Stepson with fathers surname

[bruce]

Hello to everybody i am very much hoping someone can give me correct/firm infomation

We will shortly be apply for a Spouse visa for my Wife and my Stepson. Several months after my now wife gave birth she separated with the father although her son was given the Fathers surname (she thought they where going to get married)

The Son has always lived with her (my wife) and i have supported them both since my now Stepson was around 2yrs old...he is now almost 4yrs old.

The father has seen his son on occasions but nothing regular or often.

Now we come to my question, i am aware my Stepson will need the fathers permission to reside here in England, but i have no idea what is exactly required? ..is there an actually form that he needs to sign? ..my wife seems to think this can be done at her local City Hall? ..or maybe a letter verified by a Solicitor??

Does anybody know exactly what the embassy will require in our application reference this matter?

Thanks in Advance ..

[philphil61]

As far as I am aware - there is a consent form to be signed by both parents to allow him to leave the Philippines... that is all you need!

http://www.fo5.dswd.gov.ph/

[alanp]

i filled in a sponsorship undertaking form for my fiancee's daughter as well as getting consent from her biological father

[bruce]

As far as I am aware - there is a consent form to be signed by both parents to allow him to leave the Philippines... that is all you need!

http://www.fo5.dswd.gov.ph/

I am sure you have miss-understood my question? ...the DSWD would not be involved in this case ..the minor willbe travelling to England with a Spouse (the mother) ..as such this is not required.

What i am actually asking is what forms does the father need to sign to allow his son to live in England ..nothing to do with travelling ..thanks anyway

[sars_notd_virus]

Now we come to my question, i am aware my Stepson will need the fathers permission to reside here in England, but i have no idea what is exactly required? ..is there an actually form that he needs to sign? ..my wife seems to think this can be done at her local City Hall? ..or maybe a letter verified by a Solicitor??

Does anybody know exactly what the embassy will require in our application reference this matter?

Thanks in Advance ..

hello bruce welcome to the forum!!

yes your wife needs affidavit of parental(father) consent before the child is allowed to travel / settle abroad , dont forget that she also needs to prove sole custody and sole responsibility for the child visa process.
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/settlementguide#22393572

''A child cannot normally go to live in the UK if one parent is living abroad, unless the parent in the UK has sole responsibility for the child, or if there are special reasons why the child should be allowed to join the parent in the UK.''

[bruce]

i filled in a sponsorship undertaking form for my fiancee's daughter as well as getting consent from her biological father

I also beleive you have miss-understood my question ..that is just a sponership form nothing to do with the father giving permission to live in England ...

[bruce]

hello bruce welcome to the forum!!

yes your wife needs affidavit of parental(father) consent before the child is allowed to travel / settle abroad , dont forget that she also needs to prove sole custody and sole responsibility for the child visa process.
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/settlementguide#22393572

''A child cannot normally go to live in the UK if one parent is living abroad, unless the parent in the UK has sole responsibility for the child, or if there are special reasons why the child should be allowed to join the parent in the UK.''

Thanks for your reply ...but they are two different things ..if my wife had SOLE RESPONSIBILITY then she would NOT need the fathers consent ...however in this case she does not have sole responsibility and therefore requires the fathers consent ..

[bruce]

Thanks for your reply ...but they are two different things ..if my wife had SOLE RESPONSIBILITY then she would NOT need the fathers consent ...however in this case she does not have sole responsibility and therefore requires the fathers consent ..

UPDATE ..

I have just read this section several times

"one parent is living and settled in the UK or is applying for settlement at the same time as you, and has had sole responsibility for looking after you"

I am sure this means my wife would also need to PROVE that she alone has been the one looking after him along with obtaining the fathers consent ...so she would NOT need a legal document stating that she has sole responsibility (wich could only be obtained by going through the courts) she would just need to prove that the son has always lived with her and she has been the one supporting him..

[sars_notd_virus]

UPDATE ..

I have just read this section several times

"one parent is living and settled in the UK or is applying for settlement at the same time as you, and has had sole responsibility for looking after you"

I am sure this means my wife would also need to PROVE that she alone has been the one looking after him along with obtaining the fathers consent ...so she would NOT need a legal document stating that she has sole responsibility (wich could only be obtained by going through the courts) she would just need to prove that the son has always lived with her and she has been the one supporting him..

yes thats correct:):xxgrinning--00xx3:

* its not difficult to prove sole responsibility as your wife is not married to her ex and your wife is the only parent to take important decisions about the child's upbringing, for example where the child lives, the choice of school, religious practice etc?

