Dependent Children Visa
May 1st 2014, 7:17 pm
#1
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Dependent Children Visa
I am thrilled and relieved that just yesterday my Aussie husband, who was recently granted his Family Settlement Visa, and I landed at Heathrow yesterday to start our new life back home in England.
However our arrival was to some extent an anti climax as we were held at Immigration because we had not applied for UK visas for our Aussie 3 year old and 8 month old!
We are grateful that they finally allowed us through by granting holiday visas to the boys and we are now going to try to apply for the correct visas.
Was it truly our own naive oversight? We unfortunately presumed that as dependants they would naturally fall under my husbands visa, especially as our financial requirement for his visa increased per child. There was no indication that we would have to apply for separate visas for our children.
Can anyone advise?
Much appreciated.
However our arrival was to some extent an anti climax as we were held at Immigration because we had not applied for UK visas for our Aussie 3 year old and 8 month old!
We are grateful that they finally allowed us through by granting holiday visas to the boys and we are now going to try to apply for the correct visas.
Was it truly our own naive oversight? We unfortunately presumed that as dependants they would naturally fall under my husbands visa, especially as our financial requirement for his visa increased per child. There was no indication that we would have to apply for separate visas for our children.
Can anyone advise?
Much appreciated.
May 1st 2014, 10:53 pm
#2
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Did you put your children down as dependents on your husband's application form? Presuming you must have mentioned them somewhere as you had to fulfill an increased financial requirement.
In your earlier notes there was a conversation about the children being eligible for British citizenship since you are British by descent - assumed that came to naught and the children entered on Australian passports. There was also a response which said that if no British citizenship for the children was obtained prior to moving to the UK, then settlement visas would be required.
In the link below it states that on the application for settlement you can include your dependent children of under 18:
https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family/family-members
If the children did enter on their Australian passports without their own visas then, correctly, they are only visitors.
To be honest I don't know what to suggest - getting settlement visas while in the UK on a visitor visa is something we would advise would be a complete no-no. However, as its children involved I would get the advise of an immigration lawyer.
In your earlier notes there was a conversation about the children being eligible for British citizenship since you are British by descent - assumed that came to naught and the children entered on Australian passports. There was also a response which said that if no British citizenship for the children was obtained prior to moving to the UK, then settlement visas would be required.
In the link below it states that on the application for settlement you can include your dependent children of under 18:
https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family/family-members
If the children did enter on their Australian passports without their own visas then, correctly, they are only visitors.
To be honest I don't know what to suggest - getting settlement visas while in the UK on a visitor visa is something we would advise would be a complete no-no. However, as its children involved I would get the advise of an immigration lawyer.
May 2nd 2014, 1:41 am
#3
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Yes we put the children down as dependants on the application and yes they came in on Australian passports.
Might an option be to apply for their visas from outside the UK? My parents live in france and I could take them there for a few months.
Might an option be to apply for their visas from outside the UK? My parents live in france and I could take them there for a few months.
May 2nd 2014, 5:43 am
#4
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Since you do not reside in France I don't believe you can just go there and apply for settlement visas for the children.
As I said earlier I would get the advise of an immigration lawyer.
Hope someone else will give more helpful advice.
May 2nd 2014, 7:38 am
#5
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Joined: May 2006
Location: ex ex-pat, in Taunton
Posts: 27,205
Re: Dependent Children Visa
I am thrilled and relieved that just yesterday my Aussie husband, who was recently granted his Family Settlement Visa, and I landed at Heathrow yesterday to start our new life back home in England.
However our arrival was to some extent an anti climax as we were held at Immigration because we had not applied for UK visas for our Aussie 3 year old and 8 month old!
We are grateful that they finally allowed us through by granting holiday visas to the boys and we are now going to try to apply for the correct visas.
Was it truly our own naive oversight? We unfortunately presumed that as dependants they would naturally fall under my husbands visa, especially as our financial requirement for his visa increased per child. There was no indication that we would have to apply for separate visas for our children.
Can anyone advise?
Much appreciated.
However our arrival was to some extent an anti climax as we were held at Immigration because we had not applied for UK visas for our Aussie 3 year old and 8 month old!
We are grateful that they finally allowed us through by granting holiday visas to the boys and we are now going to try to apply for the correct visas.
Was it truly our own naive oversight? We unfortunately presumed that as dependants they would naturally fall under my husbands visa, especially as our financial requirement for his visa increased per child. There was no indication that we would have to apply for separate visas for our children.
