Hello all, I married here in UK and a resident for 4 years now. My Filipino daughter who is 13 is also a resident here. My family plans to spend 7 days in Lanzarote, Spain and I need to apply for a Schengen Spain tourist visa for mine and my daughter's. She was born in Philippines, illegitimate and wasn't acknowledge by the father, which is reflected in her birth certificate, it is blank in the father section. I know legally I have sole custody and doesn't need to have court orders but I have read somewhere here, similar case that the dependants visa was refused. In the visa checklist, it says: Children under 18 years old must have their form signed by both parents or l Photocopy of birth certificate or adoption certificate, showing original. Photocopies of passports of both parents or legal guardians and S applicable, have to be attached, showing originals. 4.1 In the case of minors travelling without their parents or legal guardians or with one single parent, in addition to the documents mentioned above, 4.1 In the case of minors travelling without their parents or legal guardians, or travelling with one single parent, in addition to the documents mentioned above, applicants must submit: Notarised authorisation of the parents or of the parent who does not travel with the minor. In case of sole custody, official document proving such. I am just wondering if someone here had a similar experience. Our applications are due this Thursday and I just need to know if I need a document that proves I have sole custody other than the birth certificate. Many thanks.x
The simple answer to this is as follows if a migrant had to demonstrate for child settlement visa sole responsibility and the only document provided was a birth certificate with father's name blank then it is recognised the child is illegimate. This gives mum sole responsibility going forward UK law is slightly different on illegitimate children and father's rights etc
Hey there, I am just gonna give you guys update of our Spain Schengen visa applications. It was both granted! My application was easy but but my daughter's, was no walk in the park . Per their advise, I had my daughter's birth certificate stamped "Seen and Noted" by the Philippine Embassy in London, didnt have to submit any consent papers as I explained it in my cover letter that the father's name isn't reflected on the birth certificate. We had to go back to the BLS London, the agency, to submit it. Funny thing was, the second time we went there, I was asked by an adoption decree. And I explained that she isn't legally adopted but by virtue of my marriage to a British Citizen, she is my husband's stepdaughter and my legal dependant. And the lady really pushed the matter , that my application is incomplete. Which was really disheartening that time, I wanted to cry but I just said to the lady, it's fine with me, I will just submit my papers and she made me sign a waiver that my daughter's documents are incomplete. I had a heavy heart going home but after 4 days, we received the good news, she had her visa approved! From what I have heard, Spain visa is one of the hardest to get of all the Schengen visas. It didn't help that the staff at BLS London seem to be lacking of customer service skills, I find them quite rude and impolite but probably it's just the way they are. Anyway, happy holidays soon to everyone!xx