Hi all, I had a few queries about potentially applying for a UK settlement visa for my step-daughter. I'd be very grateful for any advice. My wife came here on a successful spouse visa in October 2017. We are hoping to bring here her daughter from a previous partner who still resides in the Philippines. We couldn't bring her over to the UK at the time as part of my wife's visa because my wife was in the final stages of pregnancy with our child at the time, and needed to come over to the UK quickly (our child was ultimately born here in the UK). We would now like to bring her daughter over here now. - I firstly wanted to check that it is possible to apply for a child settlement visa for her despite the fact my wife is already here and part way through her spouse visa? I appreciate that we will need to demonstrate we have responsibility and care for her daughter, and have some idea of what we would need to do to demonstrate this via some of the other threads here. Her father is happy for her to come over here and has no involvement in her day to day life. - would we need to make a specific case as to why she did not come over here with her mother in 2017? - the child will be turning 18 in late April. Would her application need to be submitted before she turns 18? Or is age irrelevant, and it is simply about demonstrating that the child is dependent for support etc? Thanks in advance for any help with these queries, Regards Rod
Hi Rod You must apply before she is 18 that's a must(lol), no issues in your wife being here already. You will have to clearly demonstrate her father is happy and has no involvement ( bit of a contradiction there as if he is happy then is he involved?)
Thanks very much for that. I was a bit unclear whether the application needed to have been successful and they enter the UK before turning 18, or whether it just meant the application needed to be submitted before turning 18. If it is the latter, it gives us a bit more breathing space in terms of preparing the application. Her father lives in a different part of the Philippines to her and so rarely sees his daughter, and doesn't contribute anything to her welfare etc. I think he would be happy to write a letter saying he has no objection to her moving here. Thanks again
It is the latter ( been there done that got the t shirt as they say) UKBA are going to want to be convinced on the biological father non involvement., affidavits and a whole host more.
Great, thanks for clarifying that. It's helpful we have a bit more time to prepare the application. Yeah I can see from some of the other threads that the difficulty is going to be demonstrating the non-involvement of the father. To complicate things a bit further, her younger brother does not want to come to the UK (they live with an auntie). So I guess we will also need to explain why only one of the children would be coming to the UK?
Yes and also why the current arrangement cannot continue i.e. aunty looking after both! Good luck it can be done but try and cover all your bases.
Thanks for that, yes I'm sure it is going to be a challenging application! Thinking way further ahead if it was successful, given she would be over 18 by the time she arrived, do you know if children on a settlement visa are eligible to work? And if they wanted to study full-time instead, are they treated like a home student or an overseas student? Thanks!
Yes allowed to work. What we found on further education is that basic subjects can be got at local colleges free, however other courses you have to pay for. We also found it varied from college to college, I think at the appropriate time you are best asking at your local colleges. Good luck
Hi all, I have a further query in relation to applying for a child settlement visa, situation described in my first post, hopefully someone can help. In terms of the online application system, given my wife is already here in the UK on a spouse visa, I assume we apply in the child's name, under settlement-settlement-Child or Other Dependant of Settled Person? Or would my wife be completing the same application again in her own name, this time adding in her child? I'm guessing the former.... Thanks!