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/settlement/children#18164090

[bruce]

yes thats correct:):xxgrinning--00xx3:

* its not difficult to prove sole responsibility as your wife is not married to her ex and your wife is the only parent to take important decisions about the child's upbringing, for example where the child lives, the choice of school, religious practice etc?

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/settlement/children#18164090

Many thanks for your response it has been a big help and confirmed some good points for me ..can i ask you another question? ...is my wife right in thinking that we can use City Hall? apparently they have a solicitor that works within ...is there a standard form that the father would need to sign? ..

[sars_notd_virus]

yes they got a standard form for it and yes it will be cheaper to get it from the city's public attorneys office or the city's legal officer.

[Jenky]

Hi Bruce.

Just want to ask is it ok for your stepsons father to sign the consent form? Be carefull because he could well start asking you for money to sign it and if you give it to him you will be in a right mess.

In my opinion just pay lip service to him on your spouse visa application. Fill in his name as your stepsons father and his address as unknown. Write a covering letter saying how your relationship with your wife has developed and that in a previous relationship your wife had a child with somebody that left her soon after the child was born. Say that he has never supported the child and that your wife was never married to him and does not know his whereabouts now. Say that you have been supporting them for the last few years. Hopefully you have the bank transfer receipts and pictures of you all etc to prove that?

At the end of the day you are lucky that they were never married!!! and that she is your wife now. Do not worry to much about the father. The embassy will most likely see it as a guy who made a girl pregnant and then disappeared. If they had been married before then they will dig deeper. Dont make him a big issue of him in your spouse visa application. If he signs the consent form then fine. If he does not or demands money then say nothing to him and carry on with the application on the basis that neither of you know where he is.

[bruce]

Hi Bruce.

Just want to ask is it ok for your stepsons father to sign the consent form? Be carefull because he could well start asking you for money to sign it and if you give it to him you will be in a right mess.

In my opinion just pay lip service to him on your spouse visa application. Fill in his name as your stepsons father and his address as unknown. Write a covering letter saying how your relationship with your wife has developed and that in a previous relationship your wife had a child with somebody that left her soon after the child was born. Say that he has never supported the child and that your wife was never married to him and does not know his whereabouts now. Say that you have been supporting them for the last few years. Hopefully you have the bank transfer receipts and pictures of you all etc to prove that?

At the end of the day you are lucky that they were never married!!! and that she is your wife now. Do not worry to much about the father. The embassy will most likely see it as a guy who made a girl pregnant and then disappeared. If they had been married before then they will dig deeper. Dont make him a big issue of him in your spouse visa application. If he signs the consent form then fine. If he does not or demands money then say nothing to him and carry on with the application on the basis that neither of you know where he is.

Hi Jenky

NO i would absolutely not offer or give any money in this matter, that would go totally against's my principles ..what would my Stepson think of me and indeed his father when he was older ..thats ugly eh ..

However thanks for the advice ..i am interested though..are you speaking from experiance? ..do you really think the embassy would not need to dig deeper legally? who is to say that not everybody could just do this in my case?

thanks ..

[Faye_and_Brian]

I have the same situation with your fiancee but her father not seeing her often so no problem with me. No need for my x-bf's consent. I just filed my fiancee visa directly including my daughter (4 years old) with her father's surname filled-out on that form and now we are in UK. It doesnt matter because your fiancee is not married to him and If you ask for a consent to the father there is a tendency that he will ask money from it. In the first place they are separated already so no need to worry. Does the father provide financial support to the kid?

[Jenky]

Hi Bruce

My situation was that my wife was actually married to my step daughters father, (even though that marriage was not legal because of a fake marriage licence, But thats another story!!). But even though he had no interest in either my wife or his kid and even though the marriage was not legal, because it had been recorded at the NSO in the Fil we had to file an annulment case in the Fil. In this process he is given the details of the case and so has his chance to have his day in court. Luckily for us he didnt give a damn and never even bothered to reply to the court. As a result my wife got her annulment and on the judgement were the words that my wife has sole responsibility and custody for the minor childxxxxxxxxx. This gave us no problems with the embassy. Like I said your wife was never married to the father so that makes the situation for you a lot easier! If you get him involved you could make your situation worse. All he is is a guy who got a girl pregnant, did not want to marry her and left her holding the baby. Seems Faye and Brian were in the same boat as you and are here in the UK now.