Girlfriend overstayed Visit visa and Gave birth to baby.

[Balkhamb15]

Hi all

I am British National, sponsored my filipino girlfriend and she came as Visitor in January 2025 and became pregnant by me and gave birth in November to my Baby. I want to regularize her stay. She overstayed her Visit visa by almost 7 months now.
Can anybody guide how to get her Legal Status in The UK?

Kind regards
Harvey

[alterhase58]

As such she's an overstaying visitor. There's no specific route to make her legal ...
Having a baby doesn't give her any preferential treatment, or the baby for that matter, or you being British.
Best she leaves the UK, you marry her in the PH and try for a spouse visa - though the overstay will be an issue.
Remember baby needs a passport to travel so she needs to address this.

[secret.simon]

This is important specifically because she's from the Philippines, a country that does not provide for divorce; is she married in the Philippines?

If she is, the child is not a British citizen.

For UK nationality purposes, if the mother is married, the father of the child is the person the mother is married to, not the child's biological father (in this case, you).

And if the child isn't British, because neither its mother nor father (as defined above) are British citizens, your girlfriend can't benefit from the child's birth in the UK either.

If the child is not a British citizen, their right to NHS healthcare is also limited. So clarify with your Filipino girlfriend about her marital status at home, as a lot rides on it.

[contorted_svy]

However, if your girlfriend is unmarried to anyone else, your child is already British and you can apply for their passport directly, as you likely held at least ILR at the time of birth and the child was born in the UK.