Family connections draw people to the UK for many reasons. Some relatives want to come for short visits to see children or grandchildren. Others hope to move permanently to live with a partner, parent or child. The rules treat these aims very differently. A short visit to see family is not the same as joining them to live in the UK for the long term.
Understanding the distinction between visit visas, family reunion routes and longer term family applications under the family visa UK framework is important if you want to choose the right route and avoid refusals.
This guide explains how visit visas work for family members, how family reunion routes operate for refugees, when longer term family applications under Appendix FM are needed and how these options fit together for partners, parents and children. It also looks at special schemes for Ukrainian families, and how forthcoming changes such as the ETA UK system are likely to affect shorter trips.
Visiting Family in the UK on a Short-Term Basis
Relatives who want to come to the UK for a short stay usually use the standard visitor visa route. Where the main purpose of the trip is to see family, the application will often fall under the family visitor visa UK category. Visitor visas are designed for temporary visits only. You cannot use a visit visa as a way to live in the UK long term.
A visitor must show that they will leave at the end of the trip, that they have enough money to support themselves without work and that they have a genuine reason for visiting. For family visits, the relationship with the relative in the UK and the planned length of stay are important parts of the application.
Costs also factor into planning. The UK visitor visa fees set out how much each application will cost depending on the duration requested. Repeat visits can become expensive over time, especially where several family members travel regularly.
Visitor visas do not lead to settlement. If you decide later that you want to live in the UK with your family, you must switch into or apply for a different category that supports long term residence.
Family Reunion Routes for Refugees
Refugees who have been recognised in the UK may be able to bring close family members to join them. The main route is the family reunion process, with related provisions explained under family reunion UK. These routes apply to certain categories of family members, usually partners and dependent children, and allow them to live in the UK with the refugee as part of the family unit.
Family reunion is different from visit visas and from standard family routes under Appendix FM. In many cases, fees are not required and the decision focuses on identity, protection needs and family relationships rather than on income or English language ability. There is no expectation that the family member will leave at the end of a short stay; the intention is long term family life with the refugee in the UK.
Time spent in the UK under family reunion can later play a role in settlement. Families using this route should still think ahead about long term goals, including whether and when family members may become eligible for settlement.
Long-Term Family Routes for Partners, Parents & Children
Where the aim is to live together in the UK as a family on a permanent or long-term basis, visit visas and family reunion are not enough. In these cases, families usually rely on the main family visa UK routes under Appendix FM, which cover partners, parents and some children.
Partners of British or settled people follow the partner or spouse routes. Some families at this stage face difficult questions around relationship stability, including concerns such as can my wife cancel my spouse visa. Others consider the unmarried partner route and look at information such as the unmarried partner visa UK success rate to gauge how their cohabitation evidence might be assessed.
Parents may apply for a parent visa UK where they have a child in the UK and meet strict care and responsibility tests. Extended family members who need long term personal care may consider the adult dependent relative visa, although this is one of the most demanding categories in the system.
These long-term routes come with financial and documentary responsibilities. They usually lead toward settlement and, for some, toward applications such as the ILR spouse visa once enough time has been spent in the UK.
Children Joining or Growing Up in the UK
Children often sit at the centre of decisions about whether to pursue visit visas, long-term family routes or a combination of both. Families that want a child to live in the UK permanently usually look at the child visa UK category or, where a parent holds a work or partner visa, the child dependant visa UK. The Home Office uses the child dependent visa UK requirements to assess whether the child is genuinely dependent and whether the family plans for the child to live with the parent in the UK.
Children born abroad who later join their parents may move towards settlement through routes such as ILR for children born outside the UK. Those who were born in the UK face different questions. Families must ask whether a child born in the UK to non British parents is British from birth, whether they qualify for temporary leave or whether registration is possible.
Citizenship routes such as british citizenship for child born in UK often use Form MN1 to register a child once they meet specific conditions. These routes sit alongside family visas and can change the way visits and longer term plans are managed, especially where extended family start to use visit visas to see a child who is now British.
Education-Based Routes & Family Planning
Education decisions sometimes drive family movement. When a child attends an independent school in the UK, the family may consider the child student visa UK, which allows the child to study while living with arranged guardians or in boarding facilities. In some cases, one parent can move to the UK under the parent of child student visa UK to care for the child.
These routes are not designed as straightforward paths to settlement, yet they can influence later decisions about long term family life in the UK. Families may move from education-based routes into more permanent categories under Appendix FM or private life when circumstances change.
Other relatives may still rely on visit visas to see the child, especially where grandparents or extended family want to attend school events or help during key periods. That is where visit categories and long-term routes begin to overlap in family planning.
Ukraine Family Schemes & Concessions
Recent conflicts have led to special routes for Ukrainian nationals and their relatives. Families with Ukrainian members may be able to use the ukraine family scheme visa to come to or stay in the UK. In some situations, the family of British nationals in Ukraine UK visa concession provides an additional route.
These schemes are designed as responses to crisis rather than as standard settlement routes, yet they can last for several years and may involve family members who would otherwise have relied on visit visas or long-term family categories. Families using these schemes should still think about what happens when scheme leave ends, including whether switching into other family routes, private life or settlement categories will be possible.
Choosing the Right Route for Your Situation
Families benefit from assessing their situation honestly before applying. A short visit to see relatives or attend an event usually points toward the family visitor visa UK, with an application shaped around a clear intention to leave the UK at the end of the stay. A plan to live together as a family in the UK normally requires an application under the family visa UK rules and, in many cases, the wider framework of Appendix FM.
Where protection issues arise or family members have refugee status, routes such as family reunion and family reunion UK may be more appropriate. Families linked to Ukraine-specific schemes should review the guidance for the ukraine family scheme visa and the family of British nationals in Ukraine UK visa concession.
Children often require separate consideration. Decisions around the child visa UK, child dependant visa UK, the child dependent visa UK requirements, child student visa UK, parent of child student visa UK, and the routes for child born in the UK to non British parents, Form MN1 and british citizenship for child born in UK all need to fit coherently into your wider family plan.
Families involving older relatives might need to assess whether the adult dependent relative visa or the private life visa UK offers a realistic route.
Conclusion
Family visits and long term family migration are related but distinct parts of the UK immigration system. Visit visas, including those categorised as the family visitor visa UK, provide a way for relatives to spend short periods with loved ones in the UK, subject to the visit rules and the UK visitor visa fees. Longer term family life typically involves applications under the family visa UK routes, the Appendix FM framework, child and dependant visas, private life decisions and, in some situations, family reunion and Ukraine family schemes.
Choosing the route that truly matches your intention, and planning ahead for extensions, settlement and future travel changes such as the ETA UK system, helps you build a stable and realistic plan for keeping your family connected across borders, whether that is through visits, long term residence or a carefully managed combination of both.
