‘family of a settled person’ visa

[abrar_mohammed]

Hello
I am living in the UK along with my wife and son. All 3 of us are British citizens and have British passport.

Originally we were a family of 7 (Father, Mother and 5 Siblings - 3 girls and 2 boys). All my sisters have been married for over few years now and live with their own families in India. The youngest (Brother) lives on his own in India. He doesn’t have any job or employment and still studying.

My father passed away in Jul 2007 when he was visiting me in the UK and my mother is a widower. I've been the sole supporter for my mother (my younger brother does not support our mother or live with her anymore).

I had applied for ILR for my mother in Sep 2007 (I and my wife were on ILR at that time as well). My mother's ILR application was refused because the Home Office argued that she can live on her own and her daughters can take care of her. I had appealed stating that this is not possible in India due to social and cultural reasons but my appeal was dismissed.

Also my mother was under 65 years of age (one of the criteria for dependent ILR applications at that time required the dependent parent relatives to be over 65 years old).

My mother returned to India in Feb 2008 immediately after we received the ILR refusal.
Subsequently she has been to UK on family visit VISA on a few occasions since then.

I understand that the home office have revised their guidelines recently and new VISA – C.

Also in CHAPTER 8, SECTION 6,ANNEX V - they've included the following
An applicant must demonstrate that he:
1. Is financially dependent upon the relative who is present and settled in the United Kingdom
2. Has no other close relatives to turn to in his own country. Close relatives may be sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, and possibly nephews, nieces, or in-laws. However it should be noted that this will largely depend on their culture. For example, in the Indian sub-continent, married women are unlikely to be able to provide support.

Anyone has any advise or guidance on whether there is any merit in re-applying for her for the new ‘family of a settled person’ visa. because the annex also states the following - in the case of a parent or grandparent under the age of 65 that he is living alone in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Many thanks in advance

[MPH80]

Chapter 8 has now been replaced by Appendix FM - it was replaced on 9th July 2012.

The requirements are now:

The applicant must, as a result of age, illness or disability, require long-term
personal care: that is help performing everyday tasks, e.g. washing, dressing
and cooking;

 The applicant must be unable, even with the practical and financial help of the
sponsor, to obtain the required level of care in the country where they are
living because it is not available and there is no person in that country who
can reasonably provide it, or because it is not affordable.

 The Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) must be satisfied that the applicant will be
adequately maintained, accommodated and cared for in the UK by the
sponsor without recourse to public funds. If the sponsor is a British citizen or
settled in the UK, they must sign a 5-year undertaking to that effect, at the
entry clearance stage.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... FM-6.0.pdf

It's almost impossible to succeed in this visa category due to the catch 22 nature of the rules. We only know of one anecdotal success on these boards under the new rules since July 2012- but I suspect there must be a few more.