Child UK Settlement Visa Online Application Queries

[TCA]

With my wife just granted FLR we're now proceeding swiftly with the application for her 11 year old daughter to join us in the UK from Thailand where she's been staying with my wife's mother, her grandmother. Before I launch into what will no doubt be the start of many questions, I'd like to just add a quick note of thanks to anyone and everyone who helped by answering my daft and not so daft FLR questions or sharing their own application experiences along the way. Especially 7by7, durhamboy, theoldgit, bobrussell and Tony M. My deepest thanks to you all.

So here we go (again) and apologies in advance for the long post.

Before I'd even started, the Visa4UK website asked me to choose whether to "apply for myself" or "apply for someone else". I've gone with the former, seeing as the child will be presenting her own application and the latter might be for agents or the like. Hopefully that's alright?

Choice of visa selected as "Settlement: Child or Other Dependant of Settled Person", so that seems fine.

PASSPORT AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK? As she'd be staying with us, presumably our home UK phone number is ok but what about email address? Also ours, the child's email address (as used to set up the online application) or just leave blank seeing as that's an option?

PERSONAL DETAILS AND TRAVEL HISTORY
What is your permanent residential address and contact details? For "primary contact number" do we need to provide the child's mobile phone number at this stage? Or her grandmother's as guardian? Or ours given we're effectively completing the application on the child's behalf?

Are your preferred contact details different from the contact details already provided above? Maybe we put our UK phone number here?

FAMILY DETAILS
Her father hasn't been on the scene more or less since she was born and his date of birth is unknown. As per the guidelines for a similar situation in my wife's first application I'll put d.o.b as 1/1/1903 and back up with some further details later.

EMPLOYMENT
Not really relevant for an 11 year old but "unemployed" seems most appropriate as "student (non working)" seems to refer to a university student and further details are required. Any thoughts?

SPONSOR DETAILS
This is me but there's no stepfather option, can't say "father" and "friend" doesn't seem appropriate, so that leaves "other relative". Her mother can't be sponsor because we're going the cash savings route and part of the required funds are in my name only. Is "other relative" the best option then?

UNDER 18
Please give details of your parents/guardian(s) in your home country? My wife is here in the UK (although named on the Por Kor 14), the kid's father's whereabouts are unknown and don't really want to mention him anyway in this respect and that leaves granny who is the guardian but not the legal guardian. So just the grandmother's details?

Who are you travelling to the UK with? Mother, so that's ok.

Who are you staying with in the UK? My name can go in here and there's an option for stepfather but there's no option for "mother" which seems bizarre. I could put other "other relative" just to get my wife's name in that section?

The Additional Information section will get filled up to clarify any unclear issues but thanks in advance for any pointers on the above.

[TCA]

Anybody got any ideas about some of the oddities above with regard to a child application when the parent is already on FLR in the UK?

[7by7]

1) What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?

As she will be staying with you. your details go here.

2) What is your permanent residential address and contact details?

Her details; note that someone from the embassy may call her or her grandmother for a telephone interview.

3) Are your preferred contact details different from the contact details already provided above?

Your details.

4) Yes, put his d.o.b as that and say why in additional information or sponsor's letter.

5) I'd put student (not working) unless school student is an option. What further details are required? If place of study, then put her school.

6) I think mother will be fine, even though it is you who is meeting the financial requirement, as she is applying to join her mother. If not sure, put 'other' and expand in additional information or sponsor's letter.

7) Yes, granny here. I assume she is your wife's mother. If she's the girl's paternal grandmother you may have difficulty with the sole responsibility requirement!

8) It does seem very strange that 'mother' is not an option here! I'd put 'step father' and expand in additional information or sponsor's letter.

[TCA]

1) What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?

As she will be staying with you. your details go here.

2) What is your permanent residential address and contact details?

Her details; note that someone from the embassy may call her or her grandmother for a telephone interview.

3) Are your preferred contact details different from the contact details already provided above?

Your details.

4) Yes, put his d.o.b as that and say why in additional information or sponsor's letter.

5) I'd put student (not working) unless school student is an option. What further details are required? If place of study, then put her school.

6) I think mother will be fine, even though it is you who is meeting the financial requirement, as she is applying to join her mother. If not sure, put 'other' and expand in additional information or sponsor's letter.

