UK residency for dependants

[lorna]

I am a British national with a US dependant and for the life of me I cannot get any correct advise on allowing my son to reside here with me without loosing his US status. Is there anyway I can apply for something other than a ILR ? I have already paid £30 for a 5mins advise which amounted to nothing much. I am really needing some sound advise.

Mom in need

[steveg]

I am a British national with a US dependant and for the life of me I cannot get any correct advise on allowing my son to reside here with me without loosing his US status. Is there anyway I can apply for something other than a ILR ? I have already paid £30 for a 5mins advise which amounted to nothing much. I am really needing some sound advise.

Mom in need

Forgive me Lorna - I am by no means an expert on this subject. How old is your son may I ask? Is he over 18? In which case he would not necessarily be considered a dependant, but if below that age, then he would be, and you being a British national should have no problem having your son here to live with you.

If your son is a US national, he cannot lose his nationality, even if he takes up British nationality and becomes a dual citizen (as indeed a number of members on this forum have done - including my wife) - he can only lose US citizenship if he purposely revokes it.

As for how he can reside here with you then I suggest that you do not pay for advice which is generally freely available from the Home Office website - try this link and see if it helps you

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ukresidency/eligibility/partnersandchildren/childpermanentresident/

I hope this post has bee a little help for you - however, there may be other and better advice to follow from other members as and when they see your post

Best Wishes

Steve

[Jewel]

If your son was born in the United States and is a United States citizen, it's actually rather difficult for him to lose that, further to what Steveg has already pointed out to you.

The link he gave you is a good one, too, I believe.  You would, however, need the father's permission for the child to live outside the US. 

So forget all that for the moment, and tell me this.  You are a British national?  Does this mean you were born in the UK to UK-born parents and hold a British passport?  If that is the case, you may also want to read this:

www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/

Because, if your son is under the age of 18, or there is some other compelling reason that he is your dependent, you should be able to register him as a British citizen...if he is eligible for this, you don't need any kind of visa for him, but it really depends on how you are a British national and how old he is...

[lorna]

Hi guys thanks for the info thus far. My son is 3 and I am British citizen by descent ( my parents are british so it passed down to me) I wasn't born in the UK. I have already used those links,and initially thought that it would be so easy as, if I am a national it could pass on to him, but they keep telling me he has to get an ILR which is over 950 pounds. I was just wondering if there wasn't a less expensive way for him to stay with me. And I do have full custody, so I do not need his fathers permission.

Thanks for the inputs thus far.

[Jewel]

OK, you're right about that, then, you wouldn't be able to register him as a British citizen.

I'm not sure that he would START with ILR, but I'm really not sure on that.  I'll do some more checking when I get a chance, but I would've thought that you would apply for some type of entry clearance for him, which would be LLR (Limited Leave to Remain).  I'm sure you've checked into this, but if his dad's name isn't on his birth certificate, I think you're all right, but if his dad's name is, even if you have sole custody, you're going to need SOMETHING that proves you have his father's permission to take him out of the country...I'll see what further I can find out...

[Jewel]

OK, I've done a little more searching around, and you need this web-site:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/

Unfortunately, there isn't a cheaper way to do it from what I can see.  The link Steveg gave you also provides a link to 'visa services', which would take you to what I've posted above.  You'll want to do a bit of reading there, there should be guidance notes for VAF4, which is the settlement visa.  It is mostly aimed at spouses and not small children, so some of it won't fit your situation.  As mentioned, you'll want to read the guidance before you do anything else, but you CAN actually fill in the application on-line and then not save it...just as a way of seeing exactly what information they need.

By the way, the visa fee is £750 paid in local currency, which means American dollars.  The exchange rate is in your favour for dollars at the moment...none of this immigration stuff is cheap!  The good part about ILR is that he won't need to renew a visa in a couple of years - he'll need to put in his residency time and then you can register him as a British citizen.  We won't talk about that at the moment, because stuff keeps changing all the time, so hard to know how long he'd actually need to live in the UK...something for you to check on a couple of years after you move back.

I've just read your first post again, and I assume from reading it again that you are already in the UK?  Note that if he's here with you, he would need to go back to the US - you can't apply for him from within the UK.  Basically, he's applying for entry clearance (permission to enter the country and live here) with you. 

Anyway, hope that's some help.  If you have any other questions, ask away, we'll help if we can!