dependant Visa?

The Child Dependant Visa is the immigration permission, granted under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, that allows a dependent child to join or accompany a parent who is living in the UK, or who is applying to come to the UK, on the family route. It is sometimes called the Appendix FM dependent child route or the child visa on the family route. It is not the same as the Child Student Visa or the Child Visitor route: those are for children coming to study or visit independently. This route is for children who are part of a family applying under Appendix FM together.

Leave is granted in line with the parent’s grant. If the parent receives 33 months under the partner route, the child receives 33 months. If the parent extends their leave, the child extends alongside them. The family’s immigration status moves forward together, settling at the five-year mark on the same application cycle. That alignment is why getting each child’s application right from the beginning matters as much as the parent’s.

Our Glasgow office handles child dependant applications as part of the wider family instruction. We act for parents in Glasgow, Paisley, Renfrew and across the west of Scotland who are sponsoring children from Pakistan, India, Nigeria and other countries to join them in the UK.

Who qualifies as a dependent child

To qualify on the Appendix FM child route, the child must meet all of the following conditions on the date of application:

• Under 18 years old (a child who turned 18 while previously granted leave as a child in the same family unit may still be eligible in some circumstances, but this needs individual advice).
• Not married and not in a civil partnership.
• Not leading an independent life.
• Able to be adequately maintained and accommodated in the UK without recourse to public funds.
• Applying to join or accompany a parent who is in the UK on the partner or parent route, or who is British or settled in the UK.

A child who does not meet all of these conditions at the time of application does not qualify on this route and would need a different basis. If your child is approaching 18, timing the application correctly is important, and we advise on this as part of the initial consultation.

The three parental scenarios

The child’s application depends heavily on the parental position. There are three distinct scenarios, and the evidence required differs between them.

Scenario 1: Both parents are in the UK, or applying together

This is the most straightforward position. If both parents are British or settled, or are applying together on the partner route, the child can apply alongside them. The application shows that the child is joining a complete family unit, both parents are lawfully in the UK, and maintenance and accommodation are adequate. Most Glasgow families where both parents are applying for the partner route together fall into this scenario. The child’s application is, in practical terms, an extension of the family file.

Scenario 2: One parent in the UK with sole responsibility

Where only one parent is in the UK and the other parent remains abroad, the child can still qualify if the parent in the UK has sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing. Sole responsibility is a strict legal test. It does not simply mean that the UK parent cares most about the child or sends money home. It means the UK parent has been making and continues to make the primary decisions about the child’s welfare, education and day-to-day life.

The Home Office looks for sustained, documented evidence of that decision-making over a period of time. School records addressed to the UK parent. Medical correspondence. Evidence that the UK parent pays school fees and covers healthcare costs. Regular and substantive communication between parent and child. A history that shows where effective parental control genuinely rests. We build that evidence from what exists, and we advise before you apply whether the sole responsibility test is met or whether a different argument is needed.

If the other parent is deceased, this is evidenced by a death certificate. If the other parent has formally given up parental rights, that documentation is relevant. Where the other parent is alive but uninvolved, the practical evidence of sole control carries the application.

Scenario 3: One parent in the UK, serious and compelling considerations

Where sole responsibility cannot be established because both parents share decisions about the child, the application can still succeed if there are serious and compelling family or other considerations that make it undesirable to refuse the child entry. This is a broader but higher bar than sole responsibility. The Home Office looks at the overall picture: the conditions the child is living in abroad, whether those conditions are harmful or inadequate, the strength of the family unit in the UK, and whether exclusion would produce an outcome that cannot reasonably be justified.

Examples that may support this argument include a child living in difficult or unsafe conditions abroad without the absent parent being able to provide adequate care, or a child with health needs that can only be met in the UK. This assessment is always fact-specific. We advise on whether the argument is available and how to frame and evidence it. It is not a route to attempt without advice, because a poorly framed application on this basis can create a refusal that is harder to overcome than a first application.

Every child needs their own application

There is no family bundle or shared application that covers multiple children at a reduced cost. Every dependent child is a separate applicant, with their own application form, their own biometrics appointment, and their own Home Office fee. For a Glasgow family with two children applying alongside a parent on the partner route, that is two separate applications at £2,064 each in entry clearance fees (April 2026 rate), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge for each child individually.

This matters at the planning stage. A family of four, with two parents applying for the Spouse Visa and two children as dependants, faces Home Office fees of over £8,000 before any professional fees, IHS or travel costs. We give every Glasgow family a full written cost breakdown at the initial consultation so there are no surprises when the forms are ready to submit.

