Parent of a British citizen visa

[sbmal]

I am hoping to apply for a visa as a parent of a British citizen and I need some clearance. I have tried searching the boards for an answer but have not been able to find a similar situation so I apologise if this question is being repeated and if it is, I will be happy to be directed to the relevant thread to find answers.

1) I understand one of the requirements is to show sole parental responsibility. When I read about sole parental responsibility from a legal perspective, it seems to be a very stringent requirement that seems to preclude the possibility of any parental involvement by the other parent. This doesn't seem to be as strict based on the guidance here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... v11ext.pdf
but the guidance still leaves me feeling unsure whether I can claim sole parental responsibility in my situation. My kids who are British citizens live with me in the UK and I am currently on a student visa. My spouse and I have been separated for the last 6 years. I spent the last year in the UK studying for my Masters degree and the 5 years before that in my home country and throughout this period, he has not lived with us. He is currently not resident in the UK either but has visited a couple of times in the last year and also used to visit when we were in our home country. He has provided financial support for the children on and off and has recently bought a house for us in the UK. However, all day-to-day decisions about their upbringing, schooling, health etc have been made by me, I am the one who has been their only caretaker over the last 6 years and I have also taken primary financial responsibility for them, paying for them through my earnings, savings or through support from my parents. Do I have a case for sole responsibility or does my situation imply shared parental responsibility since he contributes financially and visits regularly or for any other reason?

2) From what I understand from the guidance, I can either apply for a 5-year-route if I satisfy financial and English language requirements, or a 10-year-route if I cannot AND it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK. Am I correct in believing this? If yes, what would make it unreasonable for my children to leave the country? They have been going to school here and one of my children with special needs attends a special school, a provision that is not as readily available or extremely expensive in my home country (which I had been providing for when we were in our home country). Will these be reasonable grounds for me to keep them here even though I was able to provide for them in my home country when I was there, albeit not always comfortably it without support from my parents?

3) If I cannot qualify for the 5-year-route, can I initially apply for the 10-year-route and then switch to the 5-year-route? If I can, will my period under the 10-year-route count towards the 5-year-route too or does the time reset to 0 when I switch to the 5-year-route?

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[vinny]

Is the other parent British?

I think you may be eligible to apply for leave to remain as a parent under the five year route if you meet all the requirements of D-LTRPT.1.1. You appear to be ineligible to apply for leave to remain as a partner if the other parent/partner is not living in the UK and you have been separated for the last six years. Sole responsibility seems unnecessary, if the British child is living with you.

Relationship requirements

E-LTRPT.2.2. The child of the applicant must be-

(a) under the age of 18 years at the date of application, or where the child has turned 18 years of age since the applicant was first granted entry clearance or leave to remain as a parent under this Appendix, must not have formed an independent family unit or be leading an independent life;
(b) living in the UK; and
(c) a British Citizen or settled in the UK; or
(d) has lived in the UK continuously for at least the 7 years immediately preceding the date of application and paragraph EX.1. applies.

E-LTRPT.2.3. Either-

(a) the applicant must have sole parental responsibility for the child or the child normally lives with the applicant and not their other parent (who is a British Citizen or settled in the UK), and the applicant must not be eligible to apply for leave to remain as a partner under this Appendix; or
(b) the parent or carer with whom the child normally lives must be-
(i) a British Citizen in the UK or settled in the UK;
(ii) not the partner of the applicant (which here includes a person who has been in a relationship with the applicant for less than two years prior to the date of application); and
(iii) the applicant must not be eligible to apply for leave to remain as a partner under this Appendix.

E-LTRPT.2.4.

(a) The applicant must provide evidence that they have either-
(i) sole parental responsibility for the child, or that the child normally lives with them; or
(ii) direct access (in person) to the child, as agreed with the parent or carer with whom the child normally lives or as ordered by a court in the UK; and
(b) The applicant must provide evidence that they are taking, and intend to continue to take, an active role in the child’s upbringing.

[sbmal]

Thank you, vinny! That was very helpful. I'm not sure why I missed that part (or the child normally lives with the applicant). It doesn't really help that they word the requirements differently in different places. I'm sure they have some reason to do so but it is confusing for users who might be looking for information.

The other parent is, indeed, British. Does that change the situation at all?

