Parent of A British Child Visa

[Megasin1]

Can anybody please help navigate the disparate British Visa system. The correct visa that my ex requires to travel to UK is, as the title "Parent Of A British Child". The problem is how do you know, once you have started the online application process, that you are indeed in the right application as there doesn't seem to be any confirmation within the system itself. After you have registered you are offered 3 pull down options and we have selected, in the following order - SETTLEMENT - SETTLEMENT - PARENT, GRANDPARENT AND OTHER DEPENDANT. Has anyone applied for this visa before and can confirm that these are the correct options to select. It seems crazy that there is no direct relation to the advice site i.e. there is no "Family" selection available (or so it seems). Any help from someone experienced would be much appreciated ????

[blackcab]

Moved to Visas and Migration to Other Countries forum.

[7by7]

On ‎1‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:53 AM, Megasin1 said:

The correct visa that my ex requires to travel to UK is, as the title "Parent Of A British Child"

I assume she wants to live here, not just visit.

 

In which case, has she, or you, read Family visas: apply, extend or switch; Apply as a parent?

Quote

How to apply

Outside the UK

You must apply online. You must also complete Appendix 5.

 

On ‎1‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:53 AM, Megasin1 said:

After you have registered you are offered 3 pull down options and we have selected, in the following order - SETTLEMENT - SETTLEMENT - PARENT, GRANDPARENT AND OTHER DEPENDANT. Has anyone applied for this visa before and can confirm that these are the correct options to select

I haven't applied for this type of visa, but yes, that's correct, and will take you to the correct form. As there are three sub categories here, some questions may not be relevant, so read them and any guidance notes carefully.

[Megasin1]

Thanks 7By7. 

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 5:50 PM, 7by7 said:

I assume she wants to live here, not just visit.

 

In which case, has she, or you, read Family visas: apply, extend or switch; Apply as a parent?

 

I haven't applied for this type of visa, but yes, that's correct, and will take you to the correct form. As there are three sub categories here, some questions may not be relevant, so read them and any guidance notes carefully. 

Thanks 7by7. It has all been an excruciating process. I finally gave in last week and contacted an immigration lawyer, who also thinks that this is the correct route, although it is off-putting as it says - Parent, Granparent and other dependant, but should read - Parent, Granparent or other dependant, as in this case the mother is not a dependant of the child. I am awaiting a call from the lawyer today just to clarify a couple of issues around sponsor and dependant sections, as although I originally selected the right visa (or so it would seem) I may have made a mistake by listing the daughter under dependants (possibly creating the situation whereby the system thinks she is bringing another child with her) thereby doubling the charges. On a related note immigration has now doubled the IHS payment for all settlement visas, it has gone up from £200 a year to £400 a year. Thank you for your help.

[Megasin1]

Update: After consultation with some immigration lawyers I can confirm the process for obtaining the "Parent of a British Child Visa" for those that may be interested in this route. 

Disadvantages - a rarely used visa route, so knowledge on this is scarce and the application itself is not straightforward. Pretty costly, however...

Advantages - Claimant can work when in the UK. Route to settlement on a relatively independent basis. Initial period 30 months, can extend second period in UK.

1: Establish that the Thai mother (or father) has evidence of actively taking part in the upbringing of the child. We did this by bringing the mother on a 6 month visitor visa, her actively taking part and then obtaining letters and other evidence from the English school.

2: Complete the English test requirement whilst she is here. This costs approx. £200.00 and you can locate test centres on the internet.

3: Obtain a TB clearance certificate. This was obtained from the approved centre in Bangkok and is valid for 6 months. Pick up certificate on same day as test.

4: Complete Appendix 5 with as much evidence as possible.

5: Select after registration - SETTLEMENT - SETTLEMENT - PARENT, GRANDPARENT AND OTHER DEPENDANT

6: Populate sponsor section with the British child in UK as the sponsor.

7: Do not populate the Dependents section, unless the applicant is bringing another child with them. Population of this section will affect the fees.

8: Supply with application a covering letter explaining that you have used this visa process as there is no perfect match for the visa you are applying for. (I will add a template letter later)

 

Costs:

6 months in UK on visitor visa establishing evidenced link with child and return flights.

English Test - £200.00

TB Clearance (Thailand) - £50.00

IHS Payment - £1000.00 per person on application (Applicant plus £1000 for every dependent)

Visa Payment - £1570.00

 

[Megasin1]

Further update - I may have been a little early with my previous update. After much to-ing and fro-ing with the immigration lawyer, assistance from my MP and useless input from the Director of Immigration the whole visa application was scrubbed. The eventual consensus was that the "Parent of a British Child Visa" application does not actually exist on the online application system.

It may be that the visa will eventually make it onto the system, however we are all convinced that at this moment it is not there.

The whole process of trying to establish how to apply for this visa was unbelievably frustrating, I won't bore you all with details, just suffice it to say that immigration have released the visa application system to a third party contractor and have no further ownership of the systems or process whatsoever, you will be constantly turned in circles, always back to the 3rd party supplier, where every query will just be rebutted even though you will have paid for a pay as you use system. We paid the IHS payment following the process as previously listed and it only became apparent that we were in the wrong application when it takes you to the visa payment afterwards. Despite their site quoting a 6week return, it actually took 13 weeks, 2 paid phone calls, 2 complaints and paid email to get back the IHS payment.