Help Needed! Flr (O) Refused

[Kadafi]

My girlfriend came into the UK on a 6 month visit visa (she is 20, im 28), we have been together just over 3 years and have a 2 year old son. We lived together in Thailand before coming to the UK in June, I have a house in the UK and got a job couple weeks after arriving in England.

Our son is receiving treatment from Moorfields eye hospital and had his first operation in November to correct an eye problem, a second operation is required this year and he has to attend checkups every 6 weeks.

We applied for FLR (O) under compassionate grounds in November, supplied letters from the Moorfields surgeon stating treatment will continue for 2 years and another operation is required this year, supporting letter from my local MP and family members as we felt our son cannot leave the UK while treatment is ongoing and it would be unfair to separate him from his mother.

After 4 months of waiting we have received a letter back from UK Boarder agency rejecting her leave to remain and asking my girlfriend to leave the UK immediately, giving not strong enough grounds for compassionate leave and that she came in on a visit visa as the reasons for refusal. We can only appeal if there is other information to be given that we havent already stated, which there isnt.

We feel that asking my girlfriend to leave the UK for a minimum of 6 months when she has not been apart from our son since birth shows no compassion from UK Border agency at all.

I dont know where to go from here? as i work fall time and would need to get a fall time carer in while his mother is back in Thailand. I guess we need to legal advice, surely there some sorts of human rights to prevent families being split up like this?

[7by7]

Comparing your OP and some of your previous posts it is now fairly obvious that there was no intention for her to leave the UK at the end of her visit visa. Had you been upfront about your intentions from the start, there are other types of entry clearance that, given the circumstances, she may have been entitled to which would have given her 12 months in the UK with the entitlement to extend her leave, or even apply for indefinite leave, at the end of that period.

You said in this post that your son was already receiving free treatment in Thailand and whilst I understand your desire not to be separated from your partner and child, if she was unable to obtain any other type of visa then it would have been better had they remained in Thailand until she was 21 and could have applied for settlement rather than attempting to by-pass the settlement rules by obtaining a visit visa and then trying to obtain FLR.

How long until she is 21? I think your best (only?) option is for her to return to Thailand and then as soon as she is 21 apply for settlement as your unmarried partner (separations of up to 6 months during the qualifying period are allowed). She can apply a couple of months before her 21st birthday, but if successful the visa would start on her actual 21st birthday.

See SET05 - Unmarried and same sex partners

That is my amateur opinion, maybe a professional will be able to advise you otherwise.

[Kadafi]

Yes our son was receiving treatment in Thailand, for 18 months with no progress and no eye operation as they were seeing him at 3 month intervals. When we went to the UK we had no idea that he would require at least 2 operations and treatment for 2 years as the Thai doctors told us none this. At the start Moorfields were seeing him every 2 weeks and only was it then we started to understand his condition fully, Moorfields not agreeing with some of the information we had previously been given.

If after his first operation in November he could have returned to Thailand with his mum for 6 months but he cant because of the second operation.

Yes because of the under 21 rule she had limited visa options when entering the UK but it was Cititzens advice who suggested applying for FLR (0) based on the circumstances. It may look like we had no intentions of her going back but we did mention on her 6 month visa application about the eye condition and as mentioned before we didnt know the time scale of the surgery back then so it could have been possible for them both to had returned as planned.

[paully]

I dont know where to go from here? as i work fall time and would need to get a fall time carer in while his mother is back in Thailand. I guess we need to legal advice, surely there some sorts of human rights to prevent families being split up like this? [/Quote]

I'm with 7by7. She needs to leave and apply in Thailand for a settlement visa on reaching 21. The issue is that she was on a visit visa which is, by its nature, temporary.

Edited March 7, 2011 by paully