7) Yes, granny here. I assume she is your wife's mother. If she's the girl's paternal grandmother you may have difficulty with the sole responsibility requirement!

8) It does seem very strange that 'mother' is not an option here! I'd put 'step father' and expand in additional information or sponsor's letter.

Many thanks for replying 7by7. Much of what you've said tallies with my own thinking, so that's reassuring. In reply:

PERSONAL DETAILS AND TRAVEL HISTORY

2) What is your permanent residential address and contact details? Agreed with your comments and will give granny's mobile number as opposed to the child's.

3) Are your preferred contact details different from the contact details already provided above? Although your reply agreed with my initial thoughts (i.e. put our UK details) I'm in two minds now given it's the personal details section (requires address, telephone number and email address) and in amongst the bit on Travel and Criminal History on the same page, it asks If we need to interview you, what language would you like to use in the interview? Maybe the Thailand details should be the preferred contact details after all?

EMPLOYMENT

5) I'll go with your suggestion of student (non-working). It asks for name of institution and course being studied but I'll just stick in the school's name and primary school education. Self explanatory I'd hope.

SPONSOR DETAILS

6) Me versus the child's mother. Still not sure on this one. Two questions stick out.

What is their status in the UK? State if they hold a British Passport or a valid visa. The options are: British Citizen EEA National, Permanent Resident or Temporary Resident.

and Will your sponsor be travelling with you to the UK?

Putting me as sponsor (as "other relative") might lend itself more to the first question as I'm not sure of the answer if my wife's name is entered here. But the travelling question might lend itself more to my wife as she will be travelling and I won't. My wife's details are already in the PERSONAL DETAILS AND TRAVEL HISTORY section in reply to Are you travelling with anyone? (where the follow-up question was Do they have a valid visa for the UK?) and also in the UNDER 18 section in response to Who are you travelling to the UK with? With "Mother" as the reply.

Any further thoughts on that?

UNDER 18

7) Yes, granny is the maternal grandmother, my wife's mother, so fine as guardian. Who are you staying with in the UK? There is every possible family relationship offered as options, except mother and father. I will include myself here as stepfather and you can add as many people as you want, so tempted to add my wife as "other relative" just so our names appear together. I should add that the What is their status in the UK? question is asked here as well.

Any further thoughts given all that?

As a point to note, my full details (passport, date of birth, UK arrival date etc) would not appear anywhere on the form if I'm not listed as the sponsor. In that respect I'd probably have less prominence on the form than the absent father. Not sure if that's worth considering in all this.

Thanks in advance for any further guidance.

[7by7]

3) I can see your thinking here, but I'd still be inclined to put your, or your wife's, contact details here; with an explanatory note in the covering letter.

Alternatively, put the child's again and then a note requesting they contact you or your wife if they have any queries.

6) I see your thinking, however if your wife is the sponsor then her status, as she has FLR, is Temporary resident.

If you put yourself as the sponsor, then in answer to Who are you travelling to the UK with? will be 'Mother,' answering 'Yes' to the valid visa question.

7) I agree with your thoughts. In answer to the status in the UK question for your wife, the answer is FLR holder.

If your details are not on the form because you are not the sponsor, don't worry. You can add those in the covering letter.

Remember it is the relationship between the child and her mother which is important here.

[TCA]

Thanks again 7by7. I think for all the contact info requested at various points in the form, I'll make a decision and ensure that I clarify via the additional information page and/or supporting letter/(s).

On the issue of sponsor, I read somewhere in the child guidance that where appropriate "applicant" can be read as "applicant's parent" and "partner" can be read as "applicant's parent's partner". That gives me some reassurance that me as stepfather would be ok as sponsor and also on appendix 2 which we'd need to complete, the options for the applicant include both "I am under 18 and the sponsor is my parent" and "I am under 18 and the sponsor is in a relationship with my parent". I also read CHAPTER 8 SECTION FM 3.2 about where the sponsor is a parent and where the sponsor is not a parent but I'm none the wiser.

Your point about the application being more about the parent#child relationship is a valid one however and although the forms aren't suited to a solo child application, they do lend themselves more to using with my wife's details as sponsor. Appendix 2 especially would be easier in that respect when I see questions about keeping in touch with your sponsor, when did you last meet your sponsor etc....which would be answered perhaps more favourably with my wife as sponsor.

