Elderly and other dependent relatives

This page explains how you can come to live permanently in the UK as an elderly dependent relative of someone who is already a permanent resident here.

If you are a parent, grandparent or other dependant relative of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK (known as your 'settled relative'), you can apply for permission to settle permanently here (known as 'indefinite leave to enter or remain').

Can you apply?

As well as partners and children under 18, the following relatives can apply to join a settled person in the UK:

  • widowed mothers and widowed fathers aged 65 or over; and
  • parents or grandparents who are travelling together, if one of them is aged 65 or over.

You must provide evidence that:

  • you depend wholly or mainly on your settled relative for money;
  • you (and any dependants you have) can and will be maintained and housed adequately, without needing public funds, in accommodation which your settled relative owns or occupies exclusively; and
  • you have no other close relatives in your own country who can support you financially.

If there are exceptional compassionate circumstances, the following relatives who meet the above requirements may be allowed to join as settled person here:

  • sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts over the age of 18; and
  • parents and grandparents under the age of 65.

Applying for permission to remain

If you are already in the UK and you want to settle here as a British citizen's or settled person's elderly/other dependent relative, you should complete application form SET(F).

Applying for a visa

If you are outside the UK, you must obtain a visa as an elderly/other dependent relative before you travel here.

Depending on the country where you live, you may need to make your application online or using application form VAF4A. To find out which application method you should use, see 'More information' below.

You can download application form VAF4A and guidance notes from the right side of this page.

You must provide documents to support your visa application, including a sponsorship undertaking form signed by the British citizen or settled person on whom you are dependent. You can download guidance on supporting documents, and the sponsorship undertaking form, from the right side of this page.

There are particular application requirements if you are currently in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man - see 'More information' below.

As part of your application, you will need to enrol your fingerprints and facial image (known as 'biometric information') at a visa application centre.

Select your country in our country finder to find out:

  • how to apply in your country
  • the location of our visa application centres
  • how long we generally take to process visa applications
  • how your documents will be returned to you

If your application is successful, you can find information about what will happen at the border (including customs requirements) in the Customs and travel information section.

More information

  • Should you apply online or complete an application form on paper?

    If you are applying for a visa from the following countries, you must apply using our online application system, Visa4UK:

    • Albania
    • Algeria
    • Andorra
    • Angola
    • Anguilla
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Argentina
    • Armenia
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Azerbaijan
    • Bahamas
    • Bahrain 
    • Barbados
    • Belarus
    • Belgium
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • Bolivia
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • Botswana
    • Brazil
    • British Virgin Islands
    • Brunei
    • Bulgaria
    • Burkina Faso
    • Burma
    • Burundi
    • Cambodia
    • Cameroon
    • Canada
    • Cape Verde
    • Cayman Islands
    • Central African Republic
    • Chad
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Comoros
    • Congo
    • Costa Rica
    • Croatia
    • Cyprus
    • Czech Republic
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Denmark
    • Djibouti
    • Dominica
    • Dominican Republic
    • East Timor
    • Ecuador
    • Egypt
    • Equatorial Guinea
    • Eritrea
    • Estonia
    • Ethiopia
    • Faroes
    • Finland
    • France
    • French Guiana
    • Gabon
    • Gambia
    • Georgia
    • Germany
    • Ghana
    • Gibraltar
    • Greece
    • Greenland
    • Grenada
    • Guatemala
    • Guinea
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Hong Kong
    • Hungary
    • Iceland
    • India (Tier 2 visas only)
    • Indonesia
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Ivory Coast
    • Jamaica
    • Japan
    • Jordan
    • Kazakhstan
    • Kenya
    • Kosovo
    • Kyrgyzstan
    • Kuwait
    • Laos
    • Latvia
    • Lebanon
    • Lesotho
    • Liberia
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg 
    • Macau
    • Macedonia
    • Madagascar
    • Malaysia
    • Mali
    • Malta
    • Marshall Islands
    • Mauritania
    • Mauritius
    • Mexico
    • Micronesia
    • Moldova
    • Monaco
    • Montenegro
    • Montserrat
    • Morocco
    • Netherlands
    • New Zealand
    • Nicaragua
    • Niger
    • Norway
    • Oman 
    • Palestinian Authority
    • Palau
    • Panama
    • Paraguay
    • Peru
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Qatar 
    • Romania
    • Russian Federation
    • Rwanda
    • Samoa and Western Samoa
    • San Marino
    • Sao Tome and Principe
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Senegal
    • Serbia
    • Seychelles
    • Sierra Leone
    • Singapore
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • Somalia
    • South Africa
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • St Kitts and Nevis
    • St Vincent and Grenadine
    • St Lucia
    • Sudan
    • Suriname
    • Swaziland
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • Syria
    • Taiwan
    • Tajikstan
    • Thailand
    • Togo
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Tunisia
    • Turkey
    • Turks and Caicos
    • Ukraine
    • UAE
    • USA
    • Uruguay
    • Uzbekistan
    • Vatican City
    • Venezuela
    • Vietnam
    • Western Sahara
    • Zambia

    If you are applying for a visa from the following countries, you must apply by printing out an application form and completing it by hand:

    • Afghanistan
    • Cuba
    • Fiji
    • Kiribati
    • Malawi
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nauru
    • North Korea
    • Pakistan
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
    • Vanuatu
    • Zimbabwe

    If you are applying for a visa from the following countries, you can choose whether to apply using our online application system or by printing off the application form and completing it by hand:

    • Bangladesh
    • China
    • India (except applications for Tier 2 visas)
    • Maldives
    • Mongolia
    • Nepal
    • Nigeria
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Sri Lanka
    • Uganda
  • Family of British citizens and settled persons - visa application fees

    Husband, wife or civil partner £810
    Fiance(e) or proposed civil partner £810
    Unmarried or same-sex partner £810
    Child (under 18) dependant £810
    Adopted child dependant £810
    Child coming to the UK for adoption £810
    Parent, grandparent or other dependant relative £1,814


  • Application fees for extending your stay using form FLR(M)

    Fee if you are applying by post Fee if you are applying in person
    Main applicant £550 £850
    Children aged under 18 (if they are applying at the same time as the main applicant) £275 for each child included on the main applicant's application form £425 for each child included on the main applicant's application form


  • What is the date of your application if you are applying from outside the UK?

    The date of your application is the date when your application fee is paid to us. This will be the date shown on your payment receipt, which depends on how you paid for your visa application - for example, at a visa application centre or online.
  • What is the date of your application? (Applying by post or courier from inside the UK)

    If you send your application form and application fee by post, the date of application is the date of posting. This is decided by the postmark. If the postmark is illegible or missing, the date of postage is taken as being at least 1 day before it is received by us.

    If you send your application form and application fee by courier, the date of application is the date when it is delivered to our payment handling service.
  • What is the date of your application? (Applying in person inside the UK)

    If you are applying in person at one of our public enquiry offices, your application date will be the date when you attend the public enquiry office to make your application and pay your application fee.
  • Processing times - applications made outside the UK

    The time required to process your visa will depend on the country where you are making your application.

    Our Visa services section lists our recent processing times for different application types in each country around the world.
  • Applying from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

    The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Herm, Sark and Alderney) and the Isle of Man have their own immigration laws and policies. For immigration control, we consider that these islands are outside the UK.

    If you are living in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and the island authorities have given you permission to enter or stay there (also known as 'entry clearance' or 'leave to remain'), you cannot apply directly from the island for permission to enter the UK.

    To apply for permission to enter the UK, you have 2 options:

    • you can return to the country where you are normally resident (your 'home country') and apply from there for a visa to enter the UK; or 
    • if your permission to stay on the island is still current, and if UK immigration law allows you to 'switch' from your current immigration category on the island into this category, you can travel to the UK and apply from here. We will treat your current permission to stay as if it had been given by the UK authorities. You must apply to switch before your current permission to stay on the island expires.

    You may need to apply for a visa before you come to the UK from the islands. For more information, see section 2 of our Immigration directorate instructions, Chapter 1.
  • How to pay your application fee if you are inside the UK

    If you are applying online, you must pay your fee online as part of your application.

    If you are applying by post or courier, you can choose how to pay your application fee:

    • By cheque in sterling on a UK bank account. The application form will tell you who to make the cheque payable to, you should write your full name and date of birth on the back, and attach the cheque to the front of the completed application form. 
    • With a UK postal order. You should write your full name and date of birth on the back, and attach the postal order to the front of the completed application form. 
    • With a credit or debit card - American Express, MasterCard, Visa (including Electron), Delta or Maestro (including Solo). For postal and courier payments, we accept only Maestro cards issued in the UK. You must include the card number, the amount paid, the payer's name as it appears on the card, the 'valid from' and expiry dates, the card verification value (CVV) code, the cardholder's signature and the date. The issue number is also needed for Maestro cards.

    If you are applying and paying in person at a public enquiry office, you can choose how to pay your application fee:

    • With a UK postal order (except at our Glasgow and Cardiff offices). You should write your full name and date of birth on the back.
    • By banker's draft (except at our Glasgow and Cardiff offices). 
    • With a credit or debit card - American Express, MasterCard, Visa (including Electron), Delta or Maestro (including Solo). We can accept any Maestro card for payments at a public enquiry office. You must include the card number, the amount paid, the payer's name as it appears on the card, the 'valid from' and expiry dates, the card verification value (CVV) code, the cardholder's signature and the date. The issue number is also needed for Maestro cards. The cardholder must be present for the payment to be taken.

    Payment by any other method is not accepted.

    You must send the full amount to cover the total cost of your application. If you do not do this, your application will be invalid and will not be considered. We will return your application and part payment to you.

    We start considering the application when the payment has cleared. Payments are cleared:

    • after 5 working days for cheques
    • after 1 working day for credit or debit cards
    • immediately for postal orders

    Please note that, if you are making numerous payments using your credit card, the anti-fraud measures that banks operate sometimes stop payment being taken. This may be because you have exceeded the maximum limit on a single transaction or the number of transactions allowed in a given period of time. You must ensure that you contact your bank in advance, so that the bank will allow the full payment to be taken without any problems when you submit your applications.

    Payment information on the application form

    It is very important that you complete the payment section of the application form correctly. If this section contains errors, we will not be able to process your payment. This will mean that your application is invalid.
  • Withdrawing your application
    Withdrawal of application

    If you want to withdraw your application, you must use the 'return of documents form' on the right side of this page. Your application will not be considered, and we will return your documents to you with no decision. We will not refund the cost of your application if you use this form.       

    If you submit the request before 12:00, we will aim to withdraw your application and return your documents on the same day. We will return your documents by standard recorded delivery. If you want to arrange a courier, please state this on the form and we will contact you with a suitable time for collection.
  • Duplicate applications If you send more than one application, you will be charged the application fee for each application.