Running the applications together also has practical advantages. The evidence base for maintenance and accommodation is shared, so one thorough preparation covers the whole family rather than four separate document requests. We coordinate the submissions so the whole family’s applications move forward at the same time.

The maintenance and accommodation requirement

The child’s application must show that the family can adequately maintain and accommodate the child in the UK without recourse to public funds. There is no separate £29,000 income test on the child’s own application. The financial requirement for the partner route is assessed on the parent’s application, and the child’s application is assessed against the adequate maintenance standard: whether the family’s income and resources, after housing costs, are sufficient to support the child without needing public funds.

Adequate maintenance is a lower and more flexible test than the partner-route financial requirement, but it still needs evidencing. The Home Office applies the habitual residence level: the household’s net income after housing costs must be at or above the amount the family would receive if receiving Income Support and applicable premiums. We calculate that figure for your household and show the position explicitly in the application, rather than leaving it to inference.

The accommodation requirement follows the same standard as the partner route: the accommodation must not be overcrowded under the Housing Act definition, must be owned or occupied exclusively by the family, and must not involve recourse to public funds. A child sharing a bedroom with siblings or parents is not automatically overcrowded. The test is the legal definition under the Housing Act, and we apply it correctly.

English language requirement

Children applying as dependants under Appendix FM are fully exempt from the English language requirement. There is no test to book, no approved SELT provider to visit, and no certificate to include with the application. This exemption applies regardless of the child’s age, nationality, or educational background. It is one of the straightforward aspects of a child’s application compared to the parent’s file.

Child Dependant Visa fees and costs in 2026

The Home Office application fee for a child entry clearance application is from £2,064 per child, following the April 2026 fee schedule. For an in-country application, the fee is from £1,407 per child. The Immigration Health Surcharge for under-18 applicants is charged at the reduced rate of £776 per year of leave granted, rather than the standard adult rate of £1,035. For a 33-month grant, that is approximately £2,132 per child in IHS.

Additional costs to budget for include the TB test where required (one per child who has lived in a listed country for six months or more), the biometrics appointment at the visa application centre, and any document translation costs. We produce a complete written cost breakdown per child and for the whole family at the initial consultation.

Tuberculosis testing for children

The TB testing requirement applies to children on the same basis as adults. If a child has been living for six months or more in a country on the Home Office TB testing list, a TB certificate from a Home Office approved clinic is required with the application. The list includes Pakistan, India, Nigeria and many other countries. There is no age minimum: the requirement applies to infants and young children as well as older children. We confirm whether the requirement applies before you book a clinic appointment, because booking unnecessarily or missing a required certificate both cause delays.

Document checklist

A child dependant application typically needs the following documents, though the exact list depends on the parental scenario and where the application is made from:

• The child’s current passport.
• The child’s birth certificate, showing both parents.
• Evidence of the parent’s status in the UK: passport, BRP or eVisa share code, or the parent’s current application reference where applying together.
• For the sole responsibility scenario: school records, medical records, financial support evidence, communication history, and any formal documentation such as a court order or death certificate.
• For the serious and compelling scenario: evidence of the child’s circumstances abroad and the considerations that support the application.
• Maintenance evidence: the parent’s payslips, bank statements, and any other relevant income documentation.
• Accommodation evidence: tenancy agreement or mortgage statement, and the property’s bedroom and floor-plan information where overcrowding needs to be addressed.
• TB certificate where required.
• Photographs of the child with the family in the UK, if any have been taken during previous visits.

We issue every family a tailored document checklist for each child’s application rather than a generic list, because the sole responsibility scenario and the both-parents scenario require genuinely different evidence packages.

How long it takes

From outside the UK, the standard processing time is around 12 weeks from the biometrics appointment. A priority service is available at most visa application centres and typically reduces the wait to around three weeks. In-country applications take up to eight weeks on the standard service, with a super-priority service available in some circumstances.

Where parents and children are applying at the same time, we coordinate the biometrics appointments to run together where possible, so the family is not waiting for different decisions at different times. Timing the child’s application so it moves in step with the parent’s is a practical matter we manage from the start.

Extending the child’s leave

The child’s leave expires at the same time as the parent’s, and the extension application follows the same cycle. When the parent applies for the FLR(M) extension before the first 33-month grant expires, the child applies for an extension alongside them. The requirements for the child’s extension are broadly similar to the initial application: adequate maintenance, accommodation, no suitability issues, and the family relationship still subsisting. We start extension preparation around three months before the visa expires and include each child in the review alongside the parent.

One practical point for Glasgow families: if a child was born in the UK after the parent’s first grant, that child will need to be added to the family’s applications at extension stage. We advise on this when it arises.

