Indefinite Leave to Enter for a child? How does it work?

[silverpat1987]

Hello, good evening.

I have come across this site many times, and it has helped me a lot. I am seeking help again and I hope someone can let me know what steps should be taken so I can bring our child here. I am just really confused with all the information I've been reading, and I'm having a difficult time understanding it.

I came here in 2012. I received my ILR August 2014. My husband is a British citizen, and he is the father of my child who's currently under the care of my mom in the Philippines. We both haven't gone home since I got here. :(

Initially, I thought we could bring him here by just registering him, but I was wrong because he wasn't born here and my husband couldn't pass on his citizenship if the child wasn't born here because he's a naturalized citizen whom his dad applied for a British passport in the Philippines many years ago.

I don't know where to start. Do we go through the same process as when I applied for a spouse/settlement visa? Is there a possibility of rejection? We send him money every month, but of course we put it under my mom's name.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks! Happy New Year!

[joebloggs]

How old is your child ?

Yes, it's virtually the same process,, you need to apply for a settlement visa for him, as you have ILR already and he's your dependant he will be given ILE (which is the same as ILR)

Yes there is a possibility of rejection, because the Embassy could say that your mother has 'sole responsibility' , (search on here for it),

Good you send him money but its more than that, you need to provide as much evidence as possible you have sole responsibility and not your mother.

This gives you an idea, thou some of it doesn't apply to you as your husband is the child's father.

Get the sole responsibility right and you shouldn't really have a problem.


14.5 - "Sole responsibility"
In order to fulfil the 'sole responsibility' requirement of the Rules, a sponsoring parent must be able to show that he or she has been solely responsible for exercising parental care over the child for a substantial period. This is in contrast to the concept of the ordinary family unit where responsibility for the child's upbringing is shared between both parents.

You will need to be satisfied that the sponsoring parent has consistently supported the child, either by direct personal care or by regular and substantial financial remittances.

If the sponsoring parent and child are separated, the child will normally be expected to have been in the care of that parent's relatives rather than the relatives of the other parent. This means, for example, that an application by a child to join his/her mother in the United Kingdom on the basis of sole responsibility should normally be refused if it transpires that the child has been in the care of his/her paternal relatives and that the father lives nearby and takes an active interest in the child's welfare.

The following factors should be considered in assessing sole responsibility:

If the parents' marriage/civil partnership has been dissolved, one of the parents must have been awarded legal custody, which includes assumption of responsibility for the child. (You should take care to ensure that the issue of a settlement entry clearance to the child will not contravene the terms of the custody order). Annex 1 contains a list of those countries whose custody orders can be recognised as valid in UK.
Does the marriage / civil partnership subsist, but the parents do not live together?
Are the parents married / in a civil partnership?
If the parent migrated to the UK:
how long has the parent been separated from the child ?
what were the arrangements for the care of the child before and after the parent migrated ?
what has been/what is the parent's relationship with the child?
By whom, and in what proportions, is the cost of the child's maintenance borne?
Who takes the important decisions about the child's upbringing, for example where the child lives, the choice of school, religious practice etc?

[silverpat1987]

Thank you very much, joebloggs. :smile:

He's 4 years old. I left when he was 2.

Just for clarification, since I was under the old rules when I applied for a visa, I assume that there is no need for us to meet the financial requirements of the current rules?

Thank you again.

[sars_notd_virus]

Thank you very much, joebloggs. :smile:

He's 4 years old. I left when he was 2.

Just for clarification, since I was under the old rules when I applied for a visa, I assume that there is no need for us to meet the financial requirements of the current rules?

Thank you again.

No financial requirements but you have to fill in and submit the Appendix 1 form.


Just to clarify:

Does your Mother in PH hold any Affidavit stating HER as the guardian of your child before you leave for UK?