Family life as a parent
You may qualify for entry clearance or leave to remain as parent of a British citizen child or settled child who is living in the UK if you have sole parental responsibility or access rights to your child. Applications under this route are now covered by Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
You may qualify for the 5 or 10 year route depending on your circumstances. The 5-year route is for those who meet all of the suitability and eligibility requirements for family life as parent under the Immigration Rules at every stage, and the 10-year route is for those who do not meet certain of the eligibility requirements but where the exception in paragraph EX.1 of Appendix FM applies. Paragraph EX.1 applies if:
(a) (i) the applicant has a genuine and subsisting parental relationship with a child
who:
(aa) is under the age of 18 years or was under the age of 18 years when the
applicant was first granted leave on the basis that this paragraph applied;
(bb) is in the UK;
(cc) is a British citizen or has lived continuously in the UK for at least the 7
years immediately preceding the date of application; and
(ii) it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK; or
Applications in the UK are submitted using an FLR (FP) form; successful applicants are granted 30 months until they complete either the relevant 5 year or 10 year period.
