Dependant visa for my step daughter

[peacetrustlove]

Hello all,

I have a few questions about an application that I'm planning to lodge in the near future and I wanted to get started with collecting information about it.

I'm a naturalised British Citizen holding a passport for over 10 years now and my wife of 3/12 years has an Indian passport. She has 2 children who live with her ex-husband in India.

I'm planning to call her elder one, daughter (K) to the UK to study and settle down. She is currently 15 years old and turns 18 in September 2022.

My wife will complete 5 years in the UK in December 2021, in effect, she'll be eligible to apply for ILR sometime in November 2021 (28 days before 60 months is still valid, right?)

What is the best route for my step-daughter to come over? I've read the HO website and it gets harder after she turns 18. I was planning to lodge a dependant visa application in March 2021 and have her over as soon as the Visa is approved. The plan would be to enroll her into a University nearby. Would she go through the same process as my wife? 3 years renewal and 5 years ILR?

Or would it be advised to call her here on a depedant visa before my wife applies for her ILR and I can then apply for both their ILR at the same time? Would my step-daughter need any qualifying time for this to happen?

Second, about her education. I'm financially stable, but I'd like to know a little about student loans. My step-daughter will be completing her equivalent of A-Levels in India and is hoping to join university here. Will she be eligible for a student loan when she comes or will there be any requirements? I'd be happy to be her guarantor where required. I'm aware this is an immigration site, but this issue is connected and I don't know anyone in a similar situation.

Thanks for you looking and thanks for helping if you can.

[CR001]

Your wife will have to prove sole responsibility to bring her child or children, see link below. It doesn't appear she has sole responsibility. Note that if she requires the father's permission, she definitely does not have sole responsibility.

https://www.immigrationboards.com/immig ... 13087.html

The child needs ilr and 3 years residence to qualify for student loans for tertiary education.

[peacetrustlove]

Thanks for your reply. It seems the father of my step-daughter isn't coping well financially and has asked my wife to take custody of one of their children, in this case the daughter. How do I go about this then? Will she have to apply to a court in India for sole custody? Apparently, we've been paying a lot of her daughter's finances in the recent times like tuition fees etc. When they got divorved, there wasn't any order made as to the custody of the children, but it was mutually decided that the father would look after them as he was too adamant that he'd be able to. My heart breaks to see the poor children suffering in life and if I can at least take care of one of them, it would be great.

[CR001]

She needs official evidence that she has sole responsibility. Without it, a visa will be refused.

[peacetrustlove]

Thanks for your help. I'll see how things go with her for the time being. If things get worse, I won't wait for 2 years. I'll check back in the future to seek further advice. Thanks again.