Family Settlement Visa - UK

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Has anyone recently worked their way through the application for a UK Family Settlement visa?

 

My wife and two boys will be applying mid-year and I am trying to figure out the steps to be taken. We qualify but I am in the UK and she is going to have to apply online from Thailand if I understand it correctly. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by backtofront

[7by7]

Yes, she applies online; see here.

 

You can register the account and complete the form for or with her. 

 

Remember you will also need to complete Appendix 2 for the financial requirement.

 

You say

16 hours ago, backtofront said:

My wife and two boys will be applying

Are the boys your sons or your step sons?

 

If you were born in the UK or a qualifying territory and at least one of your parents is British and the boys are your sons, they do not apply for settlement as they are British citizens with the right to live in the UK. You should get them British passports instead. As they will not be applying for a visa they will not be included in the financial requirement.

 

If they are your step sons then they will need to apply as well by adding them to your wife's application and will be included in the financial requirement; resulting in a higher required figure; see the financial requirement appendix.

 

You may find the relevant to you parts of Family visas: apply, extend or switch and the guide to supporting documents helpful. There's a pinned topic here as well which may be of use.

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8 hours ago, 7by7 said:

If you were born in the UK or a qualifying territory and at least one of your parents is British and the boys are your sons, they do not apply for settlement as they are British citizens with the right to live in the UK. You should get them British passports instead. As they will not be applying for a visa they will not be included in the financial requirement.

I got passport through my grandfather on my fathers side. He had a British passport but no birth certificate which has complicated things somewhat. The boys grandmother was also born in England and held a British passport. But I understand that the process to apply for citizenship through a grandmother it is not as simple as it should be.

 

My information might well be dated. 

[7by7]

British citizenship can be complicated for people born outside the UK or a qualifying territory and their children if they, too, are born outside the UK or a qualifying territory (The qualifying territories are all the British overseas territories, except the sovereign base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus).

 

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:40 PM, backtofront said:

The boys grandmother was also born in England and held a British passport. 

Do you mean your mother? British citizenship can be inherited from either parent.  If so, then if you were born in the UK or a qualifying territory then you are British not by descent and so your son's are automatically British by descent; assuming they were born after 1st July 2006 or if born before then you were married to their mother at the time of their birth.

 

If you were born outside the UK or a qualifying territory then you are British by descent and so your sons will only be automatically British if they were born in the UK or a qualifying territory

 

You can use this tool to check your sons' citizenship: Check if you're a British citizen.

 

If they are not currently British then, assuming they are both under 18, it may be possible for you to register them as such: see Apply for citizenship if you have a British parent. Doing so would certainly be a lot cheaper in the long run then paying UK visa and leave to remain fees for them.

 

BTW, both the UK and Thailand allow dual citizenship so being British will not effect their Thai citizenship in any way. Indeed, if they are, or become, British you should get both Thai and British passports for them

 

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The question is whether I got my citizenship by descent or not by descent. I was born in Kenya whilst it was still a British colony. My father British by descent and my mother not by descent. She was born in Surrey.

 

In my mind I should be a citizen 'not by descent' since Kenya was very much part of the Empire at the time. However that is not something anyone admits to or recognises these days. But the grey area here are the rights I acquire through my mother. Something that has also changed in more recent times. This time, one is hoping, in my favour.

 

But as I understand it, the boys are only eligible to apply for an Ancestral Visa once they are seventeen. That is assuming I am only a citizen by descent.   

[7by7]

15 hours ago, backtofront said:

The question is whether I got my citizenship by descent or not by descent. I was born in Kenya whilst it was still a British colony. My father British by descent and my mother not by descent. She was born in Surrey.

Which means, in my view, that you are British by descent; having inherited your citizenship from your mother.

 

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you will have to apply for settlement visas for your sons as they are not currently British.

 

However, other members have been in similar positions; for example:

Maybe a PM to one or more of them will get you the advice you need?

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8 hours ago, 7by7 said:

Which means, in my view, that you are British by descent; having inherited your citizenship from your mother.

 

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you will have to apply for settlement visas for your sons as they are not currently British.

Agreed.

 

I have spent the last year getting myself into a position where we do qualify and it has not been easy. But as the application gets closer I am questioning whether there is any sense in shouldering the cost if it is dependent rather on quotas and the whims of civil servants with nothing better to do other than to milk the system. 

 

I question whether anyone who has applied has actually had their visa approved.

[7by7]

13 hours ago, backtofront said:

I have spent the last year getting myself into a position where we do qualify and it has not been easy. But as the application gets closer I am questioning whether there is any sense in shouldering the cost if it is dependent rather on quotas and the whims of civil servants with nothing better to do other than to milk the system. 

 

I question whether anyone who has applied has actually had their visa approved.

Whilst certain Tier 2 work  visas do have an annual quota, there are no quotas or targets for settlement visas.

 

Not sure what you mean by "the whims of civil servants with nothing better to do other than to milk the system." The decision makers neither gain nor lose by accepting or refusing an application. As said, there are no quotas for settlement visas; no targets to hit for a bonus either.  The decision makers are paid the same salary regardless of how many applications they accept or refuse.

 

Myself and many other members here can confirm that our partner's and non British children's settlement visas have been approved.

 

The statistics consistently show that for Thailand over 90% of settlement applications are granted. Based on comments here and on similar boards, of those that failed the reasons for refusal, in descending order, are:

1. the applicant did not qualify (more common since the introduction of the new financial requirement in July 2012);
2. the applicant did qualify but they or their sponsor failed to show that they did;
3. the decision maker made and error.

 

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Good to hear.

 

As the time gets closer all one hears are horror stories. The affluent one, fighting his sixth application through the courts. I have worked long and hard hours at a job I would rather not be doing, in circumstances I would rather not be in.

 

Is there an appeal process in the event of a adverse decision?