Child Settlement Visa To The Uk

[stevebow]

My wife was contacted by the embassy and told that she must attend an interview with my stepdaughter on the 4th August.

I havnt read the letter yet but my wife was told she needed to prove sponsership from myself since she first arrived in the Uk in 2007.

Havnt got a clue what they could mean by this? (She originally came on a fiancee visa,we then married and she was swiftly granted a 2 year settlement visa)

Anyway the real reason for the post was to ask what my wife could expect whilst being interviewed for a child settlement? Does anyone have any experiences of this?

Also my wife is pregnant (which i didnt mention in the application) and will be borderline to be able to fly back to the Uk come August, do you think if i call the embassy they might be able to bring forward the interview date.

Any advise will be appreciated.

A Very Hassled Steve

[the scouser]

Presuming that the usual requirements of the Rules are met; i.e. maintenance and accommodation, and it has been demonstrated that the child applying for the visa is indeed your wife's child, the only thing left to be challenged at interview is "sole responsibility". Without knowing the ins-and-outs of the case, it is likely that this is what the embassy is focussing upon.

My empirically formed and unscientific opinion is that the embassy are "cracking down" upon what they perceive to be a secondary form of migration; i.e. the mothers came first and now it's the kids. To this end, the only thing they can really seek to question is "sole responsibility", the definition of which is the subject of much case law.

Essentially, the embassy will, in all likelihood, question your wife and/or the child's current carer about the father's involvement in his/her life. Any suggestion that the father sees the child regularly and, God forbid, may slip him/her a bit of pocket money will be perceived as the responsibility being shared, and the requirement of the Rules not met. This likewise goes for any hint that it is the child's current carer who determines the child's schooling etc.

However, the case law is clear. "Sole responsibility" is not to be interpreted literally as, where a parent is living abroad, someone else must, de facto, have sole responsibility for the child in day-to-day terms and a literal interpretation would mean that it's nigh on impossible for an overseas parent to secure his/her child's entry to the U.K. What the courts have found is that the notion of "sole responsibility" is to be decided on all of the given facts, with no one factor being conclusive. The visa officer should take in to consideration the U.K.-based parent's contact with, and financial support of, the child, in addition to the extent to which s/he controls and directs the child's life in the home country, through the vicarious carer. Furthermore, "sole responsibility" need not be demonstrated for the duration of a child's life, and may have only recently been assumed, although the courts recognise that the more recently a parent has taken on the "sole responsibility" mantle, the more difficult it will be to establish.

That said, the courts have also recognised that where the parent has not made any contribution to a child's life, s/he may be seen to have abdicated responsibility and cannot possibly be considered to have "sole responsibility". In such instances, this may lie with either the other parent or the child's carer. Furthermore, it is also possible for responsibility for a child to be shared; e.g. both parents may be instrumental in providing the control and direction in a child's life, even if s/he lives with a third party. In such instances, the "sole responsibility" criterion cannot be met.

If you fancy reading up on the finer details, Steve, you can check out:-

http://www.ait.gov.uk/Public/Upload/j1907/...06_td_yemen.doc

Scouse.

[the scouser]

Sorry, forgot to add that, yes, you should inform the embassy of your wife's pregnancy with a request that the interview is brought forward. A medical certificate confirming how far gone the missus is should also be supplied.

Scouse.

[stevebow]

Thanks for that Scouse.

Could you also tell me what are the implications when applying for the next visa as my wife has been out of the country for 5 weeks Oct last year and will now be out of the country for 10 weeks trying to sort this child settlement visa. I know she has to spend a certain ammount of time in the UK but not sure the exact rules. She is currently on the 2yr settlement visa which was issued Sept 2007.

Thanks again.

Steve

[the scouser]

I wouldn't envisage a problem based on fifteen weeks' absence. The only time when prolonged absences really matter is at the naturalisation stage when the person applying (where they are the spouse of a British citizen) can't have spent more than a combined 270 days outside of the UK in the 3 years before application, and no more than 90 in the last year.

Scouse.

