Parent Permission to Stay

Live lawfully in the UK as the Parent of a British Citizen or Settled Child

You must apply to extend your permission to stay in the UK if you have entered as the parent of a British citizen with a Parent Visa.

Parent of a British Citizen, Settled Child or a Child who has lived in the UK for over 7 Years

If you entered the country on this basis, your parent visa permission will expire unless you apply to extend it. You must apply before the expiry date or you will be in the UK unlawfully. A Settled Child is a child with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.

If the child has lived in the UK for over 7 years but is not British or Settled, you will have to show that it is unreasonable for that child to leave the UK.

If you are perhaps in the UK without lawful permission but you are the parent of a child who is British or who has Indefinite Leave to Remain, you are entitled to make this application for Limited Permission to Stay in the UK.

You will need to show that you are either a parent with sole responsibility for the child or that you play a large part in the child's life and upbringing. You must not be the partner of the child's other parent - if that is the case, you must consider getting permission to stay as a partner.

Parent of a British Citizen or Settled Child

The evidence you will need to successfully extend or apply for the first time for a parent visa as the parent of a British or Settled Child is quite complex and vitally important. Without the right evidence, your application will fail. We are very experienced in these types of application and have had a great deal of success because we know what the Home Office wants to see - we know why the Home Office refuses these types of application and we always do our best to avoid refusals.

We will help you to show that: 

  • You are the parent of the child 
  • The child is British, has Indefinite Leave to Remain or have lived in the UK continuously for over 7 years and it is unreasonable for them to leave the UK 
  • You have sole parental responsibility or you play an active role in the child's upbringing and you will continue to do so
  • Your English language skills are sufficient
  • You can support yourself without needing public money  

After five years living continuously in the UK on this basis, you are eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, which means you will be free from immigration controls. If you are here unlawfully when you make this application, you will have to wait ten years before you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

How does the process work?

We will talk to you about your situation first of all and collect all the information we need to advise fully. The first 20 minute meeting is free. If you choose to use us to make your application, we then charge a fixed fee for the work. That means we do not charge you by how many hours we have worked - we give you a price for the job at the start so you know where you are financially.

"Once again, thank you to Angela and her incredible team for your wonderful assistance. My life would not have been the same without your continuous support."

Ars Pog

We then gather all the evidence to support your application and make sure it is as strong as possible, and we draft legal representations to ensure the Home Office fully understands your circumstances and the law that applies. We complete the application documents and submit on your behalf after checking that you are satisfied with the application.

In short, we take the stress out of the process for you. We know what we are doing and we keep in touch because we know that this is important to you. You can contact us if you are worried or have any questions about getting a parent visa extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

My partner is British and our daughter is British. I am Turkish with permission to enter as the husband of a British Citizen. Our relationship has broken down and she has taken our daughter to her parents who will not let me see her. What can I do?

Technically, you are in the UK unlawfully because your relationship has broken down. However, you are the father of a British Citizen and can apply for lawful permission to stay on that basis. You must show that you play a part in your daughter's life. You will need to try and get access through the courts. We successfully deal with situations like this frequently.

I have lived here for five years as the husband of a British wife. My American child from a previous relationship has been here with me for three years. Can we both apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

Yes your child can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain at the same time as you.

I am Vietnamese. I entered the UK illegally and I have lived here ever since. My child was born 6 years ago to my partner who is also Vietnamese. Can I apply to live here as my son's parent?

No. Your child has not lived long enough in the UK. The law recognises that, when a child has lived in a country for at least 7 years, it might be 'unreasonable' for them to be forced to leave. A parent may get permission to stay with the child because a child needs parents. This is a complicated situation but there is nothing you can do until your child is older.

