If you are in the UK with British Citizenship, Permission to Stay or Indefinite Leave to Remain, you may be able to bring your child from outside the UK to live permanently with you in here.
Several types of Visa allow non-EEA nationals who are working or studying in the UK to bring their dependants to the UK. These include the Start Up, Innovator, Skilled Worker and Student Visas. In those cases you must show the family relationship and that you have sufficient funds to look after them in the UK.
But, if you are not working or studying here, the Child Dependant Visa requires stricter conditions if you want to bring your non-British child to the UK permanently.
In this case, you must show that:
If your child's application is successful they will be granted indefinite leave to enter. This means they are immediately free of immigration restrictions and do not have to renew their visa.
You can also apply to bring your child here if the child did not come with you when you first arrived in the UK.
It is essential for you to show:
In many cases, the question of sole parental responsibility is central to the application. It can be difficult to prove a negative; the child's other parent is not involved at all with the child and any decisions about their upbringing. We work with you to gather the best possible evidence to show you have sole parental responsibility.
If the other parent is taking some role in the child's upbringing or there are difficulties proving that the other parent is absent, it is essential to show that there are serious and compelling reasons why the child should not be turned away from the UK and should be with the parent here. This is where our knowledge and experience play a key role. We can argue that it is in the child's best interests to live with the parent in the UK and present evidence to the Home Office that there are serious and compelling reasons why the child should be allowed to come to the UK.
The Home Office looks very closely at this type of application. It is therefore essential that they are well-evidenced and argued.
We talk to you first and find out about you and your child. We will look at any paperwork you have and advise whether you have a good chance of succeeding with an application to bring your Child Dependant to the UK. At Immigration Legal Services, we are scrupulously honest. If we start work for you and, at some point along the process, we do not believe you will succeed because your circumstances do not fit the legal framework or if the evidence is weak, we will tell you.
"Fantastic service from Sallie and the team. They came recommended to me."
Ekul Star
We would never encourage a client to start or continue an application to bring a Child Dependant to the UK if we consider that the Home Office are highly likely to refuse the application. We do not make false promises and we do not raise unrealistic expectations.
You will need to show that you take all the major decisions in your child's life. These include decisions about education, health etc., and if you perhaps send money and communicate and visit her regularly. You will also need to prove that her father has no responsibility for her and that your parents can no longer care for her.
It is highly unlikely that such an application will work. If your child has a mother who can look after him in Thailand and shares parental responsibility with you, the Home Office will see no reason why he should be allowed to live in the UK.
She will be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter if you are British or have Indefinite Leave to Remain. If you have Limited Permission to Stay, she will have leave in line with yours.
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