A successful case of Sole Responsibility Child Dependant Visa Application
When both parents of a child are already in the UK or relocating to the UK for settlement, they can sometimes bring their children to the UK. The immigration rules allow this, provided the child or children are below the age of 18 and can be adequately maintained and accommodated in the UK by their parents, among several other requirements.
However, if only one parent of a child is in the UK or moving to the UK while the other parent will remain abroad, for example, following a divorce or separation, the child or children can be brought to the UK by proving that the UK-=based parent is solely responsible for them, or that there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make exclusion of the child undesirable.
Sole responsibility means that you have complete responsibility for your child’s major long-term decisions, such as his/her education, the faith he/she is raised in, etc. until your child is 18 years old.
We are delighted to share that the Sole responsibility application of our client from the Philippines was granted by the home office at first instance.
Our client was a child, aged 12, whose mother is married to a British citizen and residing in the UK with her partner. Initially, they applied for the child to join them in the UK by themselves without legal representation; however, the application was refused. A year after the initial refusal the family approached us for assistance.
The child’s biological father had no parental relationship with the child and himself lived in a different country with a new family. We were able to prove and explain the client’s circumstances by advising and providing sufficient evidence that the mother had sole responsibility for the child from a variety of sources and to submit the application with this evidence.
The application submitted by us was successful at the first instance and the child was granted leave to enter the UK under Appendix FM of the immigration rules.
Gathering the evidence of sole responsibility or compelling circumstances is generally where people face problems. In order to prove sole responsibility, you need to prove to the Home Office that you have had sole responsibility for your child for a substantial period, and you have day-to-day control of your child. The refusal rate of these applications is high.