Can anyone advise?
Much appreciated.
May 2nd 2014, 8:56 am
#6
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Thank you Mikelincs we did investigate all that beforehand and I am British by descent so British passports for the children was not an option.
May 2nd 2014, 9:58 am
#7
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Then I guess your idea of taking up residence in France with the kids and applying from there is the right way to go. The good news is that the financial requirement only relates to your husband's visa and not to your kids and that EU rights will make the move to France simple; the bad news is that there will be fees to pay.
Did you think about registering them as British Citizens, if there is a period of 3 years before they were born during which you were only away from the UK for 270 days.
Otherwise you can register them as British after 3 years residence in the UK. As long as you aren't away for too long in France then the clock has already started on those 3 years (you can be away up to 270 days in the three years from when you first landed)
Did you think about registering them as British Citizens, if there is a period of 3 years before they were born during which you were only away from the UK for 270 days.
Otherwise you can register them as British after 3 years residence in the UK. As long as you aren't away for too long in France then the clock has already started on those 3 years (you can be away up to 270 days in the three years from when you first landed)
May 2nd 2014, 11:22 am
#8
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
You will need to get health insurance for your 2 children as soon as possible or it could work out expensive for you if they need medical care. For them to be allowed free NHS, they needed dependent visas. They have only been allowed in the country as visitors (maximum 6 months stay) and visitors can't have free NHS (except for limited emergency care in the Accident and Emergency department).
You can't have any benefits for children who are visitors, or free nursery places etc.
The easiest thing to do is get their dependent visas as soon as possible and that will have to be from outside the UK, or it's going to be a long and expensive haul otherwise.
You can't have any benefits for children who are visitors, or free nursery places etc.
The easiest thing to do is get their dependent visas as soon as possible and that will have to be from outside the UK, or it's going to be a long and expensive haul otherwise.
Last edited by formula; May 2nd 2014 at 12:00 pm.
May 2nd 2014, 12:05 pm
#9
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Hi Robbo,
Given that you lived most of your life in the UK (on this thread: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813574) Then your easiest and cheapest option now is to register the kids under section 3(2). [See the bottom of page 10 to the middle of page 11 in the guide to form MN1 https://www.gov.uk/government/public...izen-form-mn1]
Had you got dependant visas before coming over it may well have made sense to wait 3 years and register them under 3(5) which would have allowed them to pass British Citizenship on to any non-UK-born grandchildren you have in the future. Personally, I wouldn't go through the hassle of leaving the UK and getting a visa for them just to enable that. Certainly not if you have jobs etc lined up.
Also check up on any reciprocal arangements that the UK and Australia have regarding health-care. I think they are quite good and may be a godsend for your kids for the next few months.
Given that you lived most of your life in the UK (on this thread: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813574) Then your easiest and cheapest option now is to register the kids under section 3(2). [See the bottom of page 10 to the middle of page 11 in the guide to form MN1 https://www.gov.uk/government/public...izen-form-mn1]
Had you got dependant visas before coming over it may well have made sense to wait 3 years and register them under 3(5) which would have allowed them to pass British Citizenship on to any non-UK-born grandchildren you have in the future. Personally, I wouldn't go through the hassle of leaving the UK and getting a visa for them just to enable that. Certainly not if you have jobs etc lined up.
Also check up on any reciprocal arangements that the UK and Australia have regarding health-care. I think they are quite good and may be a godsend for your kids for the next few months.
May 3rd 2014, 1:02 am
#10
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Still, it's not clear how a decision was taken to leave Australia without either British passports, or residence visas for the children. They should have been included as dependents on the husband's visa, but only if an application was made ...
May 3rd 2014, 4:45 am
#11
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Except that everyone seems to have missed that the "no switching" rule does not apply to child visas. They can get residence visas (probably ILR) by applying in-country.
Still, it's not clear how a decision was taken to leave Australia without either British passports, or residence visas for the children. They should have been included as dependents on the husband's visa, but only if an application was made ...
Still, it's not clear how a decision was taken to leave Australia without either British passports, or residence visas for the children. They should have been included as dependents on the husband's visa, but only if an application was made ...
Just how does one go about it? Apply for settlement visas for them even though they are already in the UK?
