Your partner or child can apply to join or stay with you in the UK if you were separated when you were forced to leave your country and have been given asylum or five years humanitarian protection; but no British Citizenship yet. Your partner or child are unable to apply if you have a decision on an asylum application pending and you are under the age of 18 years old. If successful, your family members will be given permission to enter and stay in the UK with the same leave as you have been granted.
In order to be eligible your partner must meet the following requirements:
Provide evidence that you are in a genuine relationship with your partner as married or in a civil partnership. If unmarried or not formed a civil partnership, your partner may be eligible to apply if you were granted refugee status or humanitarian protection on or before 9 October 2006 and you have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage or a civil partnership for two years. You both must intend to live together and continue your relationship after you have applied and granted the visa.
Your child must meet the following requirements:
Is under the age of 18 years old
Going to live with you and your partner
Going to be supported by you without recourse to public funds
Not married or in a civil partnership
Not in full-time employment
You are required to apply online for a Refugee Family Reunion Visa and you will need to have your fingerprints and photograph (biometric information) taken at a Visa application centre as part of your application. You cannot apply online if you are applying from North Korea.
If successful your entry clearance visa is only valid for 30 days, therefore if you do not intend to travel till much later it is advisable to mention this on the application form.
If your partner and child are applying from in the UK the following requirements need to be met:
You have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
Your family member is already in the UK and is making their first application to stay with you
They can provide evidence of your relationship before your departure from your home country because of persecution
Applications of this nature are very complex so it is recommended that you seek legal help from an immigration adviser before you make your application. Our team of immigration experts can assist you each step of your application. We will assess the eligibility of your family members, complete the necessary forms and ensure enough documentation is being included with your application in order to submit a thorough application. We will highlight the merits of your case and provide a Letter of Representation in support of your application. We will liaise with the Home Office throughout the process, on your behalf.
To be eligible for a Family Reunion Visa, you must:
Applications for family reunion made in the UK should be made by writing to UKVI and the letter should include the following information:
Contact details in the UK of the sponsor and any representative
Under the Refugee Family Reunion category parents do not usually qualify, however, a child refugee may wish to apply for their parents to join them in the UK under the family exceptional circumstances; using compassionate grounds if their parents were not granted refugee status themselves.
If your parent is not able to care for themselves in their home country it would be advisable to apply thorough the Adult Dependent Visa route, however, other criteria would need to be met. Speak to one of our immigration experts on 020 7887 1916, who will be happy to discuss your options with your further or complete the online contact form and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Here at Alexandra & Spencer, we understand the importance of being close to family and loved ones. As a result, our team of expert immigration lawyers is fully equipped to help you through the process of an application for a Refugee Family Reunion Visa under asylum.
Our services include:
Our highly professional, dedicated and knowledgeable specialists will do all the hard work to make the immigration process easy and understandable so you will be confident about successful outcome.