I have another question if you may be able to help. For the 5 year route, I would need to meet the English language proficiency and the financial maintenance requirement. While I meet the English language requirement, I am not sure about the financial maintenance. Correct me if I'm wrong that I need to show that my net income minus accommodation costs must exceed the amount a similar-sized British family could claim in benefits. My question is, do I need to have held this employment for 6 months at least? I am currently employed but have only been so for 2 months and although this income exceeds the requirement by a large margin, it has only been 2 months. Unfortunately, I waited for a long time for a school place for my special needs son (which took ages to secure) and as soon as he got a place, we went into lockdown and there were very few employment opportunities at that point and I don't have any employment before the lockdown to use instead if I was to use the special concessions due to Covid. Will they accept a less than 6-month employment to satisfy the maintenance requirement?

Thank you for your response once again.

[vinny]

See also Calculating Adequate Maintenance and 12A, etc.

[sbmal]

Thank you once again. I have looked through that guidance and still a little unsure. The guidance says:

18(f) For the purpose of paragraph 13(b)(i), “the gross annual salary from employment as it was at the date of application” of a person in non-salaried employment at the date of application shall be considered to be the annual equivalent of:
(aa) the person’s gross income from non-salaried employment in the period immediately prior to the date of application, where the employment has been held for a period of no more than one month at the date of application; or
(bb) the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment, where the employment has been held for a period of more than one month at the date of application.


Where 13(b)(i) says
(b) Where the person is in salaried employment in the UK at the date of application and has been employed by their current employer for less than 6 months (or at least 6 months but the person does not rely on paragraph 13(a)), their gross annual income will be the total of:
(i) The gross annual salary from employment as it was at the date of application;

If I am in non-salaried employment, does this apply to me? And if I have been employed for 2 months at the date of application, will it mean they will take the average of my 2 months’ salary to calculate the gross income and then the net income per week to see if I meet the adequate maintenance requirement?

Thank you once again. I really appreciate your input.

[TODMATT]

Thank you once again. I have looked through that guidance and still a little unsure. The guidance says:

18(f) For the purpose of paragraph 13(b)(i), “the gross annual salary from employment as it was at the date of application” of a person in non-salaried employment at the date of application shall be considered to be the annual equivalent of:
(aa) the person’s gross income from non-salaried employment in the period immediately prior to the date of application, where the employment has been held for a period of no more than one month at the date of application; or
(bb) the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment, where the employment has been held for a period of more than one month at the date of application.


Where 13(b)(i) says
(b) Where the person is in salaried employment in the UK at the date of application and has been employed by their current employer for less than 6 months (or at least 6 months but the person does not rely on paragraph 13(a)), their gross annual income will be the total of:
(i) The gross annual salary from employment as it was at the date of application;

If I am in non-salaried employment, does this apply to me? And if I have been employed for 2 months at the date of application, will it mean they will take the average of my 2 months’ salary to calculate the gross income and then the net income per week to see if I meet the adequate maintenance requirement?

Thank you once again. I really appreciate your input.

That's correct assuming you are applying under Adequate maintenance route where the sponsor in receipt of certain benefits such as PiP etc.

Add all income received in the last 2 months since the employment have been held and divide it by number of weeks to get your net income.

[vinny]

There are no financial requirements to receive certain benefits under the parent route.

E-LTRPT.4.1. The applicant must provide evidence that they will be able to adequately maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependants in the UK without recourse to public funds, unless paragraph EX.1. applies.

[TODMATT]

There are no financial requirements to receive certain benefits under the parent route.

E-LTRPT.4.1. The applicant must provide evidence that they will be able to adequately maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependants in the UK without recourse to public funds, unless paragraph EX.1. applies.

Thanks Vinny,

I totally missed that part.

[sbmal]

Still wondering if my understanding of the two clauses was right. Would appreciate if someone has any insight.

[sbmal]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick question about the parent of a British citizen visa. Is there an option to make a premium/fast-track visa application for this visa? Any info would be really helpful.

Thanks.

[CR001]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick question about the parent of a British citizen visa. Is there an option to make a premium/fast-track visa application for this visa? Any info would be really helpful.

Thanks.

Not at present. The super priority and priority service is currently suspended.