The Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) take their duty of care and safeguarding minors very seriously.  Although this is to be applauded, this can make it challenging when applying for UK child visit visas.

Typically, Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) will seek evidence of relationship and consent from the parents or legal guardians in the child’s home country, plus details of the arrangements in place and documents relating to any sponsor in the UK.

It is permitted to apply for UK child visit visas with a validity period of six months, two years, five years or ten years with varying applicable fees. However, the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) has discretion and may issue a visa with a shorter validity period than applied for. Usually, UK child visas are valid for multiple entries to the UK during the validity period indicated on the vignette. 

The maximum time to stay in the UK at any time is six months. Child visits must, however, not lead to living in the UK through frequent and successive visits. As a starting point, the child should not spend more than six months in the UK in any rolling 12-month period, although this is a guide only and not stated in the immigration rules. The Immigration Officer at the port of entry has the authority to assess the individual’s intentions, which can lead to child visitor visas being cancelled and entry to the UK being refused.

It is not possible to add accompanying family members to a UK child visa application.  However, they may submit their own application, which will usually be processed at the same time as the child.  Suppose the child intends to accompany an adult who requires a visa. In that case, it is recommended that they either apply for their visas simultaneously or the adult holds a valid visa when the child submits their visa application to UK Visas & Immigration.

All applications submitted in accordance with the UK Standard Visitor Rules must be made from outside of the UK.

UKVI aim to process creative visit visas as follows:

Visa applications submitted outside of the UK:

• Standard processing: 15 working days
• Priority Service processing: 5 working days

Important: UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) does not guarantee processing times, and delays do occur. We advise that you only book non-refundable travel once your visa has been approved and your work visa is in your possession.  Priority services can be suspended without notice and may not be available during application.

The UKVI application fees are as follows:

• Up to 6 months: £115
• Up to 2 years: £400
• Up to 5 years: £771
• Up to 10 years: £963

Our professional fee will depend on the level of service you require.