prospect

Hi, we are about to finally hit submit on our VAF applications in the next day or so - 1 x spouse + 3 kids. I seen the odd reference to kids not being charged NHS at the point of submission. Was this just a glitch or is this standard? Just wanting to be aware of what needs to be paid and when.

BritInParis

If one parent is a British citizen and the other is being admitted for settlement on a spouse visa then any children of theirs who apply at the same time should be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter. Anyone applying for ILE/ILR is exempt from paying the IHS.

prospect

Partner only has ROA so I don't think the same applies for us - everyone seems to be telling us we'll be doing this all over again in 2.5 years.

BritInParis

Same principle applies. The children should receive ILE - you will need to apply for Further Leave to Remain (FLR) in 2.5 years time and ILR 2.5 years after that.

SanDiegogirl

Are the children British citizens?

If not, then I believe the children get charged the NHS surcharge.

There is nothing in the "Who pays" section of the NHS surcharge site that says children do not get charged

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigr.../who-needs-pay

Several folks have queried this and one person was instructed to pay for the children during the application process.

prospect

Children are not citizens. Partner has ROA and the rest of us are about to embark on spouse/dependant visas. I always understood we had to pay but had seen some references on here to people not getting the option; they subsequently knew a result was coming as they received the prompt to pay the IHS for their kids. It's more a matter of process - what to expect when and when to worry if certain options don't present themselves. BiP the whole SET-F thing looks interesting.

Roddyp

For information for other.

I applied for spousal visa along with visa's both kids. (age 3 and 5)

The website allowed payment for the spouse, but not for the kids. I was told this is a system error and i would be called to pay the amount before visa's granted. I had assistance from a Visa specialist and he told me the same thing.

However, this was not the case for me. I received all three visa's, without having to pay extra for the kids.

I'm a naturalized British Citizen, returning to the UK from SA Africa. Seems the rules are applied somewhat oddly sometimes as someone else in my exact situation was called and had to pay in. (a few days apart from me)

Not that i am complaining! Just want to save someone the panic i had when i was told to come collect the passports without being asked to pay! Thought the visa's were rejected.

prospect

It is weird isn't it -- I finally applied last week and had to pay for me but the kids were listed as exempt on the IHS certificates/receipts that were sent through. I did have to wonder if it had to do with how I answered some of the questions as one was rather unclear.

We also had immigration support and they said the same re: inconsistencies.

Roddyp

main thing is, don't worry if you don't get asked to pay in!

BritInParis

Did you naturalise before your children were born? Are they your natural children?

Roddyp

Hi BritInParis.

Thanks for your previous comments on this subject. I read through your various comments as well as the related paragraphs of the immigration law you alluded to earlier on this very subject (paragraph 279 i think). They were most helpful, and based on what i read, i assumed i would not be charged.

However, seems the rule may not always be consistently applied. (but i cannot be sure on this)

I naturalized when i was around 5.
The children are my natural offspring.

BritInParis

You wouldn't have naturalised at the age of five; you would have been registered. On what basis did you become a British citizen? What does your certificate of registration say?

Roddyp

Hi BritInParis

Citizenship is only automatically conferred for kids of first generation parents. My mom was born in the UK, hence I could naturalize without and issue.

However, for my kids to get citizenship i would have to prove that i lived in the UK for at least three years before they were born. Then i would have to apply for their citizenship.

While i did live in the UK for 3 years, it was a long time ago and trying to get all the evidence together was going to be a nightmare and run the risk of not having enough evidence and getting rejected. Further to this, if my kids got citizenship this way, they would not be able to pass citizenship down to their offspring unless said offspring were born in the UK.

By going this route (i will apply for citizenship etc after 6 years) the kids can pass their citizenship down to their kids automatically, regardless of where they are born. (as i understand. I did the research a while back)

BritInParis

What year were you born?

Roddyp

Correction. Naturalized when i was 9. Based on the Nationality Act of of 1981.