SET(O) ILR: what to do if the Home Office asks why you didn't include your children
If you applied for ILR on the Skilled Worker route using form SET(O) and left your dependent children off the application, the Home Office may email asking why they were not included. This is usually a request for clarification, not a refusal — you respond by explaining your children's situation (for example, they are applying separately, are over 18, never held dependant permission, or live with their other parent), and providing any documents the caseworker asks for.
Why the Home Office asks this question
The immigration rules expect a parent's settlement and their dependent children's status to line up. A child under 18 can normally be granted ILR as a dependant only if both parents are settling at the same time or are already settled — unless one parent has sole responsibility for the child, is the sole surviving parent, or there are serious and compelling reasons to grant settlement to the child.
When a caseworker sees a Skilled Worker parent settling without their child, they often want to make sure the child is not being left without status by mistake. So they email to ask why the child was not included. The same can happen if your dependants applied separately and the caseworker is cross-checking the family's applications.
- A query email about omitted children is a request for information, not an automatic refusal.
- Children under 18 usually need both parents to be settling/settled, or proof of sole responsibility.
- Children 18 or over, or those who never held dependant permission, generally apply in their own right.
- You normally get a short deadline (often around 14 days) to reply with your explanation and documents.
Common, legitimate reasons children are not on a SET(O)
There are several entirely valid reasons a child is not on your application:
- They are applying separately. Each family member completes their own online application — they are not always submitted in one bundle. The child may have their own SET(O) in progress.
- They are 18 or over. A child who has turned 18 cannot usually be added to a parent's application and must apply in their own right (unless they already hold permission as your dependant).
- They never held dependant permission. A child who was not granted a Skilled Worker dependant visa cannot be added to your settlement application.
- They live abroad or with the other parent, and you do not have sole responsibility.
- They are British or already settled, so they do not need ILR.
How to respond to the email
Reply through the channel the Home Office used (usually the same email or your UKVI account) by the stated deadline. Keep it factual and short:
- State clearly why each child is not on the application — for example, "My daughter, born [date], is applying separately; her application reference is [GWF/UAN]."
- Match the rules. If a child under 18 is not settling with you, explain how the rules are still met — e.g. the other parent is already settled, or you have sole responsibility (and can evidence it).
- Attach the documents requested — birth certificates, the other parent's status, custody or sole-responsibility evidence, or the child's separate application reference.
- Do not send your child's biometric or new application into a query reply unless asked; just provide the reference.
Never invent a reason. If a child should have been included and was left off by mistake, say so plainly and ask how to correct it — do not give an answer that is untrue. Misleading the Home Office can affect your good-character standing later when you naturalise.
Typical timescales after you reply
Standard SET(O) applications are decided within up to 6 months of your biometrics, though many are decided in 2–3 months. A clarification email pauses the clock until you respond; once you reply, the caseworker continues the decision. There is no fixed "after you reply" timescale, but a clean, well-evidenced reply often leads to a decision within a few weeks rather than months. If you used the priority (£500, around 5 working days) or super priority (£1,000, next working day) service, that timescale typically resumes once your reply is received and complete.
If your case is genuinely overdue, see super priority ILR: what to do if your application is taking longer than expected. For the bigger picture on whether to file as a family or apart, read should the Skilled Worker main applicant and dependants apply for ILR together or separately and when can my dependants apply for ILR on the Skilled Worker route.
While you wait, you can keep your own progress moving with free Life in the UK practice.
This is general information, not legal advice. If a query email turns on sole responsibility, a child's omitted status, or anything that could affect a refusal, get advice from a regulated OISC adviser or an immigration solicitor about your specific case before you reply.