Accredited official statistics

Why do people come to the UK? Family

Published 21 May 2026

Back to ‘Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2026’ contents page

This release goes up to the year ending (YE) March 2026. The “year ending” period includes the 12 months up to and including the YE month. For example, YE March 2026 includes the 12 months between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.

Statistics on dependants travelling with or joining family members on work and study visas are not included in this section and can be found in the relevant ‘Why do people come to the UK - Work?’, and ‘Why do people come to the UK - Study?’ topics.

1. Family-related visas

Family-related visas may be granted to persons wishing to live with family members, who are British citizens or non-British settled migrants in the UK, as part of their family. This will include people coming to marry or live with their partner or relative, and people wishing to join a relative with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

Family visa grants declined in the YE March 2026, as Partner visa and Refugee Family Reunion grants fell, with the latter affected by the temporary pause of new applications to the route from September 2025.

Figure 1: Family-related visa grants by visa type, YE March 2013 to YE March 2026

Source: Entry clearance visa grants: Vis_D02

In the YE March 2026, 62,470 Family visas were granted, a 17% fall from the YE March 2025. The number of Family visas granted in recent years has been influenced by both operational and policy drivers.

Partner visa grants increased between 2021 and 2024, contributing to higher overall volumes of Family visa grants (Figure 1). The increase in Partner visas between 2022 and 2023 reflected efforts to reduce casework backlogs following the reallocation of resource to support the Ukraine schemes in early 2022. There was a temporary rise in applications and subsequent grants between 2023 and early 2024, following the announcement that the Minimum Income Requirement for Partner visas would increase from £18,600 to £29,000 from April 2024. Applications and grants then declined after April 2024, coinciding with the introduction of the higher income threshold.

Partner visas fell by 17% to 39,169 in the YE March 2026. The latest annual decline was concentrated among nationalities that have historically accounted for a larger share of Partner visa grants, notably Pakistan and India, both down 19%.

Between late 2023 and early September 2025, Refugee Family Reunion grants increased relative to historic levels. This increase followed a high number of individuals granted refugee status over this period, who became eligible to sponsor partners and children to join them in the UK under the Refugee Family Reunion route. In September 2025, the UK Government announced an immediate temporary pause to new applications.

Refugee Family Reunion grants in the YE March 2026 fell by 17% to 16,787. Despite the temporary pause in applications, the decline has been moderate rather than substantial, reflecting elevated application volumes in Q3 2025 (July to September) following the announcement of the pause. Decisions following the temporary pause largely reflect applications submitted before the pause took effect, alongside cases resolved through appeal. There was a marked reduction in grants in the most recent 6 months (October 2025 to March 2026), with numbers falling by 50% compared with the preceding 6-month period (April to September 2025). The comparison between the latest 6-month period and April to September 2025 has been used because the latter simultaneously represents the highest 6-month volume of Refugee Family Reunion grants observed in the data series, and the period immediately preceding the introduction of the temporary pause.

For further details on the Refugee Family Reunion route, see Section 3: About these statistics - Refugee Family Reunion and How many people come to the UK via safe and legal (humanitarian) routes?

Pakistani nationals remained the largest nationality group granted a Family visa in the YE March 2026, despite a fall in the latest year.

Figure 2: Top 10 nationalities for family-related visas granted, by family visa type, YE March 2026

Source: Entry clearance visa outcomes: Vis_D02

Pakistani nationals were granted the highest number of Family visas in the YE March 2026 (8,750), accounting for 14% of all Family visa grants. Over 80% of these grants were issued under the Partner route. United States nationals were the next largest nationality group for Partner visas and were among the few nationalities to see an increase in grants in the YE March 2026, rising by 18% from the YE March 2025.

Afghan nationals were the second-largest nationality group for Family visa grants overall, with almost three-quarters of these grants issued under the Refugee Family Reunion route, making Afghan nationals the highest-granted nationality under this route.

Nepali nationals continued to account for a high proportion of Child visa grants, reflecting the Gurkha Settlement policy provisions, that extend settlement eligibility to pre-1997 Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veterans and their families, in recognition of their historic service to the UK.

EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Family Permits

In the YE March 2026, 7,579 EUSS Family Permits were granted, representing a 30% decrease from the YE March 2025, and a continuation of declining volumes since 2021. These permits allow eligible family members of an EEA or qualifying British citizen (if applied for by 8 August 2023) to join or accompany them in the UK. For further information on EUSS Family Permits, see Section 3: About these statistics - EU/EEA nationals and ‘How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) and Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?’

2. Extensions for family reasons

Extensions of stay for family-related reasons relate to people wishing to extend their stay in the UK for family reasons. It covers extensions where an individual is applying based on their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen. An individual is required to apply for an extension before their existing permission to enter or stay expires and may make more than one application in any given year.

Family-related extensions increased in the YE March 2026, driven by an increase in Partner extensions, although Family and Private Life route grants decreased.

