Visa for my Thai wife's daughter

[Siam_Sam]

I would really appreciate it if anyone can give me some advice with this, in what is an unusual set of circumstances. My Thai wife has been living with me in England for nine years and has ILR but doesn't yet have a passport. When I first met her she had recently lost contact with her daughter who was basically taken from her by the father. It's a long story but she lost contact with her daughter for about nine years until she finally discovered where she had been living all those years with the father. Last year while we were living in Thailand for six months my wife was finally reunited with her daughter as the father no longer wanted to look after her. She stayed with us for a while and now that we have returned to England she resides at my wife's mother's house in Isaan where she will stay until we can resolve the situation. She'll be fourteen next month. My wife and I have now decided that we would like to bring her daughter to live with us in the UK but we appreciate this may be difficult as my wife had no contact with her for so long and only has proof of a relationship with her since last October. We have also heard that once she is over the age of sixteen it may be even harder for us to get a visa to bring her to England so the clock is ticking. We have also heard that getting her name changed to mine is a difficult process and instead of doing that we stand a much better chance of obtaining a visa for her on compassionate grounds as we are basically the only people who genuinely want to take care of her now.

 

My wife is going to Thailand on Saturday and during this visit she will change her name to my wife's maiden name (another long story but this was never done before and her daughter's name is still in the family name of the father) and will then obtain a passport for her daughter. We plan to take her to England for a holiday to begin with next March as we feel this will support our visa application in the future. We are also worried that if the father finds out about our plans he could easily prevent us from obtaining a visa even though he doesn't want to take care of her anymore. Is there anyone who can give me any advice with this? Have you been in a similar situation yourself? What does the process involve and what do we have to do? What can we do in the meantime to improve our chances? If my wife get herself a British passport does that mean her daughter is entitled to one? Please help me as this is obviously a very stressful situation and it's taking its toll on my wife. 

[bobrussell]

This is one of the few situations where I would strongly recommend proper immigration advice from a well qualified expert. there is a new forum sponsor that seems to fit the bill (no experience of them though).

Thai Visa Express come highly recommended and have a good track record so may be worth contacting.

It will be necessary to convince the Entrance Clearance officer that it is in the best interests of the child to move to the UK. They will need to be convinced that there are no other suitable alternatives that do not involve a move to the UK. The clear one would be why the father cannot continue to provide for the child.

The daughter will not become automatically entitled to a British passport just because a parent is naturalised.

I am sure there will be more comments, some useful, some not so useful but this forum may not be the best place to get sufficiently helpful advice.

[theoldgit]

I think you already accept that you have a long struggle ahead of you both, I suspect that even a visit visa won't be that easy.

The UKVI will need some convincing as to the reasons you have outlined as to why your wife didn't have full responsibility for her daughter and to why things have suddenly changed, she will probably need to fill in the gaps between the child's father wanting to have nothing further to do with her and moving to her grandmothers house. I think the UKVI will also need convincing  as the reasons why living with the grandmother isn't a viable option.

I'm inclined to agree with Bob that, in this instance, professional help might be adviasable.

I wish you both the best of luck.

[AmazingTryland]

You dont need to change step daughters name to yours . Makes no difference.

Would help if mother had paperwork regarding her daughter. As long as she is a blood relative then she is entitled to apply as a child to join her mother in UK.

 

Did the mother file a police report when the father took away the daughter?

 

If any problem with the UK Visa lottery in Bangkok then contact your MP help.

[Nord X]

On 8/14/2017 at 4:39 PM, Siam_Sam said:

. We are also worried that if the father finds out about our plans he could easily prevent us from obtaining a visa even though he doesn't want to take care of her anymore.

You're wife doesn't intend on informing the father of the child that she is planning to take her overseas?

[Tanoshi]

On ‎15‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 0:06 AM, bobrussell said:

It will be necessary to convince the Entrance Clearance officer that it is in the best interests of the child to move to the UK. They will need to be convinced that there are no other suitable alternatives that do not involve a move to the UK. The clear one would be why the father cannot continue to provide for the child.

 

Absolutely spot on.

It boils down to proof of parental responsibility and support for the child prior to the application.

 

I went through a similar scenario many years ago, but had a stronger case than you have.

The Visa was refused, the appeal turned down, but a Tribunal overruled their decisions.

It was a long, hard, expensive slog.

 

Under UK law the child is still classed as a dependant until attaining 18 years of age (not 16).

Edited August 16, 2017 by Tanoshi

[bobrussell]

If the father disappeared with the child and your wife has been hunting him down for years then you may have quite a reasonable chance of a visa. 

Clearly this would involve producing documentation including Police reports, evidence of visits to track them down etc going on throughout the mothers absence.

In this type of situation we are really discussing kidnap and there should be documentation that supports this.

In the absence of this sort of evidence the ECO is likely to consider this as a domestic issue and unless the child is considered at risk, is likely to refuse.

A child moving to the UK without the permission of the father (especially in the face of his opposition) is unlikely to be granted. It is more likely to be a case for the courts to deal with.

[7by7]

On ‎15‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 8:35 PM, AmazingTryland said:

If any problem with the UK Visa lottery in Bangkok then contact your MP help.

What, exactly, do you think an MP can do?

 

If an application has been wrongfully refused because the decision maker has not followed the immigration rules or Immigration Directorate Instructions correctly then maybe an MP can help; but they will not, indeed can not, interfere with the normal processing of an application before a decision has been made.

 

I grant you that if an MP has the knowledge and experience then maybe they could advise on how best to prepare an application, but you can count those on the fingers of one hand; if that. At best an MP will simply advise you to seek professional advise and point you in the direction of the OISC.