Adult Dependant Relative Visa UK: Rules, Criteria & Application Guide (2025)

What Are the Criteria?

To qualify for the ADR visa, the Applicant must:

• Be over 18 years of age

• Require long-term personal care due to illness, disability, or age

• Need that care from a close family member in the UK (parent, grandchild, sibling, or child over the age of 18)

• Be unable to access or afford adequate care in their home country

The Sponsor must be:

• A British citizen or a person with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or settled status

• A pre-settled status holder from the EU who began living in the UK before 1 January 2021

• A person with refugee or humanitarian protection status

The Policy Hurdle

Beyond the general rules, the Home Office policy guidance adds significant complexity. The policy states that applicants must:

• Be incapable  of performing daily tasks for themselves

• Demonstrate that there is no access to the required level of care in the country where they are living, even with the practical and financial help of the sponsor in the UK

• Prove that no other person can reasonably provide the care: The Entry Clearance Officer will consider whether any person can reasonably provide that care, such as a paid home-help, housekeeper, nurse/carer or care or nursing home, or even whether family resources can be pooled to provide the care

Expert Tips for a Successful Adult Dependant Relative (ADR) Visa Application

1. Thorough Research: These applications cannot be successful if they simply turn on a preference to be with a particular family member. The application must show – with evidence – that they have looked at all other available options and they are not reasonable.

2. Clear Evidence of Need for Care: Provide documentation that outlines what care (medical or otherwise) that is already being received in the applicant’s country of residence and what might be required in the future—this may include medical reports or letters from healthcare professionals but can also involve other supporting evidence. For example, in age-related cases, daily personal care needs such as dressing or bathing may be relevant, and cultural norms may restrict who can provide that care. The key is to demonstrate why the existing care arrangements are inadequate and no longer suitable.

3. Country-Specific Context: Enlist reports from local medical experts to assess the availability and cost of care in the home country—country experts can look at medical provision throughout the whole country to see whether relocating is an option, or whether the care required is simply not available, or alternatively prohibitively expensive.

4. Transparency on Family Resources: Be open about existing family and financial circumstances and explain why they do not constitute a reasonable alternative.

Only when all these elements are robustly evidenced can an ADR visa application stand a realistic chance of approval.

Fees and Duration

• Application Costs (per applicant):

  • £3413 (outside the UK)

  • £1321 (inside the UK)

• Healthcare Surcharge (if applicable, per applicant): Applicants might be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge depending on their sponsor’s immigration status. The surcharge is £1,035 per year of proposed stay per applicant.

  • £2,587.50 (for 2 years and 6 months)

  • £5,175 (for 5 years)

• Processing Time:

  • 12 weeks (outside the UK)

  • 8 weeks (inside the UK)

Important: Applicants should not arrive as visitors with the intention of switching to this visa category, or to make their applications from inside the UK.

Visa Duration

The length of stay granted depends on the Sponsor's own permission to be in the UK:

• British, Irish, or Settled Sponsors: The Applicant receives Indefinite Leave to Remain.

• Pre-settled Status Sponsors (Sponsor must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021): Permission to stay is granted for the same period as the Sponsor stays. The Applicant must apply to extend or settle when the Sponsor does.

• Refugee or Protection Status Sponsors: The same applies as above—permission to stay is granted for the same period as the Sponsor stays. The Applicant must apply to extend or settle when the Sponsor does.