[DWALDO]

I am in pretty much the same situation as Steve, my wife has been here for about ten months and having recently come back from our first trip back to Thailand I realize that we need to bring my stepson here as soon as possible. His life is not good where he is. We have put him in the best school in Kantharalax but his home life is far from ideal. The boys father has not been seen for years and we pay for everything. We don't want my wife to spend months back in Thailand as she has a good job here, could her sister take him for the interview or would it be much better for her to take him. If she takes him she would have to go back twice and at short notice.

I've tagged this on to Steve's thread as I think we are in a similar spot

Thanks Dave.

[the scouser]

There is no requirement for the parent to attend but if s/he does, it evidently goes some way towards helping demonstrate sole responsibility. However, it is perfectly feasible for your sister-in-law to take the lad to the visa application centre in order to lodge the application and attend the interview if needs be.

Scouse.

[the scouser]

Also, as you're in the Channel Islands, although an application will be made at the British embassy, the papers will be referred to the relevant island immigration authoritiy for a decision, which will effectively take the matter out of the hands of the embassy staff.

Scouse.

[DWALDO]

Thanks Scouse,

does it not matter that my wife has not been here for 2 years yet and does not have a permanent leave to remain visa. Will the nipper get the same sort of visa as my wife has. It seems from my wifes friends they are giving five year visa's at the end of two years not a PLR visa.

[the scouser]

As things stand at the moment, should the visa be issued, it will be of the same validity as your wife's and when she then applies for either an extension or indefinite leave, the child will remain in line with her.

Scouse.

[DWALDO]

Thanks again Scouse,

just one more thing, we have to hand in the forms for his visa, then there will be an interview and then, we hope the granting of his visa and his journey here. with the price of airfares, especially at short notice can you tell me how much we can do from here as my wife will have to go and get him from Thailand. Could we get someone to hand in the forms for us and then somehow try to get an interview at our convenience then try to do the interview and bring him over in one go, I know it's a risk but I think it can be done.

Dave

[the scouser]

The process should be:-

1. The application is made at the visa application centre;

2. They pass the papers to the embassy;

3. The embassy passes the papers to the island immigration office;

4. The island immigration office decides whether to grant/refuse/interview and informs the embassy accordingly.

It may be possible for you to contact your local immigration office at the time and invite them to interview your wife there and then.

Scouse.

[DWALDO]

Thanks,

That sounds a lot more hopeful. I will get in touch with local immigration and hopefully get the interview here. Are you saying that if we fill the forms in here that we could send them to Regent house by registered post or let my wifes sister hand them in.

cheers,

Dave

[the scouser]

On the assumption that your step-child is aged five or over, the application will need to be made in person as biometrics will need to be given. However, there's no harm in your sister-in-law taking the child to make the application.

Scouse.

[DWALDO]

Thanks once again for all the info Scouse.

I've downloaded the forms from the internet but I think the fact that the boy hasn't got a passport will probably mean my wife having to go back as she reckons she has to go with him to get it. Hopefully we can do the rest from here and get an interview in Guernsey once she comes back and then go and get him later. He's eight by the way so he doesn't need the TB certificate but he's too young to fly on his own.

[mariner29]

We did in fact use my wifes sister to submit the application,the visa was issued in 5 days without an interview.

[worthingmike]

My wife was contacted by the embassy and told that she must attend an interview with my stepdaughter on the 4th August.

I havnt read the letter yet but my wife was told she needed to prove sponsership from myself since she first arrived in the Uk in 2007.

Havnt got a clue what they could mean by this? (She originally came on a fiancee visa,we then married and she was swiftly granted a 2 year settlement visa)

Anyway the real reason for the post was to ask what my wife could expect whilst being interviewed for a child settlement? Does anyone have any experiences of this?

Also my wife is pregnant (which i didnt mention in the application) and will be borderline to be able to fly back to the Uk come August, do you think if i call the embassy they might be able to bring forward the interview date.

Any advise will be appreciated.

A Very Hassled Steve

Sorry Steve, Nothing you can do, there is no compassion at the British Embassy, you can only phone for a few hours a day when you and 1000 other perople want to get through. They generally ignore mail. I have learned to take whatever they dish out. Because nothing works so the sooner you accept that, the better for you. All they will ask your wife is confirm what you have put in the application form. Just to check that you are an international prostitute smuggling outfit. The interview should not take longer than five minutes and providing you have read all the rules and your application complies with thoes rules, then there should be no problem.