Where I still have concern though is the financial requirement section via our route of cash savings alone, where the funds are to be categorised as "In your sponsor’s name", "In your name" or "In joint names", given the funds are in joint names of my wife and I, but also some are in my name only. Would I get away with recategorising the headings just so it's clear?

In the Guidance for Part 3: Financial Requirement, it also says "If you are an applicant(s) under the age of 18 applying on your own to join a sponsor, read the policy guidance for further information on the financial requirement" but I can find nothing specific.

[7by7]

To be honest, I'm not sure either; which is why I haven't replied before now in the hope that someone like Tony M would!

Maybe PM him?

[TCA]

To be honest, I'm not sure either; which is why I haven't replied before now in the hope that someone like Tony M would!

Maybe PM him?

Thanks 7by7. Tony M reckons either myself or my wife is ok as sponsor, as long as its clearly explained in the additonal info sections and/or letters of support. So I'll proceed with my wife as sponsor seeing as the majority of other questions about sponsor are answered better/easier that way.

Next up is the dreaded area of sole responsibility, which I have to say we're weak on over the 2.5 years separation period. Largely due to my wife reversing her original decision to leave her daughter in Thailand, and my warnings to keep records went unheeded. Therefore our evidence of phone calls (landline and mobile), Facebook chat and records of money sent largely covers the period of the last 12 months. We can mitigate this slightly owing to the fact that Thai banks will only give out the last 6 months worth of statements, so admit to an error of omission on our part. Likewise the records of our landline calls to Thailand are only available from the phone company going so far back, so again hands held up for not requesting that.

We have shot ourselves in the foot to some extent, but I'm interested to hear what those in the know usually recommend supplying with the application in terms of this information? Or has anyone been successful with a child application having not supplied this kind of evidence across the whole separation period?

[7by7]

I don't have personal experience of this as my step daughter applied at the same time as her mother, who had legal sole custody granted by a court, not ampur; so showing sole responsibility was simple.

I recommend providing documentation to cover the entire separation if possible; which in your case it isn't!

So provide what you can covering as long a period as you can and explain why you no longer have the earlier ones.

[TCA]

Am I correct in thinking that an appointment to submit paperwork at VFS in Bangkok can be made up to 10 days in advance? Doesn't look like there's a way to skip ahead to the appointment bit in the application process. If so, is it 10 calendar days or 10 working days?

Also, does anybody know what the excerpt below means? What's the self-assessment form? I found it on the VFS Global website, Thailand section, in FAQs:

What documents do I submit for a visa application?

If you are applying for a settlement visa or tier visa, a completed self-assessment form, signed and dated.

http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/thailand/frequently_asked_questions.html

Edited February 15, 2016 by TCA

[7by7]

Not sure about your first question, but I think it's 10 working days.

Also not sure about your second question, but can only think they mean the financial appendix.

[TCA]

Thanks 7by7. I think I'll just get the online application finalised ASAP so I can book the appointment one way or another.

Just sticking on one bit. In the Under 18 section it says Please give details of your parents/guardian(s) in your home country?

My wife's mum goes in as legal guardian. Not that there's any legal aspect to her guardianship but it's the best fit. Am I obliged to put in the long absent father's details here? He is of course a parent but I couldn't confirm if he's even in the country, never mind any other of his details. As he's not fulfilling a parental role, is there a case for leaving him out? He's mentioned in the family section already.

[7by7]

My reading is that as it says "parent/guardian(s)" rather than "parents and guardian(s)" then they want the person(s) currently caring for the child; which would be the grandmother.

[TCA]

Thanks. I also thought that's what they're after in this section too. The 3 options are legal guardian, mother and father and you are able to add more than one answer. I hadn't previously considered adding the biological father until I read it again today, but on reflection I won't. Good to have a second opinion, cheers.

[bobrussell]

I would be tempted to cross out the parent/guardian bit and replace it with the term Carer. This can be done after the application has been printed out. The whole idea is that the mother has remained the only active parent, making all the decisions.

Information regarding an absent parent can be detailed in the covering letter or under other information at the end of the form. It is nice to be able to state that the father's whereabouts is not known!! If unsuccessful attempts have been made to contact him then this can be included as well.

Worth dotting all the i's and crossing the t's as thoroughly as possible.

