Can my child join me if I am a permanent resident of the United Kingdom?

This page explains how your child or children can join you in the United Kingdom if you are a permanent resident here or you have been given permission to come to the United Kingdom to live here permanently.

You may bring your child to the United Kingdom if you can show that:

• you currently live and are settled in the United Kingdom legally, or have permission to come here to settle, with no time limit on your stay;
• you have adequate accommodation where you can all live without help from public funds ; and
• you are the child's parent - this includes the stepfather or stepmother of a child whose father or mother is dead, both the father and mother of an illegitimate child, and an adoptive parent in certain defined circumstances

Your child must show that he/she:

§                           is not leading an independent life;

§                           is not married or in a civil partnership;

§                           has not formed an independent family unit; and

§                           is aged under 18.

Children cannot normally come to live in the United Kingdom if one parent is living in another country, unless the parent living in the United Kingdom has sole responsibility for the child or there are serious reasons why the child must be allowed to come here. The Home Office would require specific documents including court orders to show the sole responsibility and/or other relevant documents.

The application must be made from outside the United Kingdom in a nearest British diplomatic post. The permission must be obtained before travelling to the United Kingdom.

The child will normally be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom permanently from the date he/she arrives if:

• both you and the child's other parent are settled here; or
• both you and the child's other parent have permission to settle here permanently and you are entering the country together with the child; or
• you have permission to settle here permanently and you are entering the country together with the child, and the other parent is already settled here; or
• you have sole responsibility for the child.  

Can my child join me if I have temporary permission to live in the United Kingdom?

This page explains how your child or children can join you in the United Kingdom if you have temporary permission to live here

Children cannot normally come to live in the United Kingdom if one parent is living in another country, unless the parent living in the United Kingdom has sole responsibility for the child or there are serious reasons why the child must be allowed to come here.

You may bring your child to the United Kingdom if you can show that:

• you have permission to come to the United Kingdom to live here temporarily (we call this limited leave to enter or remain) and;
• the child's other parent is settled in the United Kingdom or has permission to live here and is entering the United Kingdom with the child to settle here; or
• you have sole responsibility for the child; and
• you have adequate accommodation where you can all live without help from public; and
• you are the child's parent - this includes the stepfather or stepmother of a child whose father or mother is dead, both the father and mother of an illegitimate child, and an adoptive parent in certain defined circumstances

Your child must show that he/she:

§                        is not leading an independent life;

§                        is not married or in a civil partnership;

§                        has not formed an independent family unit; and

§                        is aged under 18.

Application for an entry clearance must be obtained from outside the United Kingdom and must have the visa to travel to the United Kingdom. To apply, you must do so in the nearest British diplomatic post.

If the child comes here with a parent who has permission to live here temporarily, the child will normally be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for the same length of time as that parent. This will not be more than two years, or not more than six months if the child is entering the country with a parent who is coming here as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner. If that parent subsequently extends his/her permission to stay or is allowed to stay here permanently, the child will normally be given the same permission. 

Can my adopted child come to live in the United Kingdom?

This page explains the additional requirements an adopted child must meet in order to join you in the United Kingdom.

You may bring your adopted child to the United Kingdom if you, or your child, can show that he/she:

• was adopted when both parents lived together abroad or when either parent was settled in the United Kingdom;
• has the same rights as any other child of the adoptive parents;
• was adopted because his/her original parents could not care for him/her and there has been a genuine transfer of parental responsibility;
• has broken all ties with his/her original family; and
• was not adopted just to make it easier to enter the United Kingdom.

To make an application for an entry clearance, this must be done in the nearest British Diplomatic post. The visa must be obtained before the child can travel to the United Kingdom.

In order for the Home Office to recognise the adoption, a foreign adoption order will only be recognised in the United Kingdom if it was made in what we call a 'designated country'. This means a country that is included in the Adoption (Designation of Overseas Adoptions) Order 1973. The current list of these countries can be found on the website of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

If your child was adopted in a designated country, he/she will normally be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom permanently if:

• both you and the child's other parent are settled here; or
• both you and the child’s other parent have permission to settle here permanently and you are entering the country together with the child; or
• you have permission to settle here permanently and you are entering the country together with the child, and the other parent is already settled here; or
• you have sole responsibility for the child.

If your child was adopted in a designated country and is coming to the United Kingdom with a parent who has permission to stay here temporarily (we call this 'limited leave to remain') he/she will be allowed to stay for up to 12 months.

If the adoption order was made in a country that is not designated, the child can apply to come to the United Kingdom to be adopted through the courts here. In this case, the child will be allowed to stay here for up to two years.

Your child will only become a British citizen automatically if you adopted him/her through the United Kingdom courts and at least one of the adoptive parents was a British citizen when the adoption order was made.

Inter-country adoption

If your child is coming to the United Kingdom so that he/she can be adopted by you here under the Hague Convention on inter-country adoption, he/she must:

• be joining one or two prospective parents who are both habitually resident in the United Kingdom and are able to support and house the child in accommodation of which they are the sole occupiers without help from public funds;
• be the subject of an agreement made under the Hague Convention; and
• have been entrusted to the prospective parents by the authorities of the country from which he/she is coming; and
• be under the age of 18.

This is just a brief guide to the immigration rules on inter-country adoption. You must also meet other requirements before you will be allowed to adopt a child from another country. You can find more information on adoption laws and procedures on the website of the Department for Children, Schools and Families. You should also read Home Office detailed guidance Inter-country adoption and the immigration rule (PDF 251K opens in a new window).