ILR for Child Born Outside the UK

As a parent, you may be able to apply for ILR for your child if they were born outside of the UK and both you and the other parent are permanently settled in the UK. It may also be possible to get ILR for your child if you are permanently settled in the UK and have sole parental responsibility for your child. If your child is not eligible for UK ILR, they may be eligible for a child family visa / child dependant visa, allowing them to move to the UK to join you and apply for ILR once they meet the continuous residence requirements.

In this article, we will explain the wider requirements for your child’s ILR application. If you and your child are in a scenario that is not covered in this article, please contact our immigration lawyers for further advice tailored to your needs.

ILR Requirements for Child Born Outside the UK

If your child was born outside the UK, the general eligibility requirements to apply for ILR are:

• Both parents must have permanent right to live in the UK. If you have a permanent right to live in the UK, but the child’s other parent does not, you must have sole parental responsibility for your child.
• Your child must be under 18 if they are outside the UK. Your child can still apply if they are over 18 years old and already in the UK.
• Meet the financial and accommodation requirements.

Both parents have permanent right to live or you have sole responsibility

To make a successful ILR application for a child born outside the UK, both parents must have a permanent right to live here. Alternatively, a child born outside the UK will be eligible for ILR if one parent has UK permanent residence and also sole parental responsibility for the child. Settled status may take the form of ILR, British citizenship, Irish citizenship (must be living or have lived in the UK), or Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

If you would like to apply for UK ILR for a non-biological child, you will need to prove that you are related to them, and there is a compelling reason (i.e. there is no one else to look after them) for the child to get ILR.

If you or your child’s other parent don’t have permanent residence in the UK, your child will not be eligible for ILR immediately (if they were born outside the UK). Instead, you will need to apply for a child visa based on your immigration status or that of the child’s other parent. For example, if you or the child’s other parent holds a Skilled Worker visa, you may be able to apply for a dependant visa for your child.

Child must be under 18 if they are outside the UK

In order for a child born outside of the UK and currently living outside of the UK to gain ILR, they must be under 18 years old. However, if your child was born outside the UK and currently lives in the UK with a valid visa (e.g. child dependent visa), they can still apply for ILR even if they are over 18 years old. In this case, they will normally need to pass both the Life in the UK test and the English Language test.

Whether your child is under or over 18 years old, UKVI will want to be reassured that they are not living an independent life. In other words, they must not be married or living with their partner or have left home (except if they live away for school or university).

If your child is living outside the UK and does not meet the other requirements to join you, it may be possible for them to get a child visa if you can prove that there would be ‘harsh and unreasonable consequences’ if UKVI does not grant ILR.

Harsh and unreasonable consequences mean that refusing permanent settlement would have a serious impact on the child. For example, if a child’s parent/s cannot return with the child to another country (e.g. their country of birth) because they already care for their other children who have the right to live in the UK, this may be deemed as a harsh and unreasonable consequence of refusal.

Meet the financial and accommodation requirement

Before you make an ILR application for your child, it is advisable to make sure that you meet the financial and accommodation requirements. This means that you must be able to financially support and accommodate your child adequately without accessing public funds (e.g. child or housing benefits). If you are unsure if you meet these requirements, we recommend speaking to an immigration solicitor.

British citizenship for a child born outside the UK

Children born outside the UK to parents who are settled in the UK but not British citizens at the time of the child’s birth must first get ILR and hold this for 12 months before registering as a British citizen through form MN1. However, if they have a British parent, children born outside the UK can register for British citizenship immediately using form MN1 without first applying for ILR (i.e. British citizenship by descent). The parent must have held British citizenship at the time of the child’s birth. If you are unsure whether you or your child meets the requirements, we recommend consulting with our immigration solicitor or checking our article: British citizenship for children born to settled parents.