Tuesday 7 July 2009

How to Get a UK Visa for a Foreign Baby, Born in the UK

Did you know that if you and your spouse are foreigners, your baby has no right to live in the UK, even if he/she was born there? That's what we were told by the border patrol agent at the Glasgow Airport after making a weekend trip to Paris when our son was two months old. Oops! We figured that after getting his passport, we were good to go. We were wrong. The border patrol agent VERY kindly let us back into the UK with the stern warning that he had the authority to put our son in detention and have him put on the next plane to the US without us (now, the logistics of doing this with a nursing infant would have been interesting, but nevertheless, he did a good job of scaring us). He stamped our son's passport with a six month tourist visa and told us we needed to apply for a proper dependent visa as soon as possible. Below I'll share with you what we learned about this process. As usual, though I'm writing from an American point of view, this information would likely pertain to other nationalities as well.

First of all, we found the citizen's advice bureaus to be very helpful. "The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice..." They are non-profit organizations and they are happy to help people like you and me with just these sorts of questions. I highly recommend giving them a call if you need help with anything.

The other folks to contact are the people at your regional Public Enquiry Office. Actually, the phone number on the website can be incredibly difficult to get through on, but it is possible. They are the people with the definitive answers, so it's good to double check any advice you get with them.

Basically, though, the form we were directed to complete to apply for our son's visa from within the UK is called the FLR(O) form (Further Leave to Remain (Other)). Note, this form is only applicable if you are trying to apply while in the UK. While it may not seem like the right form, it is. It's basically a left-overs sort of form for all the people who don't fit into other categories. Also note (this is important), your child will be the main applicant--don't be confused and add yourself as the main applicant and your child as the child of the main applicant. You will have to add a note explaining your particular circumstances, i.e., that the main applicant is a child.

Also, you will see on the application, that it is expensive. The current price is £465 if applying by mail and £665 if applying in person. Yikes! We had to remind ourselves that we didn't have a hospital bill for this kid! One final thing, the wait-time on this application if you mail it in is 4-14 weeks. The more expensive in-person appointments are processed same-day, but you often need to book your appointment a month in advance. You do this by calling the Public Enquiry Office mentioned above.

The other option, of course, would just be to go home to the US (or wherever you have citizenship) to make the application. If you do this, you would need to follow the procedures for applying for a dependent visa from the US per http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/. The difficulty you might run into with this is knowing when to book your return tickets to the UK, since the visa application process can take several weeks and you are not permitted to apply without being on US soil. However, the price for the actual visa is currently around $230. The price difference may almost pay for your plane ticket to go home. Also note, biometric data is NOT currently required for children under the age of five years.

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53 comments:

  1. thanks for this post! exactly what i was looking for. we returned to glasgow from the states and received the same stern warning.

    i feel like we've gone through a lot of the same. my husband and i moved to the uk early 2008 and had a baby.

    i do have a question about the FLR(O). did you have to send in bank statements with your application?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Cary. Thanks for your input!

    About the FLR(O), yes according to the form, you will need to send in bank statements or some other official paperwork indicating your ability to support your family. The following is from the FLR(O) form: "Evidence of your finances. Bank statements, building society savings book, pay slips or other formal documents as evidence of your ability to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds. (Note 3: We do not accept internet or cashpoint statements as evidence of finances...)"

    I hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,

    I am really glad I stumbled across this on google! We are on student/student dependent visas, but my husband has to travel to Germany for 3 months in the fall (baby is due in June). I am considering going home for 2.5 months to the US to get the visa- but I am worried about if it falls through, will they let us back in (Heathrow). It appears that everyone who has tried this, gets a 'stern' warning from the UK Border Agency. I just don't think it is possible to get a US Passport and UK Visa (in person) by the time our child is 3 months old.

    We have done the visa process twice- once in the UK, and once outside. We know the whole banking system process too- a major pain. My question is- do you have to send the student visa holder (ie my husband) or my passport into the packet or do they only need the baby's? Do you know anyone who has tried to get the visa in the UK after the baby was born?

    Ugh, what a mess! Thanks for your help!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vanessa,

    Sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare! Ugh! I think I have good news for you, though. You will not have to send either your husband's or your passport in with the baby's application. The following is from the supporting document checklist for the PBS Dependant Application (http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/vafs/vafsdocschecklist --click on "PBS Dependant (VAF10)-supporting document checklist" at the bottom of the page):

    "A copy of the pages from the main applicant's passport showing their permission to stay, if they are already in the UK."

    So, if your husband is the student, you will need to send in a copy of his visa and maybe his main passport page (NOT his whole passport) along with with the baby's application. You will have to send in the baby's passport of course, but in our experience, getting the passport here from the UK took no more than a week so you should have no trouble getting that before the baby is 3 months old.

    I do know somebody who has gotten the baby's visa while in the UK and it's been fine, though it took quite a while to process. I would think your best bet, since you're thinking of going home anyway, would be to apply for it once you're back in the US. Not only is it WAY cheaper, but I think it's slightly easier. You could even try completing the form while you're here in the UK and then just pop it in the mail with the baby's passport once you get home. There's no reason it should take more than 2.5 months to process! Remember the baby won't need biometric data so you won't have to wait for an appointment.

    I hope I've answered your questions. Please feel free to clarify if I've missed something!

    And, congratulations on the baby!

    Jackie

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm a foreign national living in UK. My wife is due to give birth when we will be attending a conference in US..To me seems like a good chance to get that previlege to the baby.
    However, how long will it take to get a visa for UK for the baby while we are in US.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Amado

    It looks like the vast majority of visa applications are processed within 2-4 weeks, though you can use the link below to help you get an even more accurate idea: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/processingtimes. But remember, in order to apply for a visa, you will also need to secure your baby's birth certificate and passport which will likely add an additional 1-2 weeks minimum. Also, two other considerations which I'm sure you've thought of, but I thought I'd mention them just in case:

    1. Most airlines will not allow a pregnant woman to travel internationally within a few weeks of expected delivery. Be sure to check with your airline to determine their policy. It would be really frustrating to be told at the last minute that she is not permitted to board the plane!

    2. You'll want to be sure to have health insurance coverage for your time in the US since they don't currently have a system of nationalized medicine. An uninsured labor, delivery and recovery in a US hospital will typically cost between $8000 and $25000 depending on whether there are complications.

    I hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This was very very helpful. Thank you. I am here on a 5 year work VISA and my wife and I had a baby 4 months ago in the UK. We traveled home for Christmas and face immigration upon return. Luckily were granted a 6 month stay for our baby until we could get a VISA for him. I still can't believe how expensive it is!

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    I would like some tips or a possible legal decision to back up my appeal. It is cheaper to appeal than return to US to make a new application.

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