Understanding your right to visit loved ones in care

Last Updated: July 24, 2026

If you have a loved one in a care home and are facing restrictions on visiting, it’s important to know that you have options. Nicky Sharma, Policy and Research Officer at The Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA), explores how you can push back against excessive restrictions and advocate for your loved ones’ rights to have contact with friends and family.

The guidance on care home visiting policies has undergone many changes over the past (almost) three years. From understanding the current guidance to knowing and using your rights, in this blog I will provide practical tips and advice to help ensure that residents receive the care and connection they need and deserve.

The most recent version of the guidance is available online, and it establishes some clear points:

• Contact with relatives and friends is ‘fundamental to care home residents’ health and wellbeing and visiting should be encouraged. There should not normally be any restrictions to visits into or out of the care home’.
• Even in the event of an outbreak, or where a resident has tested positive for COVID-19, every resident should continue to have access to one visitor at a time as a minimum.
• Care homes are encouraged to use ‘proportionate and risk-based outbreak measures relevant to the setting’ to minimise the disruption caused.

Many care homes have followed the guidance and facilitated contact with loved ones. However, we also know that many people around the country continue to face excessive restrictions on visiting.

Visiting is still a postcode lottery

In October 2022, along with campaign group Rights for Residents, we at the R&RA conducted a survey of over 650 people who had a relative or friend in care. We found that over a six-month period, 60% of respondents encountered visiting restrictions that went beyond the Government guidance, and more than one in 10 people told us that care home residents were not allowed any visitors at all. 

We regularly hear of such cases on our helpline and we know that even seemingly minor restrictions, like booking systems or time-limited visits, can have a huge impact. Whatever the reason you may encounter excessive restrictions, it’s vital you understand your rights and what you can do. 

Knowing your rights

People in care settings are afforded certain rights under the law, and care providers have legal obligations towards their residents. Here, we summarise a few key points to remember:

• People in care settings have a right to private and family life according to Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, meaning their right to have contact with family and friends is protected by law. This is not an ‘absolute right’, which means it can be restricted, but only if the restriction is lawful, has a legitimate aim and is proportionate to the risk of infection. 
• Blanket approaches and decisions to restrict visiting are unlawful under the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act. Instead, the law requires that individual risk assessments are carried out. The individual risk assessment must demonstrate how an interference with the resident’s right to family life is proportionate to the risk of infection, and it must also consider the harm caused by restrictions to the resident’s physical and mental health and wider wellbeing. 
• Care homes must also comply with the Care Quality Commission’s Regulations, which require person-centred care and the protection of resident’s dignity (CQC Regulations 9 and 10). 
• If you have a legal role, such as being Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare, then the provider must not put in place restrictions that prevent you from being able to carry out this role.

Case study 1

When Julie’s care home locked down in the summer of 2022, all visits were banned and residents were confined to their rooms. Her daughter, Lorraine, was very concerned about the restrictions.

After reading R&RA’s guide ‘Visiting and the Law’, Lorraine asked the care home to see a copy of her mum’s risk assessment. The home hadn’t done an assessment for Julie, so arranged for this to happen. Lorraine quoted sections of R&RA’s guide about Julie’s rights and suggested changes to the risk assessment to reflect the harm caused by isolation. The home changed its policy and Julie was allowed visits from her daughter again.

Using your rights

Finding yourself banned from visiting your loved ones can be really distressing. If this happens to you, you should first contact the care home’s staff or management team and discuss it with them.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, we find it’s best to start with a calm and friendly approach. Remind them of their obligations under the law and emphasise that your contact will support their work and is in the best interests of your loved one – all care homes should understand the value of care and support provided by family members. It’s important to keep the focus on the resident, their wellbeing and their rights.

You can ask them if they have carried out an individual risk assessment and to see a copy of it if so. The care home should be taking into consideration the individual resident’s rights, needs and wishes.

You can ask them if they have considered all the alternative options and whether there are logistical barriers preventing access which could be overcome by using alternative approaches. You can also ask whether they have considered how to manage the risk of the virus in a less restrictive way.

If you aren’t able to resolve the issue informally, it’s important to get things in writing – you can use our template letter, available here (see ‘Infection Outbreak’). In some cases, it may be necessary to file a complaint, and the care home must provide you with information about its complaints procedure when requested. 

Case study 2

Deborah used to have daily visits from her husband Tony in her care home prior to the pandemic. When Deborah was placed in isolation and Tony’s visits were stopped, their daughter, Lisa, called the R&RA Helpline.

R&RA’s adviser informed Lisa about Deborah’s legal right to family life. The adviser also sent Lisa R&RA’s guide ‘Visiting and the Law’, which explains the relevant legal duties regarding providers.

Lisa emailed R&RA 24 hours later to say that, after sharing this information with the home and making a formal complaint, Deborah was immediately removed from isolation and Tony was able to visit her in her room. 

Relatives and friends are much more than just ‘visitors’; they are a lifeline and shouldn’t face a battle to be recognised as a vital part of the care team. 

If you would like further information or any advice or support on how this applies to you or your relative/friend, please get in touch with us. The R&RA Helpline can help you to explore what the guidance means for your family and support you to use these legal standards to get contact with your loved one.

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