Confused - which visa for under 18 kids?

[Steve222]

Hi

I live in NZ with my family. I am a British Citizen by Descent via my mother. My wife and two kids are New Zealand citizens.

Application for the wife seems obvious enough. Spouse visa via the settlement category, with renewal after 2.5 years. However I am confused about which visa to apply for, for my children. Is it the same category as my wife? So settlement application with renewal after 2.5 years, or can they get something else?

Many thanks.

[vinny]

If you have not lived in the UK continuously for at least 3 years prior to the the children's births, then they are entitled to register as British citizens under 3(2).

Alternatively, same category as wife. They should also renew with her before their leave expires. However, after 3 years' UK residence, the children will be entitled to register as British citizens under 3(5).

[Steve222]

Thank you Vinny. I take it the children cannot get indefinite leave to enter though, because only one of their parents is British citizen. So as you said, the settlement visa and then citizenship application is best for them?
Thanks

[vinny]

Yes.

Unfortunately, you also need to satisfy the extra accommodation and financial burden for the two children.

[Steve222]

Thank you for your help. The financial thing i can probably get by, although it baffles me why the fees for the children are so much higher than the wife. Looks to be about 7k pounds all up...ouch.

[CR001]

The visa application fee is the same for all dependents, £1,195 each plus £600 each for immigration health surcharge. Not sure why you believe the children fees are more

[Casa]

How will you meet the minimum earnings level of £24,800 p.a ?

Do you:
1. Intend to relocate to the UK ahead of your family and wait until you have 6 months payslips as proof of the mandatory income?
OR
2.Have substantial savings?
OR
3. Have evidence of earnings in NZ the equivalent of £24,800 p.a for the 6 months prior to submitting the settlement applications AND have a confirmed job offer in the UK to start within 3 months of arrival, again meeting the same level of annual earnings?

[Steve222]

Hi

I got the fees from their website where it says...

Settlement £956 £1,195
Settlement - other dependant relative £2,141 £2,676

Thought kids would come under "other"??

I will meet the financial requirements by option 2. I believe you need 62,000 pounds? With the significant weakening of the pound against the NZD I have that

[CR001]

Settlement - other dependant relative £2,141 £2,676

This is for an Adult Dependent relative not children.

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overview

Fees
Your situation Fee
Joining your partner or parent £1,195

[Casa]

By my estimation for your wife + 2 dependent children you will need £78,000 in savings.

£24,800 x 2.5 (years) = £62,000
As the first £16,000 of savings will be disregarded, you will need £62,000 + £16,000 = £78,000

These must have been held in an accessible account for at least 6 months before the date the visa applications are submitted.

[Steve222]

Thanks everyone for your answers. It is greatly appreciated.

Re: the financial side of things. I have printed out some gigantic 67 page pdf to go through it to make sure i get it correct. From what i can gather, they don't consider assets such as a house which is disappointing but understandable.

[Steve222]

Hi again

Sorry to bump up the thread but i have another question. After reading through the pdf,i think perhaps doing a combined financial application (rather than just pure savings) would be less of a bother. But there's one thing I'm not clear on.

Where it says you can use part of your income to combine with the savings, is that income that is only sourced from within the UK or can I use my work income here in NZ? I don't see any mention of that specific detail anywhere.