Child Settlement Visa Question

[mirrorman]

question1

when we apply for our son to join us in uk do we have to get a letter from the school in uk that he will be attending as proof .

question 2

how long can our son remain in thailand after he has recieved a settlement visa before he comes to england , can he for instance wait for 1 year then renew his tb test certificate to bring up to date then come to uk

i ask this because we are coming to thailand in march 2012 and could apply for visa at this time, but due to work commitments it will not be suitable for our son to come to live with us until march 2013

question 3

when applying online it states about filling in a sponsorship undertaking form su07

, what is this ?? does this apply to us

thank you

[7by7]

You say 'our son.' Is one of you a British citizen? If so, then the boy is probably British and does not need a visa, just a British passport.

Q1. You do not need a letter confirming a school place in the UK; although you do have a legal obligation to send him to school once he is resident in the UK.

Q2. A visa's start date can be postponed for up to three months.If his parent(s) has ILR then he will be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter. This must be used to enter the UK within 1 year of it being issued. If his parent(s) doesn't have ILR then his visa will be timed to expire at the same time as that of his parent(s); he must enter the UK before this date or else he will need to apply for a new visa.

Q3. Form SU07 applies to applications by adult dependant relatives; not children.

You may find Settlement; Children helpful.

[mirrorman]

You say 'our son.' Is one of you a British citizen? If so, then the boy is probably British and does not need a visa, just a British passport.

Q1. You do not need a letter confirming a school place in the UK; although you do have a legal obligation to send him to school once he is resident in the UK.

Q2. A visa's start date can be postponed for up to three months.If his parent(s) has ILR then he will be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter. This must be used to enter the UK within 1 year of it being issued. If his parent(s) doesn't have ILR then his visa will be timed to expire at the same time as that of his parent(s); he must enter the UK before this date or else he will need to apply for a new visa.

Q3. Form SU07 applies to applications by adult dependant relatives; not children.

You may find Settlement; Children helpful.

thank you 7x7 for you're reply

the answers to questions 1 and 3 have been noted for when we apply for visa.

i am sorry i did not explain that the child is my Thai wifes son, he will be 11 years old in Aug 2012 so a Tb certificate will be needed on march 2013 when we will apply for visa.

my wife applied and received British citizenship in June this year .

please can you tell me as we are both British citizens what visa will her son will receive in his passport and when will we be able to apply for british passport for him,

we have been told we can apply as soon as he arrives in the UK and the cost of a (m n1 application) at the moment is approx £540.

your response is greatly appreciated

mirrorman

[7by7]

You, or rather he, applies for settlement as a child. As your wife has no time restriction on her stay in the UK, then, if successful, he will be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter.

Children under 18 cannot be naturalised as British, but they can apply to be registered as British; which to all intents and purposes is the same thing. Registration in his circumstances is not a right; it is at the UKBA's discretion, but as his mother is already naturalised then there should not be a problem.

He will not need to satisfy the knowledge of language and life in the UK requirement and there is no minimum residential requirement; although he must be resident in the UK with no time restriction on his stay.

See Can I register a child aged under 18 as a British citizen? and Other cases where it is considered to be in the child's best interests to be granted British citizenship as well as the relevant links from those pages.

My one concern is that his mother has been living apart from him in the UK for some time; at least three years now (or she would not have been able to become a British citizen); nearly 4 by the time the boy applies. The longer parent and child have been separated, the more difficult it can be showing that the UK based parent has been exercising sole responsibility over the child. See SET7.8 What is sole responsibility?

If the sole responsibility 'test' is not 'passed' then his visa application will be refused.

[mirrorman]

once again thank you for your reply.

the information you have given us has been so helpful and we know more clearly what to do.

I do not think we will have a problem with sole responsibility? because the father of the child tragically died 48 hours after the son was born so my wife has brought her son up along with the help of her family and relatives etc..

a death certificate will be submitted .

she has been with me in the uk nearly 4 years now.

we travel to Thailand 2 times a year to see him and her family, and we have proof of telephone calls each week and also keep all western union and travelex payments to Thailand to show we have been supporting him his teacher will if necessary will write a letter of release for him and also my wife's mum and dad will confirm that (my wifes) son has been staying with them for the past 4 years .

thank you

mirroman

[brynpugh]

once again thank you for your reply.

the information you have given us has been so helpful and we know more clearly what to do.

