markymark

Just thaught I would let you all know my application has come to a temperary halt. My stepdaughters real dad, has to sign a decleration saying he has no problems with her going to live in Australia, Well he has totally p*ssed me off by replying to my letter with : 1- He wants a declaration from my wife to say she won't persue him for maintenance money, 2- he want's £1000. and 3- he wants a diamond ring he gave my wife 12 years ago. can you believe this ? from a man who left his daughter at 3 weeks old and has never paid a penny in maintenance ( she is now 8 years old ).
I am shocked.!!!!!!!!!!

Atticus

Mark

Sorry to hear about your problem - just reading it put my blood pressure up - what an a***hole!!

Did he put his demands in writing? Could use it against him.

Also if he has had no contact etc for all that length of time then you can just go to court to sort things out - If you do a search on this site I believe that other people have done this - unfortunately I dont know all the ins and outs but I think where there was little all no involvement it was possible to get a court order sorting things out fairly speedily - but please check and dont give into the bugger - he should be ashamed of himself.

All the best.

cresta57

Hi Marky
stepdaughter's real "dad" this "man" is no dad just a sperm donor I know my daughter's "dad" was too. The guy must be a complete F**kwit if he thinks you could chase him for maintainance from the other side of the world. My suggestion would be to do a search because someone has posted recently regarding going to court. If necessary take the letter with you because I'm sure that asking for money in this way almost amounts to blackmail!!!!!!

Atticus

Mark

I had a word with one of my friends who is a family lawyer. She says that if your wife and the bio dad were never married then no consent is required and no need to go to court for a court order.

Basically all your wife has to do is do a statutory declaration from herself stating that is the case and as a result "in terms of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 the biological father has no parental rights and responsibilities and therefore does not require to consent to the child being removed from the UK"

Hope the above applies in your situation - can use the wording I have used.

All the best

ywoods

unfortunately, that is not the case Rizalan, you do need permission. It is to satisfy AUSSIE law not UK law.

There are certain instances when the court will make teh decision without the fathers consent, but you have to prove that the father 'does not exist' so to speak.

The funny thing is, you can get maintenance when you are in Aus as there is a recipricol agreement going on there.. alas I did not bother and I would say to others not to bother. When you have the pot of gold (the child) why rub the absent parents nose in it... not saying that anyone is, but hey it is me, I have to add my bitta crap

Mark, I would not lose any sleep over the situation, as you said it is a temp halt, it will start moving again!!! Trust me, I was there once

Yvonne

tinaj

Yvonne you are back online. How are things with you and your son?

Atticus

Yvonne

Hi

Mark was posting from Edinburgh - based on my friend's advice Scots law would apply and indirectly would satisfy Aus law (immigration law).

e.g. signing of affidavits, stat decs etc - list of people in aus different to those in UK - having said that some people have got away with having things signed by policemen, teachers etc as per Aus list.

Anyway in Scotland where a father/mother has no rights/responsibilities then no need for consent - by supplying an affidavit/statutory declaration witnessed before a solicitor to that effect should satisfy Aussie law - if it is a condition of Aus law that this point must be satisfied then such a course of action should be sufficient unless there is a specific provision that states a requirement for a court order? English and Scots law I think may be different in this regard and unfortunately I have no idea the status of Aus law on this point.

At end of day Mark could try contacting embassy/immig to find out if this is sufficient rather than going through rigamarole of court order or paying that scumbag!!

Hope your doing well by the way.

regards

ywoods

the problem with step kids or absent parents, is it is such a grey area.

Each situation is alike but totally different.

I really do hope you are right with regards to Scottish law v's Aussie law....

Yvonne

Doing very well thank you for asking

tinaj

Yes we were also told you have to satisfy Aussie law. That is why people still have to get permission if their child is under 18. English law states 16 but for Aussie law they require under 18.

Hope you are right, but if you read the requirements carefully it says you MUST provide proof for every child under 18 if one parent is not travelling with you.

After all they don't follow all the different countries laws do they, just their own.

Atticus

I appreciate where your coming from Tinaj - whilst Im not sure of English law, in Scotland if a couple are not married and one parent has had nothing to do with the child, then that parent has no parental rights and responsibilities. The form 47 states or words to the effect that "...if there is any other person who has the legal right to determine where the child can live....you need to provide a Statutory Declaration....or a certified copy of a valid Court Order...."

So if the bio father was never married to the mother and has never had anything to do with the child he has no rights so therefore my reading of the paragraph in form 47 would suggest that there is no need for Stat Dec from the bio father nor the need for a court order - but it would be a good idea for the mother to provide a sworn affidavit/stat dec to the effect that he has no rights in the first place based on the circumstances.

Australia asks for the above so that they are not in violation of their international obligations.

Regards

expat01

Of all the sperm in the world....he had to be the fastest swimmer !!!

JAJ

That is not true. If the law of a particular country says that 16 and 17 year olds are free to move without requiring parental consent, then DIMIA will *not* ask for it. This is clearly stated in DIMIA's own policy manual.


Jeremy

andrew63

My ex refused to sign the stat dec even though they lived in a different country and had no contact for 4 years.
I had a Court Order already stating that the child lived me outside of the UK.
My visa was rejected as the order did not specify my child could live with me in Australia. (This is the Aussie law as the Aussie visa legal staff at the AHC explained to me)
I had to go to Court in England as my ex would not sign the stat dec.
Cost me over GBP10,000 and 11 months to get a new Court Order and a guaranteed holiday at my expense for my ex to come to Oz once a year to see the child! Nice eh!

Maybe you would stand a better/quicker chance in Court than me so it may be cheaper for you.

As much as your ex is an ar**hole, it may be cheaper to pay him off! Then its all final and you can all get on with your lives.
If the ring is diamond, get the diamonds mounted on a new ring and substitute the old for cubic zirc.

Andrew

JAJ

In fact it was probably a overly-zealous interpretation of the Australian law (case officers are not infallible). If you had the right to remove them from the UK that should have been more than sufficient.

What kind of visa did you apply for and did you use an agent?


Jeremy

andrew63

Jeremy
I agree
We have done this one to death before.
The solicitor at AHC said that when the agreement to remove my child from the UK was done, it was known that I was headed to the Republic of Ireland to which we had to agree as that was my address at that time. His point was that if my ex knew at that time I was considering Auistralia, she may not have agreed as Ireland is easy enough to visit and not far etc. My agent and solicitor and reluctantly myself all agreed he had a point but technically we did have the correct paperwork as requested by the visa applicatrion forms. His point was that should he grant my visa and my ex complains I may have to fight the case from Australia etc and that he would not have done his job properly by not clarifying this issue in the first place.
That particular employee, a specialist solicitor (so he said), not my case officer at AHC, is no longer employed by them.
It was only a 3yr 457
I used an agent based in Brisbane but trained in English law. He was dumbfounded by this as was my own English solicitor but we danced through the hoops as requested and got through in the end. The court order we obtained covers us for when/if we get PR as we were thinking ahead. My agent and English solicitor (judge and opposition legal team) all knew we would win but it was simply how long it would take and how much it would cost. What a great waste of English tax payers money.
I have moved on now with a very bitter taste towards solicitors more than my ex. The whole thing was sham from the start.
Hey Jeremy, do you ever go to the meets?? Are you in Brisbane? Maybe Jan 8th? be great to thank you personally for all your helpful advice.

Andrew