Key Takeaways
- There’s no visa formally called the elderly dependent visa. The route is the Adult Dependent Relative visa, which covers parents, grandparents and some other adult relatives who need long-term personal care.
- It has one of the lowest success rates of any UK visa. Home Office data cited in Parliament showed that only 35 of 908 applications were approved at the first attempt, from 2017 to 2020.
- Most refusals turn on one question: whether the care your relative needs could reasonably be provided in their own country, even with your financial help.
- The application fee from outside the UK is £3,635 from 8 April 2026, and it isn’t refunded if the application is refused.
Your parent is getting frailer. The phone calls are harder, the flights home are more frequent and every visit ends with the same worry about leaving them alone. Bringing them to live with you in the UK feels like the obvious answer.
Then you start reading about the visa and see how rarely it’s granted. It’s natural to wonder whether it’s even worth trying, especially with a fee of several thousand pounds that you won’t get back if the answer is no.
This guide gives you an honest picture of the success rate, explains why so many applications fail and sets out what the rules actually require. If you’d like a realistic assessment of your family’s situation, Osbourne Pinner offers a free 30-minute consultation with our UK immigration solicitors.
What is the elderly dependent visa?
“Elderly dependent visa” is the name most people search for, but the official route is the Adult Dependent Relative visa, set out in Appendix Adult Dependent Relative of the Immigration Rules. In fact, it isn’t limited to older people. It’s for adult relatives who need long-term personal care because of age, illness or disability.
The relative must be a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, son or daughter aged 18 or over. The sponsor in the UK must be a British citizen, settled here, have protection status or hold pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Where both parents or grandparents apply together, only one of them needs to require long-term care. If the sponsor is British or settled, a successful applicant is usually granted settlement straight away.
What is the success rate?
Very low, and it has been for more than a decade. During a 2021 debate in Parliament, an MP cited Home Office data showing that 908 applications were made in the four years from 2017 to 2020, and only 35 were approved at the first attempt. That’s a refusal rate of over 96%, although it’s worth noting that some refused applicants later succeeded on appeal.
The low rate is the result of rules introduced in July 2012, which deliberately narrowed the route. Before then, thousands of these visas were granted each year.
You’ll see many other figures online, often without a source. The Home Office doesn’t publish a separate headline figure for this route in its regular statistics summaries, but practitioners consistently report that success rates remain very low. The honest message is that most applications fail, but not all of them. Well-evidenced applications in genuinely serious care cases do succeed.
Why are so many applications refused?
Because the requirements are deliberately strict. Your relative must show that:
- They need long-term personal care to perform everyday tasks because of their age, illness or disability.
- The care they need isn’t available in the country where they live, or isn’t affordable, even with your financial and practical help.
- There’s nobody in that country who can reasonably provide the care.
- You can maintain, accommodate and care for them in the UK without relying on public funds, usually backed by a five-year undertaking.
Most applications fall on the second point. The Home Office often concludes that care could be arranged locally, through paid carers or a care home, and that the family in the UK could pay for it. The Home Office’s guidance for caseworkers sets out how these questions are assessed.
What does “long-term personal care” mean?
It means help with everyday personal and household tasks, such as washing, dressing, cooking and eating, that your relative can’t manage on their own. The need must be long-term too, not a short recovery period.
Being elderly, lonely or financially dependent isn’t enough on its own. The evidence needs to come from a doctor or other health professional and explain clearly what your relative can and can’t do, why that’s the case and what kind of care that requires. Unfortunately, general letters stating that someone is unwell rarely help.
When is care treated as unavailable abroad?
This is the hardest part to prove. It isn’t enough to show that you’d prefer to care for your parent yourself. You need to show that the care they need can’t reasonably be obtained where they live, or can’t be afforded even with your help.
The Court of Appeal considered these rules in BritCits in 2017 and upheld them as lawful. It indicated that whether care abroad is adequate should be judged from the applicant’s point of view, which can include their emotional and psychological needs. In practice, that means evidence about:
- The specific care options available
- Their cost
- Their suitability
- Why they wouldn’t meet your relative’s needs
How much does it cost?
The application fee for most people applying from outside the UK is £3,635 from 8th April 2026. And it isn’t refunded if the application is refused. On top of that, families often pay for detailed medical reports, evidence about care options abroad and translations. If the relative is granted limited permission rather than settlement, the immigration health surcharge may also apply.
With costs like these, it’s worth getting a realistic view of the chances before applying.
What makes an application stronger?
No one can promise a successful outcome on this route. But certain things consistently make a real difference:
- Detailed, independent medical evidence that addresses the specific requirements of the rules.
- Evidence about the care available in your relative’s country, including cost and suitability, and any attempts already made to arrange it.
- Clear evidence of the sponsor’s finances and the accommodation available in the UK.
- Consistent information across every document, with nothing overstated.
Timing matters too. Applying too early is one of the most common reasons for refusal. For example, before your relative’s care needs are serious enough to meet the rules. Sometimes the right advice is to wait and gather stronger evidence.
What if the application is refused?
An Adult Dependent Relative application is treated as a human rights claim, so a refusal usually carries a right of appeal. On appeal, the tribunal can consider whether refusing the visa would breach the right to family life under Article 8, even where the rules aren’t fully met. The threshold is high, but some refused applicants have succeeded this way.
Appeal deadlines are short, so you should act quickly after a refusal. Our visa refusal and appeals solicitors can review the decision and explain your options. It’s also worth knowing that the government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before Parliament, would eventually change how immigration appeals are heard.
Are there any alternatives?
For many families, the realistic alternatives are more limited than they’d like. A parent can visit on a visitor visa, usually for up to six months at a time, but visitor visas can’t be used to live in the UK or to receive long-term care here. Other families arrange and fund care in their relative’s home country, sometimes as an interim step while the evidence for a future application builds up.
Get a realistic view of your family’s chances
With a success rate this low and a fee this high, applying without understanding the requirements can mean losing thousands of pounds and waiting months for a refusal. A clear assessment before you apply helps you decide whether now is the right time and what evidence you’ll need.
At Osbourne Pinner, our UK immigration solicitors advise families on Adult Dependent Relative applications, from assessing eligibility and preparing evidence to appeals after a refusal. We’ll tell you honestly where you stand and give you a clear view of costs before you commit to anything.
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We always recommend speaking to a qualified solicitor for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your situation, Monday to Friday. You can speak with us via video call or visit our offices in Piccadilly Circus, Canary Wharf, Wimbledon, Harrow or Manchester. To arrange your consultation, call 0203 983 5080, email [email protected] or complete the form below. We do not offer Legal Aid.