I do not think we will have a problem with sole responsibility? because the father of the child tragically died 48 hours after the son was born so my wife has brought her son up along with the help of her family and relatives etc..

a death certificate will be submitted .

she has been with me in the uk nearly 4 years now.

we travel to Thailand 2 times a year to see him and her family, and we have proof of telephone calls each week and also keep all western union and travelex payments to Thailand to show we have been supporting him his teacher will if necessary will write a letter of release for him and also my wife's mum and dad will confirm that (my wifes) son has been staying with them for the past 4 years .

thank you

mirroman

Well talking from experience just be careful with the whole application, right through to the phone conservation with the embassy as we also applied and had a similar pattern to yourselves and got refused on the sole responsibilty part so please dont think it is an easy process, i hope i am wrong and you get a positive answer. Some people on here will throw the time apart at you but unless they know the background dont allow that to blacken your application so your wife and yourself can hopefully lead a proper family life with her son in the UK....all the best

Edited November 1, 2011 by 7by7
Quote tags fixed

[steve187]

A friend of mine left it a few years to apply for his stepson to join him and his Thai wife (the boys mother) in the uk, they were refused on the sole responsibility part, and also lost at appeal, they thought it was a straight forward case, but immigration have different views/thoughts to normal people.

I would think it is hard to show the child needs to live in the UK with mum, if he has been well looked after in Thailand, for a number of years, and not meaning to critise, but why has it taken 4 years? even in your opening post you say "but due to work commitments it will not be suitable for our son to come to live with us until march 2013" i do hope that information doesn't get on the application form.

I am not connected with any agents, and i would not normally advise the use of them in most circumstances, but in you case i would advise using a good agent with a good track record for cases in the same circumstances as yourselves.

I think you have a harder job ahead of you than you think, but all the best for the future.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

once again thank you for your reply.

the information you have given us has been so helpful and we know more clearly what to do.

I do not think we will have a problem with sole responsibility? because the father of the child tragically died 48 hours after the son was born so my wife has brought her son up along with the help of her family and relatives etc..

a death certificate will be submitted .

she has been with me in the uk nearly 4 years now.

we travel to Thailand 2 times a year to see him and her family, and we have proof of telephone calls each week and also keep all western union and travelex payments to Thailand to show we have been supporting him his teacher will if necessary will write a letter of release for him and also my wife's mum and dad will confirm that (my wifes) son has been staying with them for the past 4 years .

thank you

mirroman

If the Father is dead you do not need the Phor Khor 14 document from the Amphur as your wife obviously has custody of the child. But you should present the death certificate with the application.

Edited November 1, 2011 by 7by7
Reply moved out of quote box.

[7by7]

Personally, I believe that it is best for both parent and child to apply for settlement at the same time. Not just to make the child's application simpler and easier (if parent and child have been living constantly together and apply together then sole responsibility is almost a given) but also to avoid the heartache of separation. From the day we started to get serious and talk of marriage, my wife made it clear that her daughter was part of the package and she would not move to the UK with me unless her daughter came too; I would not have wanted it any other way.

However, I fully understand that practical issues, such as finding suitable accommodation, may make it difficult or even impossible for parent and child to both move to the UK at the same time. Each couple must decide for themselves. But the shorter the period of separation, the better for parent and child and the easier it will be to obtain a settlement visa for the child

in your opening post you say "but due to work commitments it will not be suitable for our son to come to live with us until march 2013" i do hope that information doesn't get on the application form.

Why?

In my opinion a full explanation of why the boy has not applied earlier can only help the application.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Personally, I believe that it is best for both parent and child to apply for settlement at the same time. Not just to make the child's application simpler and easier (if parent and child have been living constantly together and apply together then sole responsibility is almost a given) but also to avoid the heartache of separation. From the day we started to get serious and talk of marriage, my wife made it clear that her daughter was part of the package and she would not move to the UK with me unless her daughter came too; I would not have wanted it any other way.

However, I fully understand that practical issues, such as finding suitable accommodation, may make it difficult or even impossible for parent and child to both move to the UK at the same time. Each couple must decide for themselves. But the shorter the period of separation, the better for parent and child and the easier it will be to obtain a settlement visa for the child

in your opening post you say "but due to work commitments it will not be suitable for our son to come to live with us until march 2013" i do hope that information doesn't get on the application form.

Why?

In my opinion a full explanation of why the boy has not applied earlier can only help the application.

Some people like to get settled with employment first which is fair enough.