To come to the UK as a family visitor, you must be able to show that you will be visiting the following family members in the UK:

  • spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister;
  • grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter; spouse or civil partner's father, mother, brother or sister;
  • son or daughter's spouse or civil partner;
  • stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister;
  • a person you have been living with in a genuine and subsisting relationship, like marriage or civil partnership, for at least 2 years before the day you apply.

If you want to visit a family member who is not listed above, you should come to the UK as a general visitor. Additionally the family member you are visiting must:

  • be a British citizen;
  • be settled in the UK
  • have been granted asylum in the UK;
  • have Humanitarian Protection status.
  • You must also be able to show that: you are 18 or over;
  • you intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if you will be accompanying an academic visitor); you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;
  • you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependents will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
  • you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and you are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).