From child dependant visa to ILR

After five continuous years on the family route in the UK, the child can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain alongside the parent. At settlement stage the child must have lived in the UK lawfully throughout the five years (with absences within the permitted limit), have no relevant suitability issues, and meet the requirements that apply at that point.

Children under 18 are not required to pass the Life in the UK Test or the B1 English requirement that applies to adult applicants on the partner route. This is worth confirming at the time of the ILR application, since rules can evolve. Our ILR service covers the parent and each child in the same instruction, and we track the leave dates for the whole family from the first application onwards.

Once the child holds ILR, they may be eligible to register as a British citizen depending on their age, the length of their lawful residence, and their parents’ status. We advise on registration routes at the appropriate point in the five-year journey.

If the child’s application is refused

A refusal is not always the end of the route. Dependent child applications carry a right of administrative review where the refusal contains a case-working error, and some carry a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on human rights grounds.

The most common reasons for refusal on the child route are a failure to establish sole responsibility with sufficient evidence, inadequate maintenance documentation, or a gap in the relationship evidence between the child and the UK parent. In many cases a carefully rebuilt fresh application is faster and stronger than pursuing an administrative review. We review the refusal letter against the Immigration Rules, advise honestly on which route gives the best prospect, and where an appeal is the right path we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing while we prepare and support the underlying evidence.

Where a child’s application is refused and the parent’s application succeeded, the practical and human situation can be particularly difficult. We treat these cases with urgency and advise on the quickest route to a successful outcome.

Applying with the family: how the applications fit together

In most cases the child’s application is submitted alongside the parent’s, not separately. A Glasgow parent applying for the Spouse Visa from outside the UK will typically submit the partner application and each child’s application in the same batch, using the same financial and accommodation evidence. The applications travel through the Home Office at the same time and, in most cases, decisions are returned together.

Where the timing is different, for example where a child is added to the family after the parent’s initial application, we advise on whether the child applies as a dependant mid-leave or waits to apply at extension stage alongside the parent. The correct answer depends on the specific circumstances and we confirm it before any application is made.

For cross-links to the parent-route applications this route connects with, see the Spouse Visa page, the Parent of a Child Visa page, and the ILR page. If the child is coming to the UK independently on a student route, that is covered separately.

Glasgow families: how we work

UK Visa Assistance is based in Glasgow and most of our family clients are in Glasgow, Paisley, Renfrew and the surrounding west of Scotland. We see families in person at our Glasgow office for consultations and document reviews, and most of the preparation work is done by phone, video and secure file transfer. For Glasgow families sponsoring children from abroad, that means your partner can be in Pakistan, India or Nigeria while you are in Paisley, and the process works without either party needing to travel before the biometrics appointment.

Glasgow has a large and established South Asian community, and many of our clients are families in the Govan, Pollokshields and Kinning Park areas sponsoring children to join a parent already in Scotland. We understand the documentation patterns and the common evidential gaps in those applications, and we prepare accordingly. If you are in Glasgow or anywhere in the west of Scotland and need advice on a child’s application, call us on 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment.

We also act for parents in other parts of Scotland who prefer a Glasgow-based adviser. Our fees are fixed and agreed in writing before any application work begins. There are no hidden charges, and the written quote covers each child separately so you know exactly what each application costs before you instruct us.

2026 rule updates

Home Office fees rose by 6 to 7 percent on 8 April 2026. The child entry clearance fee is now from £2,064 and the in-country fee from £1,407. The Refugee Family Reunion route remains suspended as of this date (suspended from 4 September 2025 under HC 1298), meaning children seeking to reunite with a refugee parent are directed to the Appendix FM route or the Appendix Child Relative route, which have different eligibility criteria. We advise on the correct route at consultation.

The general five-year partner route continues to evolve, and children’s applications are affected by changes to the parent route as well as changes to the child-specific rules. We track changes to both and keep every family’s plan current. An application started now for a family of three or four will cross at least one rule change before it reaches settlement, and we plan for that from the beginning.

How UK Visa Assistance helps

UK Visa Assistance is a Glasgow immigration practice. We prepare child dependant applications as part of the wider family instruction: confirming each child’s eligibility, mapping the parental scenario, building the maintenance and accommodation evidence, completing the form for each child, and submitting alongside the parent’s application. We work on fixed fees agreed in advance, with a per-child quote so you know exactly what each application costs.

To start, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment of your child’s application. We cover Glasgow, Paisley, Renfrew and the wider west of Scotland, and act for families across Scotland whose children are applying from abroad.