Get in touch
Live lawfully in the UK as the Parent of a British Citizen or Settled Child
Find out more about living in the UK as the parent of someone already here legally. Call or email us for an initial free consultation.
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  • We couldn't praise Sallie and her team high enough. Extremely professional and acted very fast to meet our deadline. 100% recommended!
    Mr E
  • Always thorough and highly professional throughout the application process for both my children, and I would definitely recommend! They also had a welcome sense of humour when it came to dealing with the bureaucracy involved in the process.
    Mr B
  • Great experience working with Sallie. Professional and understanding! Will work with her again, with no doubt.
    Ms L
  • We have been very impressed with the service we have received over the years of dealing with Angela. She went above and beyond to solve our specialised problem with very pleasing results. We would strongly recommend her work and knowledge in the field. A true professional.
    Mr Aldalis
  • I highly recommend Sallie for her professionalism and lovable, kind approach. I am very happy to get her as my immigration lawyer for processing my kids Visa.
    Shiva K
  • I highly recommend both Angela and Karen. They both have been amazingly helpful throughout the visa application process of my wife. They do truly care for their clients. They look at the case in reasonable time periods and return with any missing information rapidly. Consulting them during this exciting yet stressful process was the best decision that I made. Today my wife got granted the visa just after 5 weeks of her biometric scans.
    Mr Yazici
  • They are so honest and professional . Clear answers and guidance to all my questions đź‘Ťđź‘Ť. Thanks a lot .
    Mr Khalil
  • Just received a decision from the Home office that I would’ve NEVER thought was possible. So happy and over the moon! I would definitely recommend your services to friends & family if required in the future. Huge thanks to Sallie and the team, best immigration solicitor in the business!!
    Mr Bamba
  • Angela Cole is a wonderful, hardworking, honest, kind and reliable Solicitor. Her work is very high standard, very professional and her team is friendly. Me and my husband have no hesitation in recommending Angela Cole's excellent services.
    Ms Small
  • "Simply a team of experienced people who gave us excellent and honest advice. Having now taken an appeal through to a successful conclusion for the (very reasonable) price promised, I have no hesitation in recommending this firm."
    Jon Chrimes - Google Review
  • "The team went an extra mile and fought my case much more and much better than I would have expected. In the end, my case was successful and I cannot thank them enough for all they have done. If I ever need legal help in the future I will definitely use their services again and recommend them for their reasonable prices, supportive advice and first rate legal services."
    ANONYMOUS - Google Review
  • "Excellent people, excellent service. They made the process of bringing my husband to the UK painless. Couldn’t have done it without them, highly recommend!"
    Lindy Pine - Google Review
  • "I am ecstatic, thanks to you all. My life is complete now and anything else is a bonus. Even if it seemed impossible I knew we were going to win this and that is why I never gave up. Thank you for your work, support and encouragement."
    MRS. Last
  • A BIG THANK YOU , for your help in helping me acquire my British settlement and British citizenship application successfully done. Your professionalism and kind warm attitude and nature made this process very easy and stress free. You took all my concerns away. 

    My Lawyer, Sallie Davies, is very knowledgeable and competent and I have implicit trust in her. The fees are also reasonable compared to other law firms. I highly recommend Sallie and her team.
    MRS. H
  • Thanks to Sallie, my wife is finally in the UK after a horrible year and long delays with Home Office. Highly recommended Immigration Legal Services! 
    MR. B
  • Angela Cole and everyone at Immigration Legal Services will work to produce the best outcome for you and, from our experience, they only concern themselves with your goal and not your wallet. Immigration Legal Services' charge was a very good price for all the help and security they provided
    MR. C
  • Despite the high professionalism practiced within the firm, there is always a strong sense of compassion , and care, from both Angela, and lovely Karen, which has really helped to set our minds at ease. Absolutely recommended & Eternally grateful
    Ms. f
  • I would like to thank both of you, Sallie and Karen for your assistance in the way you handled my wife's Spouse Visa Extension to remain here with me in the United Kingdom. We will recommend The Immigration Legal Services here in Ipswich to anybody who wants to apply for a visa to come or remain here in the United Kingdom because the service they provided proved to be most reliable, simple and quick process. Much appreciated Sallie and Karen. Thanking you once again. We will be back again.
    Robert
  • Excellent service, Sallie is very professional and lovely. Thanks to you what we thought it will be a long and exhausting experience, was so smooth and fast we couldn't believe it. Thank you very much.
    Mrs T
  • We engaged this firm based on a recommendation made by a friend who had used their services before. We required their assistance for my wife's first renewal of her spousal visa. The process was quite painless, they got in touch to collect documents and go over details but most communication was done by email. We received the renewal without any issues.
    BL
  • Sallie was the best solicitor I've met for immigration matters. She was straight to the job, focused on the matter and had an excellent transparent work process, a reasonable fee and no hidden charges. She is very helpful, confident and had the best communication. We got our parents' visa in one go! Thank you very much for the excellent job.
    email

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