Edited February 17, 2016 by bobrussell

[TCA]

Thanks Bob. Absent father's whereabouts and date of birth are both unknown, so hopefully that helps sets the scene nicely. It hadn't crossed my mind to manually amend any parts of the form, but that would certainly be a good idea in places. There's another instance in the Under 18 section that I mentioned above, where it asks Who are you staying with in the UK? There is every possible family relationship given as options, and mother isn't one of them, so I'll choose Other Relative and amend manually. Cheers.

[TCA]

Application duly submitted yesterday and VFS appointment made. The appointment confirmation email contained this section:

Please bring:

- a print out of your appointment confirmation
- a signed print out of your visa application form
- your passport
- a tuberculosis (TB) test certificate if you are going to the UK for more than 6 months
- if you are under 18, a signed letter of consent from a parent or guardian

- any other documents to support your application.

All fine, except the letter of consent highlighted above, which is one I've never seen mentioned before.

In addition to my own letter of support, I've got letters drafted from both my wife (as parent) and her mum (as guardian). Is it necessary to stick a couple of lines in each, specifically to give consent? Or will the content of the letters be sufficient given they're obviously supportive of the application?

[7by7]

I'd have thought such consent to be obvious in a child settlement application where the child is joining the parent who has sole responsibility!

But, just to be sure, it wont hurt to add a line in each confirming their consent.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[TCA]

Thanks 7by7. You're quite right of course. Letters duly amended to include consent.

I see my credit card account is now showing the fees:

Visa application = $1,434 = £1007 plus £28 non-sterling transaction charge = £1,035

NHS surcharge = $750 = £527 plus £14 non-sterling transaction charge = £541

This is the newish transparent charging from RBS, who are notably one of the worst for screwing their customers on fx rates. Now you can see them charging you a less than competitive fx rate, plus an extra 2.75% or so for the privilege.

But then we shouldn't be paying in dollars anyway.......

[TCA]

My wife took her daughter to submit her visa application at VFS this morning. There were two issues:

1) IHS payment - I'm 99.9% sure there was an area in the online form where the IHS reference number went in, but it doesn't appear in the printed version I have and I can't check retrospectively. Only the actual visa application payment is on the printed form and VFS said proof was required that the NHS surcharge had been paid. By sheer luck I had emailed my wife the IHS confirmation email last night, which she was able to print off for them. UKVI would definitely have proof of this and omitting the confirmation email was an oversight by me. Not sure what my wife would have done if she didn't have that email and they kept pushing her for it.

2) Thai I.D card - I included a copy of the child's Thai I.D card as part of the supporting documents. I nearly didn't bother seeing as I didn't include my wife's in her FLR application and pretty sure it wasn't in her entry clearance application either. If it was I certainly didn't get it translated, which is what VFS were asking my wife to go do with her daughter's today. She thankfully said no. I appreciate crucial documents require translation into English (which we had) but this wasn't one of them. And now I look at a copy of her I.D card I see it's got all the vital information in English as well anyway! Mind boggling.

Thanks goodness it's all done! Now back to waiting.

[TCA]

Well, we got the good word and my wife's daughter's application was successful. Passport and documents received in the post yesterday, exactly 2 weeks after submission. My mother-in-law got a call from UKVI last week which lasted an hour as they circled round the houses and asked the same questions to verify the answers, while tapping away at a keyboard in the background. My wife got about 10 minutes of questioning at the end of her mum's call and my stepdaughter wasn't asked for at all.

So a huge sigh of relief from me but all the effort and stress has been worth it. I never want to hear the phrase "sole responsibility" ever again! So her daughter's visa date falls in line with my wives FLR which was granted in January. Having been living and breathing visas for months, I'm just delighted to be over that hurdle for another 2 years plus. Fingers crossed my stepdaughter likes the UK and everything crossed that my wife can pass the LitUK test!

A big thanks to all on here that assisted on the way and an extra big thanks to 7by7 who once again went the extra mile and helped at every instance. I'll take a break from all things visa and this forum for a while, but will pop in now and then in case my experiences can give some guidance to any other unfortunate souls beavering away thanklessly on their applications and looking for light at the end of the tunnel, when a train seems all but imminent.

Cheers

TCA

Edited March 15, 2016 by TCA