Post
by levi144 » Mon Nov 18, 2019 5:30 pm
Just for anyone who comes across this post in the future.
I spoke w/ my immigration lawyer and he said there are a number of real life options. These were said to me regarding my personal situation and should not be taken as legal advice for anyone else:
- Overstay (not recommended as it would make her of "bad character"), but once the child is born, there's nothing HO can really do under current rules to deny an FLR as my girlfriend would be the primary carer for the child, and the child would have inherited my residence status.
- Apply (not recommended), knowing that this is the HO and they'll take like six months to respond, and if required, appeal any decision, until the pregnancy. This way, she doesn't leave the country and is guaranteed to be here when the baby is born and doesn't become of "bad character" because of overstaying, as this would essentially be "overstaying legally" (your immigration status remains unchanged whilst HO make a decision). Once again, once the child is born, there's nothing HO can really do to deny an FLR.
- Leave (my preferred) and come back as a visitor at the right time so that the baby is born here. Once again, once the baby is born ...
Note, if you're in this situation and your GF is Korean, this is super easy as Koreans don't require a visa to come here on Holiday. Note though, Border force or whatever they're called here can deny entry if they feel that it is not for a visit, so factor in some time for that. You'd probably still need to buy a return ticket for her.
As previous commenters said, you may end up having to pay for the birth (although I don't know how that would work as being on a T5 YMS, she was able to sign up for a GP and therefore has access to the NHS - whether they'd actually check at point of birth I doubt it). Even so, this is not America and you won't be made bankrupt by it. You'd probably have to take out a payment plan, but if you consider that the Royal baby cost £10K, think of it a small car! Once again, I do not know what would happen if an FLR is approved at this stage, as at the point, your GF would have legal access to the NHS.
There is a fourth, more involved option. If you happen to be a young entrepreneur, get yourself some funding, hire some employees, become a sponsor and then sponsor your GF. A lot more involved indeed, but if ever you needed the inspiration to set up that business idea that you have - there it is. If you can't but you work somewhere, see whether they'd pull that favour for you, if she's skilled.
Once again, this is by no means legal advice and may be jumping through some loopholes, but it gave me hope in what seemed like a hopeless situation. If this thread is not closed (and considering everything goes okay with the birth), I will update in the future regarding the outcome.