May 3rd 2014, 5:04 am
#12
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
Except that everyone seems to have missed that the "no switching" rule does not apply to child visas. They can get residence visas (probably ILR) by applying in-country.
Still, it's not clear how a decision was taken to leave Australia without either British passports, or residence visas for the children. They should have been included as dependents on the husband's visa, but only if an application was made ...
Still, it's not clear how a decision was taken to leave Australia without either British passports, or residence visas for the children. They should have been included as dependents on the husband's visa, but only if an application was made ...
Robbo, ignore my last post, do as JAJ suggests and get then their visa now (as long as they are under 15) then register them as citizens otherwise than by descent in 3 years time. Just make sure you still fulfill your husband's visa criteria in 2.5 years.
For the purpose of your cover letter Robbo, you may want to point out that rule 298 ii) states:
298. The requirements to be met by a person seeking indefinite leave to remain in the United
Kingdom as the child of a parent, parents or a relative present and settled in the United
Kingdom are that he:
(ii) has or has had limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, and
(a) is under the age of 18; or
(b) was given leave to enter or remain with a view to settlement under paragraph
302 or Appendix FM; or
26
(c) was admitted into the UK in accordance with paragraph 319R and has
completed a period of 2 years limited leave as the child of a refugee or beneficiary
of humanitarian protection who is now present and settled in the UK or as the child
of a former refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection who is now a British
Citizen, or
(d) the applicant has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in
accordance with paragraph 319X, as the child of a relative with limited leave to
remain as a refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection in the United
Kingdom and who is now present and settled here; or
(e) was last given limited leave to remain under paragraph 298A; and
Kingdom as the child of a parent, parents or a relative present and settled in the United
Kingdom are that he:
(ii) has or has had limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, and
(a) is under the age of 18; or
(b) was given leave to enter or remain with a view to settlement under paragraph
302 or Appendix FM; or
26
(c) was admitted into the UK in accordance with paragraph 319R and has
completed a period of 2 years limited leave as the child of a refugee or beneficiary
of humanitarian protection who is now present and settled in the UK or as the child
of a former refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection who is now a British
Citizen, or
(d) the applicant has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in
accordance with paragraph 319X, as the child of a relative with limited leave to
remain as a refugee or beneficiary of humanitarian protection in the United
Kingdom and who is now present and settled here; or
(e) was last given limited leave to remain under paragraph 298A; and
Last edited by englishguygoinghome; May 3rd 2014 at 5:24 am. Reason: Added reference to relevant rule for cover letter
May 3rd 2014, 5:40 am
#13
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
I am incredibly grateful to you all.
JAJ ironically when we checked in for our Qantas flight in Sydney the respresentative picked up that there might be an issue with the boys not having visas. She went to double check with her superiors and we were given the all clear that there would not be a problem.
So next steps? We find the application form for under 18 year olds and submit it with a cover letter and any relevant evidence as we did for my husband?
Am I correct in assuming the application could still take a few months to processed as it did with my husbands from the Manilla hub?
JAJ ironically when we checked in for our Qantas flight in Sydney the respresentative picked up that there might be an issue with the boys not having visas. She went to double check with her superiors and we were given the all clear that there would not be a problem.
So next steps? We find the application form for under 18 year olds and submit it with a cover letter and any relevant evidence as we did for my husband?
Am I correct in assuming the application could still take a few months to processed as it did with my husbands from the Manilla hub?
May 3rd 2014, 5:52 am
#14
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Posts: 837
Re: Dependent Children Visa
It could be fast, it could take a long time. You might want to think about same day processing in one of the offices (for a huge extra fee) in the hope that your case doesn't get referred to someone senior who is not available on the day.
First thing to do would be to try entering all the details into the online system and see if it is set up to allow the processing in this case. I'd guess at some point they ask for the current visa type and "visitor visa" may not even be on the list! If it is then life should be easier, if not then it's a clear warning for hassle.
First thing to do would be to try entering all the details into the online system and see if it is set up to allow the processing in this case. I'd guess at some point they ask for the current visa type and "visitor visa" may not even be on the list! If it is then life should be easier, if not then it's a clear warning for hassle.
May 4th 2014, 12:17 pm
#15
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Re: Dependent Children Visa
It's certainly strange that Qantas risked being fined by allowing two Australian citizens with no visas for the UK, to board their plane with parents' who planned to settle in the UK.
Last edited by formula; May 4th 2014 at 12:24 pm.