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Hi,

I need advice on my situation below please.

My husband (ICT 5 year) and I (dependent on ICT) moved to the UK in May 2015, and my son was born in the UK in Aug 2015.

In Feb 2020, I switched to T2 general visa and my husband and son became my dependents.

In March 2022, I switched jobs and got a SWV till March 2025. My husband and son remained as my dependents.

In Sep 2021, my husband also switched to SWV, valid till Sep 2026.

I plan to apply for ILR in Feb 2025 for myself and my son under the 5 year route.
My husband will do so in May 2025 under the 10 year route.

Now the situation is that my son has a Spain school trip on March 16th 2025 and his current dependent visa will expire on March 15th 2025, which means he cannot apply for a Schengen visa for that trip before, as his BRP won’t be valid then ( When applying for Schengen visa from the UK, the BRP should be valid for at least 90 days after the date of return)

The options for my son, as I understand would be;
1. Apply for ILR with me in Feb 2025 and then apply for Schengen - This is too close to the travel date for comfort
2. Apply for 7 year ILR route for my son now as he was born here and lived here with continuous residence - Is this a valid route, since both the parents are on SWV?
3. Switch him to the other parent as a dependent - Again, seems like this is not valid as dependent visa is granted on the basis of the parent whose visa expires first

I am also aware that once my ILR is issued, my son can directly apply for naturalisation. But during the wait on this decision, he will not have a valid leave to re-enter the country, which is not viable for us with aging parents in the home country and the potential need to travel at short notice.

Sorry for the long post ! Any advice highly appreciated.

Thank you

Your child cannot settle with you. The child can only settle when both parents settle, so the child can only settle when your husband settles. The fact that the child is born in the UK is not relevant here.

The 7-year private life route to ILR is also not possible for worker route dependants as you need to show it is unreasonable to expect the child to leave the UK. I covered this before here: viewtopic.php?t=332032#p2085502

If you really need the child to travel on that date, probably you can extend your visa to enable the child to get a longer extension.

Also there will be no BRPs from the end of the year: Information on eVisas as all BPRs will be phased out from 1st Jan 2025

Thanks for your reply !
So, if we take out the school trip from the equation for a moment.

In that case, if I apply for 5 year route ILR In Feb, my son cannot apply at the same time?
So what are his options to stay in the country till he becomes eligible for the 10 year route along with his dad in May 2025?

Your son's visa can be extended in line with your husband's visa, after your ILR

Thank you !
If my son applies for ILR on the 7 year route (private life) when I apply on the 5 year SWV route, does that strengthen his application in any way or that won’t make any difference?
Trying to work out if there is any way to avoid an additional visa process just to cover the 3 months gap.

You can register your child to be British when either of you get you ILR. Child doesn't need ILR for that.

Thanks for your reply !
While we are waiting for the decision on naturalisation, can he travel out of the country and re-enter? Considering he will not have a valid visa or ILR during that time.

He can travel out, but will be unable to board a plane to return without proof of a visa.

nirvana21612 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2024 7:25 am

Thank you !
If my son applies for ILR on the 7 year route (private life) when I apply on the 5 year SWV route, does that strengthen his application in any way or that won’t make any difference?
Trying to work out if there is any way to avoid an additional visa process just to cover the 3 months gap.

Are you trying to enable him to travel or get him ILR ?
If your ILR is not decided on time, then there is no way he can get ILR or any visa to enable him to travel.

Hi zimba - Being able to travel is the aim, with aging family in the home country.
I understand that an ILR application is considered withdrawn if the applicant travels out of the country while it’s in process. This can be mitigated to some extent by using the priority services.
With naturalisation, there is no expedited service available.
Hence why my concern is around having no valid leave to enter the country during the decision awaiting time.

nirvana21612 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2024 2:56 pm

Hi zimba - Being able to travel is the aim, with aging family in the home country.
I understand that an ILR application is considered withdrawn if the applicant travels out of the country while it’s in process. This can be mitigated to some extent by using the priority services.
With naturalisation, there is no expedited service available.
Hence why my concern is around having no valid leave to enter the country during the decision awaiting time.

Priority service has no guarantees either. You cannot assume that your ILR will be granted on time, even if using super priority. Any other application you aim for your child depends on your assumption that your ILR will be granted in time.

Note that children DO NOT naturalise, they get registered as British and that can take several months. Also, registration is NOT an immigration application (it is a nationality application) so it will not extend an existing visa of the child or allow such a child to enter the UK. Even after registration, the child needs to get a British passport (or certificate of entitlement) in order to travel back to the UK

Thank you, noted

Looks like it is either
1) extension of my current visa, which will apply to him (it will be a new application) so it will cover the 3 months that will take the whole family to ILR processing in May via the 10 year route or
2) I apply for my ILR in Feb and at the same time the son goes on his dad’s visa as a dependent, and then father and son apply for ILR in May.
This is the only way he will always have a valid visa coverage for any emergency travel needs (hoping never have to use it though)