Mother Following Child To Europe

[torrenova]

What's the story with a mother following her baby to europe ?(if you know, please differenciate between mainland europe and the UK).

Now I know you would normally go for a visa but solely on the basis of her being the mother of a baby who is on its way or is already in europe, is there some convention or EU law which allows the mother to follow or accompany the child and under which a visa (if required) cannot be refused (save in exceptional circumstances).

If this provision exists, does it require the baby to already be in the desitnation country or can the mother accompany the baby at the time of departure ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

What's the story with a mother following her baby to europe ?(if you know, please differenciate between mainland europe and the UK).

Now I know you would normally go for a visa but solely on the basis of her being the mother of a baby who is on its way or is already in europe, is there some convention or EU law which allows the mother to follow or accompany the child and under which a visa (if required) cannot be refused (save in exceptional circumstances).

If this provision exists, does it require the baby to already be in the desitnation country or can the mother accompany the baby at the time of departure ?

There are a lot of variables here. Are the mother/child Thai and been taken by a UK citizen father to Europe ?

[gregchambers]

I aksed a similar question on what would happen if I got my illegitimate child a Brit passport and would the mother then be able to get a visa on the back of it to visit the UK and the consensus seemed to be that she would have to meet all the normal requiements despite having a then British son living in the UK. The EEC has human rights laws that might make it a different matter, though.

[the scouser]

To give a considered response we'll need more information such as whether the intention is for the mother to settle or visit, does she have any court judgements in the European country which give her access, what is the age of the child, the nationality of the child and mother and which country they'll be going to?

The European Convention on Human Rights confers the right to family life, but it is a qualified rather than absolute. Furthermore, it doesn't give the right to choose in which country you wish to exercise a given right. In other words, it could be argued that the mother and child could practice their right to family life in Thailand.

Scouse.

[torrenova]

I had the idea of the mother visiting rather than settling. My specific question was about a baby and the UK but I left it open to include europe as well. The child is half Thai half UK on the father's side.

Scouse, I take your point about the family being able to practice family life in Thailand but if you include a father under 50 years old then it is not possible because the Thai government does not provide a specific visa for that area. Sheer economics may mean that the family has to be outside Thaialnd because the father cannot work in Thailand. I believe these arguments would bring us back to a credible argument for allowing the mother to entery europe and the UK.

[the scouser]

It seems that things are being made unnecessarily complicated. If the mother wishes to visit the UK she can simply apply for the relevant visa. There's no need to present complicated human rights argument when she may otherwise meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Scouse.

[torrenova]

I know that in this instance she could just apply for a visa but I was trying to get answers for a number of questions.

Baby has a UK passport and is in UK with father. Can mother be refused visa ? What about if the father did not wish to sponsor her ? Could she use this provision either for a temporary visit or settlement ? Where does the "recourse to public funds" come into this situation ?

I don't have this problem but I hoped to extract an answer to see what options there are or would be both in a positive sense in case of a visa refusal or in a negative sense where the father does not wish the mother to travel and she could exercise some EU rights to overcome any objections. It is all hypothetical.

[the scouser]

Can mother be refused visa ?

Yes.

What about if the father did not wish to sponsor her ?

She'd have to qualify in her own right.

Could she use this provision either for a temporary visit or settlement ?

There is no legal provision which guarantees her entry to the UK simply because she has a son who is British.

Where does the "recourse to public funds" come into this situation ?

Both visitors and those on settlement visas need to demonstrate that they can be provided for without recourse to public funds.

Scouse.