2nd Refusal of Stepsons Visa Application

My wife and stepson applied for a UK VISA back on 17th Oct 2017, they got the decision on 9th Jan 2018

My Wife was granted a Visa, but my stepson was refused.

Here are the reasons for the refusal.




I can accept that we lacked some documentation, And they state quite clearly what we’re lacking.
So in our 2nd application made 31st Jan 2018, we included:

• Records from the Doctors, with my wife and stepsons name on.
• Dental records, with my wife and stepsons name on.
• School reports, with my wife and stepsons name on.
• School Passes, with my wife and stepsons name & address on.
• A letter from their local priest, indicating they attend church regularly.
• Western Union receipts showing that I financially support them.
• A letter from our stepson stating that he has not seen or heard from his biological father for more than 4 years, We also stated the decision for my Stepson to move to the UK, which was there is o one who is able or willing to look after him and its only right for him to be with his Mother who has raised him from birth.
• A Similar letter from me.
• Additional photographs showing my wife and stepson at school events, with the doctor and one with the priest. Just to reinforce the fact that it is just her that has ‘Day to Day Responsibility’
  So I was pretty confident we had addressed all issues stated in their refusal letter.

Then we received the 2nd refusal, see letter below.

They haven’t mentioned all the supporting documents that we have provided,
They now want us to ‘prove a negative’ something which many detectives have a problem doing!
and an official court document that confirms Sole custody (not stated in their 1st refusal)

So I’m thinking they have accepted all the issues I addressed in our first refusal but now have added more, which if these were stated on our first refusal, we could have also addressed them on our 2nd.

It’s like one ECO has a completely different idea of how to apply the rules.
Is it just Luck as to which ECO that gets assigned to your application.

I think we should appeal….

Any thoughts are very welcome

I see the individual that processed the 2nd application was a pretty shrewd kind of character as he highlighted that the applicants biological father was around at the point of conception. That must add some weight to the refusal then?

Sorry to hear of this latest kick in the nuts, mate.

i'm gutted for you mate. what are you and your wife going to do in the meantime ?

i fear our second attempt will go the same way.

Yeah, he must have been top of his class.. stating the obvious

Thanks, @bigmac.
not sure just yet.. we have discussed her coming here for a few weeks, but mindful that if she is here too long it could work against us

Can you adopt him instead? I don't know the rules on adoption but maybe you can check? I have a friend who was adopted by her stepdad just to get her a resident visa.

by coincidence--a friend said exactly the same thing to me only yesterday

Try to check it. Might save you £££.

interesting idea, I'll look into that.
But i do think they changed the goal posts

Or as you indicate, inconsistency amongst the ECO fraternity. Bit like referees - same rules with differing interpretations of those rules and what is in front of them is seen through a different pair of eyes.

could you get a visit visa for the child ? valid for 6 months.....

I'm going through something similar for my son.
Refused based on sole responsibility despite providing all document.

Can I ask if your wife was married to the father of stepson?
If yes there should be a court judgement for the divorce.
I was granted sole custody by the court after my divorce.
But that is not enough to prove sole responsibility but it's helpful.
If there was no marriage it might not be very important to get any legal cover.
I felt I covered all grounds because for my initial application in Oct 2017, I used an immigration adviser. I struggled to know what documents to submit to prove sole responsibility despite extensive research on line.
Despite submitting all documents I was still refused in Feb 2018
The immigration advisers told me we should do a reconsideration as the errors were obvious but they couldn't put in for appeal as well.
I live in Scotland wasn't sure about going for reconsideration alone and I wanted a second opinion.
I chose a lawyer that could possibly attend oral hearing if the need should arise.
On our first consultation after reviewing all my documents.
She said the same thing with the immigration advisers we would go for reconsideration and she would also secure it further by going for appeal. She submitted the reconsideration end of March.
My decision has now been overturned.

This visa has a high refusal rate don't bother reapplying as sole responsibility is a very grey area.
Most people get it through appeal.

You need someone with experience in sole responsibility to listen to your circumstance and look at your documents.
It's not one shoe fit all.

Thank you for your helpful response. We are also about to reapply for my wife's sons visa..1st was refused for same reason..sole responsibility. But I think we will use a lawyer this time.

Seems ukvi really are pulling out all the stops to prevent child dependants if the biological father exists. I mean...how on earth can the father have joint responsibility if he doesn't see the child..has no contact and doesn't support the child at all.

We were advised ..in a telephone conference call with an immigration lawyer...just to apply again rather than appeal..as it would be quicker. And less cost. We were quoted £2000 plus vat if it went to appeal.

Again, I am inclined to agree with you. Anecdotally it does seem like the UKVI are being tougher on child dependant applicants. Or it may just be that people are not quite so familiar with that routing compared to spouse or fiancé visa applications. Either way the percentage of child dependant refusals does appear to be out of kilter.

I joined this forum and so many forums because of this child dependant visa.
You are

Yes you are right. When I met my lawyer she advised appeal against reapplication as she said there was nothing more I could submit. So if you have a good lawyer with experience in sole responsibility look into the documents you submitted she would advise you either to go for reconsideration, appeal or reapply.
Very good success rate at appeal because for these cases and you can get early dates if there is prove whoever is caring for him can't continue to do so.
It's really one of those visa you can't do alone...
Every one's circumstance is different and usually left at the discretion of the ECO to make a decision.

You need to track down the father and get his written permission. Without that, you are, quite reasonably, on a hiding to nothing - particularly as the boy uses his surname.

I actually agree with them, that you need to prove the father doesn't have joint custody before taking the child out of the country.

Why hasn't he seen his father for 4 years? Is that down to the mother or the father?

I think it is right that they don't automatically give visas in these circumstances without absolute proof that they are not taking the child away from the father.

People are not familiar with this visa. It involves child protection and family law. It is complex as no story is alike. We don't have opportunity to explain our circumstance.
Most lawyers also run away from sole responsibility I had to wait for this particular lawyer to come back from holiday as she has 18yrs experience dealing with these cases at her firm.

we certainly took a trip into the unknown when we applied for his visa. soo much more complicated than a spouse or fiancee visa. the vaf4a online application form simply doesnt ask anything like enough questions.

and i naively thought a child dependent would be more or less automatic. we fell neatly into all the traps set by ukvi--without knowing about them.

as anyone on here reading this on any other immigration forums specifically for child dependent applications ?

Hi @Chicfire

Thank you for replying, very interesting information you have.
My wife was never married to his father, her first marriage was to myself.

I think my circumstances does now require an appeal..
I'm looking at getting some legal advice as our case could be similar to yours

Could I ask who you used for legal advice?

Andrew