# Adult Dependent Relative visa: questions Indian applicants ask

Answers to the questions Indian applicants ask the desk about the Adult Dependent Relative visa, from bank statements to reapplying after a refusal.

Source: https://ukvisadesk.com/visas/adult-dependent-relative-visa/faq · Updated 2026-10-08 · Reviewed by UK Visa Desk counselling team, licence 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024 · UK Visa Desk, a brand of Pro Lifeset Overseas Private Limited, Patiala, India. WhatsApp +91 91155 80911, Mon to Sat, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM IST.

**What are my realistic chances as a parent from India?**
Low. The Home Office refuses most applications because it finds paid care is available in India. Cases that succeed usually involve dementia, severe disability or conditions needing a family member rather than a paid carer, with years of medical records. We will tell you honestly before you pay £3,635.

**Does my son or daughter's income help?**
Only for the maintenance test. For the care test it works against you: if they can afford a carer in India, the rule says care is affordable there. The question is whether suitable care exists at all, not whether they would rather you lived with them.

**Can I apply from inside the UK after arriving as a visitor?**
No. The rules require an application from outside the UK. Applying in-country is refused, and overstaying to do so damages every future application.

**Is the visa permanent if granted?**
Yes, when the sponsor is British or settled: you receive indefinite leave to enter, with no extensions and no further fees. If the sponsor has limited leave, you receive leave in line with theirs.

**Do I pay the health surcharge?**
Not when you are granted indefinite leave on entry. If granted limited leave in line with a sponsor who is not yet settled, the surcharge applies for the length of that leave.

**What is the alternative for parents who are still independent?**
A 2, 5 or 10 year Standard Visitor visa, spending up to 6 months at a time in the UK. Many families alternate between children in the UK and home in Punjab. It does not give settlement or NHS care, but it is granted far more often.

**Can both parents apply together?**
Yes, and if both need care each pays the fee. If only one parent needs care and the other is their carer, the rules generally expect both to remain in India unless the carer parent also qualifies.

**Is there an appeal?**
Yes. Refusals carry a human rights appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Appeals on this route can succeed where family life evidence is strong, but they take a year or more from India and need a UK lawyer.

Full guide: https://ukvisadesk.com/visas/adult-dependent-relative-visa.md

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UK Visa Desk is a brand of Pro Lifeset Overseas Private Limited, a visa consultancy licensed by the Government of Punjab, India. We are a private company, not affiliated with the UK Government, and we are not regulated by the UK Immigration Advice Authority. We serve applicants who are in India; applicants already in the UK are referred to a regulated UK adviser. We do not handle work visas. Information here is general, not legal advice, and no visa outcome is guaranteed.
We do not handle UK work visas. Applicants already in the UK are referred to a regulated adviser.