There were 77,271 Family visa extensions granted in the YE March 2026, an increase of more than one-third compared with the YE March 2025. This rise reflects a higher volume of Partner visas granted from late 2021 onwards, as individuals who were issued with 30 months’ leave at that time became eligible to apply for an extension. Partner extension grants also include cases where individuals who originally entered the UK on a child visa extended their stay alongside a parent extending on a Partner visa, subsequently becoming dependants on that visa. Pakistani, Indian and Nigerian nationals collectively accounted for around one-third of all Partner visa extensions in YE March 2026.

There were 65,454 Family and Private Life grants in the YE March 2026, a fall of almost a quarter compared with the YE March 2025. Nigerian, Indian and Pakistani nationals received the highest numbers of grants, together accounting for 42% of all Family and Private Life grants.

The Family Life (10-year route) and Private Life routes are distinct from Family extension routes and apply to individuals granted leave to remain based on an established family or private life in the UK, where refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Leave under both routes is granted in 30‑month periods, with individuals typically required to apply for further leave multiple times before becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain after around 10 years. Extension figures therefore include both initial grants and subsequent extensions under these routes.

Indefinite leave to remain: Migrant journey

Those arriving on Family routes are historically more likely to seek to remain permanently in the UK, and acquire indefinite leave to remain (ILR), compared with those arriving on Work and Study visas. Analysis from the Migrant journey: 2025 report shows that since 2008, of those whose first leave to enter the UK was on the Family route, 58% had ILR after 5 years, increasing to 81% after 10 years. This is much higher than individuals who started their journey on Work and Study routes, where 20% and 7% respectively held ILR after 10 years.

3. About these statistics

The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who intended to enter the UK for family-related reasons. Year-on-year comparisons of decision volumes can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined using the quarterly breakdowns in the published tables.

EU/EEA nationals

Before the end of the transition period following the UK’s exit from the EU on 31 December 2020, EU nationals were able to come to the UK under freedom of movement and did not typically require separate permission (such as a visa). As a result, most UK immigration control prior to 2021 related to non-EEA nationals. From 2021, EEA nationals became subject to immigration controls and are now more likely to obtain permission to travel to the UK. For many this will be under the EU Settlement Scheme (see ‘How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) and Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?’), while others will require a visa.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. From 2021, EEA nationals generally require a visa to enter the UK for family reasons, unless they are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme or an EU Settlement Scheme family permit.

The EUSS Family Permit is a free travel document for non-EU family members of EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens who want to join them in the UK. It allows entry to the UK for up to 6 months, during which you must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for longer-term status.

For figures on family-related grants of settlement, as well as the residence documentation issued to EEA nationals and their family members, see ‘How many Indefinite Leave (Settlement and EUSS settled status) and Citizenship grants have been issued in the UK?’

Refugee Family Reunion

The UK government has announced a temporary pause on new applications for Family Reunion under the Economic note: Appendix Family Reunion, suspension of new applications (accessible), effective from 4 September 2025. Existing applications and outstanding appeal cases submitted before the pause continue to progress. This decision is part of a broader review of family migration policy to ensure fairness and manageability. Families can still apply through other routes, such as the Appendix FM, Appendix Child Relative, and Adult Dependent Relative routes.

Applications submitted before 4 September 2025 may still appear in the data in the following months. This is because applicants have up to 240 days to attend a Visa Application Centre and provide their biometrics. An application is only counted in the statistics once biometrics have been taken.

More information about the statistics can be found in the user guide.

3.1 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

Extensions of temporary stay in the UK relate to individuals inside the UK extending or changing the status of their right to stay in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay in the UK expires.

The statistics do not show the number of people applying to extend their temporary stay in the UK, nor do they show how long an individual stayed in the UK following their extension.

Family and Private Life cases

From quarter 2 2025 (April to June) onwards, all case decisions categorised as either a Family Life (10-year route) or Private Life route have been aggregated in the extensions dataset and are now reported under a new combined leave group, ‘Family and Private Life’. This category is now distinct from the ‘Family’ category. It is recognised that Family Life and Private Life have distinct legal definitions under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); however, these cases cannot be disaggregated within the current administrative data, when extracted from the new caseworking system, which was introduced in April 2025. Data prior to quarter 2 2025 (April to June), in which Family Life (10-year route) and Private Life cases were distinguishable, have been included within this category to support the user.

Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the extension section of the user guide.

3.2 Other sources

The Home Office also publishes monthly updates on applications for family visas, from 2022 onwards - see ‘Monthly statistical releases on migration’ for further information.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish long-term international migration estimates. These are statistics under development that estimate the number of people immigrating to and emigrating from the UK for 12 months or more.

4. Data tables

Data on family immigration can be found in the following tables:

• Entry clearance visa summary tables
• Detailed entry clearance visa datasets
• Extensions summary tables
• Detailed Extensions datasets

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