My wife's son has just been granted settlent to join parent(s)

The visa has a validity of 15/09/10 - 18/08/13 3yrs. It says Indefinite Leave to enter although my wife has Resident Permit. He is 16 as of last week, what happens when the visa expires ? Can he work on this type of Visa aged under 18 ?does he have to apply for ILR when the Visa expires or does he have to apply for ILR when he is 18 ?

Advice needed

Thank you

If the visa is as you say, Settlement - Indefinite Leave to Enter, then he will be granted ILE on arrival in the UK. After that he is free to do what he wants, work or study, etc. There is no need to seek ILR at a later stage. When the visa expires it makes no difference to his status in the UK. After arrival he has Indefinite Leave to Enter/ Remain. In effect he becomes resident in the UK. As long as he does not stay outside of the UK for more than 2 years he can come and go as he pleases and he will retain his resident status ( unless that status is considered to be abused eg. returning for only a very short period every 2 years in order to try to maintain the residence in UK ).

Has his Mother applied for citizenship yet ?

Thank you for your response just confused why the Visa has a 3yr expiry date ? And why ILE and not ILR was issued ?

Thanks

Leave to Remain, indefinite or otherwise, is granted when settlement is requested by an applicant who is already in the UK. Your stepson is entering the UK for the first time, therefore ILE.

The expiry date is the date by which the LTE must be first used to enter the UK. If it is not used by that date then it will effectively expire.

As VisaPlus says, once he has first entered the UK he will have LTE and can then stay indefinitely and leave and re-enter as often and for as long as he wishes; subject to the provisions outlined by VisaPlus.

Quote from guidance to ECOs:-

"Although indefinite leave, by definition, will not expire, the ECO is unable to issue a visa to those who meet the criteria for ILE without putting a ‘validity date’ on the visa. In cases of ILE the ‘validity date’ on the visa should match the expiry date on the passport. When the applicant gets a new passport, they can apply to UK Border Agency for a transfer of conditions into their new passport. They do not need to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)."

Of course, a "Transfer of Conditions" will cost another 150 quid or so. But by then he should be close to making a citizenship application, so "Indefinite Leave" then becomes irrelevant.

As he is under 18, can he apply for registration as a British citizen at the same time as his mother applies for naturalisation, or does he have to wait until he is time qualified in his own right; that is 5 years?

Thanks for asking that question 7by7 that was what we were wondering too.

As he is under 18, can he apply for registration as a British citizen at the same time as his mother applies for naturalisation, or does he have to wait until he is time qualified in his own right; that is 5 years?

In my earlier post I was tending to assume that he would get in along with his mum, on this basis:-

"MINOR CHILDREN

11. Minor children (under 18) cannot be included in certificates of naturalisation that are granted to their parents. However, they may be considered for registration as British citizens. If you are applying for naturalisation, you should complete a separate application Form MN1 for each of your minor children who are not British citizens and who you would like to be registered. We normally need permission from both parents."

But if his 18th birthday occurs before she is eligible to apply for naturalisation, it looks as if he would have to pass the 5 year qualifying period.

Thanks, that's what I thought.

The OP seems to have alluded to another point. He implies that the mother does not possess indefinite leave herself. The child should be granted leave in line with the parent, and if she possesses time-limited conditions, the child's grant of ILE is erroneous.

If this is the case, then as a general principle, one cannot benefit from something that one is no legally entitled to, and the visa endorsement should be rectified.

Scouse.

The OP seems to have alluded to another point. He implies that the mother does not possess indefinite leave herself. The child should be granted leave in line with the parent, and if she possesses time-limited conditions, the child's grant of ILE is erroneous.

If this is the case, then as a general principle, one cannot benefit from something that one is no legally entitled to, and the visa endorsement should be rectified.

Scouse.

Just to clarify, My wife currently has Resident Permit which is ILR !

Many Thanks

Jason

Your step-son's all OK then, and he will be construed as being permanently resident in the UK from his first arrival. He can go to college, work, or sit on his backside. But he shouldn't spend more than 2 years outside of the UK. He won't realistically be able to register as a British citizen at the same time as your wife applies for her naturalisation, but will have to wait until he has been in the UK for 5 years.

Scouse.