Visa for spouses child

Hi all,

I have been following the discussions here with interest since i got wind about this great resource in connection with my wife's EEA2 application, i picked up quite a few tips to make the application process smoother. However, now it's time to get my wife's daughter to come and livewith us here in the UK. I have searched the forum and the Home Office website for info on how to go about this, without luck. My apologies if there is loads of info here already that i haven't seen. My question is simple, where can i find info about what's needed to get my wife's daughter to England? Is this a matter for the Home Office here, the British embassy in Beijing (my wife is chinese), or am i off track?

Any input or links to point me in the right direction are most appreciated.

gtx wrote:Hi all,

I have been following the discussions here with interest since i got wind about this great resource in connection with my wife's EEA2 application, i picked up quite a few tips to make the application process smoother. However, now it's time to get my wife's daughter to come and livewith us here in the UK. I have searched the forum and the Home Office website for info on how to go about this, without luck. My apologies if there is loads of info here already that i haven't seen. My question is simple, where can i find info about what's needed to get my wife's daughter to England? Is this a matter for the Home Office here, the British embassy in Beijing (my wife is chinese), or am i off track?

Any input or links to point me in the right direction are most appreciated.

Are you exercising a treaty right?

Hi Wanderer,

Yes I am, I'm Norwegian, working here (employed) since October last year.

An application, on form VAF1, needs to be made in China for the child to be issued with an EEA Family Permit.

But given that you mention your wife's application on form EEA2, she is already in the UK? Can you explain about her UK immigration history? Also, how old is the child, and who has been looking after the child in China?

Finally, does your wife have Sole Custody of the child? If not, who does have custody?

John wrote:An application, on form VAF1, needs to be made in China for the child to be issued with an EEA Family Permit.

But given that you mention your wife's application on form EEA2, she is already in the UK? Can you explain about her UK immigration history? Also, how old is the child, and who has been looking after the child in China?

Finally, does your wife have Sole Custody of the child? If not, who does have custody?

John,

VAF 1 is non-settlement application, which should lead to an EEA Family Permit being issued, yes? What's the process once the child is her in the UK?

Yes my wife is living with me here in the UK. She came here in January this year from the UAE, where she had lived for the last 7-8 years, on a 6 months 'marriage' visa. We got married in April and sent her EEA2 application in May.

The child is 14 and she has been living with her grandparents in China for the last 8-9 years, in close contact and helped economically by my wife. What her custody status would be in China, i'm frankly not sure. and i don't think that's an issue for chinese authorities. I can see your point that it might be an issue for the Home Office?

gtx wrote: Any input or links to point me in the right direction are most appreciated.

See also 21.4 - The EEA family permit

VAF 1 is non-settlement application, which should lead to an EEA Family Permit being issued, yes? What's the process once the child is her in the UK?

In the 6-month period of validity of the EEA Family Permit an application can be made on form EEA2 for a Residence Card ..... just like for your wife.

I can see your point that it might be an issue for the Home Office?

It is an issue for the UK authorities. They clearly want to avoid being a party to an arrangement whereby a child is "extracted" from an overseas country, to the UK, when the applicant has no right to make the application in respect of the child.

I have no got a clue about the Chinese legal system as regards child custody, but you need to solve this issue before the EEA Family Permit is applied for. Can I ask, the child's father? Still alive? Previously married to your wife, and now divorced? Or not even named on the child's birth certificate? In short, please explain more.

John wrote:

VAF 1 is non-settlement application, which should lead to an EEA Family Permit being issued, yes? What's the process once the child is here in the UK?

In the 6-month period of validity of the EEA Family Permit an application can be made on form EEA2 for a Residence Card ..... just like for your wife.

I can see your point that it might be an issue for the Home Office?

It is an issue for the UK authorities. They clearly want to avoid being a party to an arrangement whereby a child is "extracted" from an overseas country, to the UK, when the applicant has no right to make the application in respect of the child.

I have no got a clue about the Chinese legal system as regards child custody, but you need to solve this issue before the EEA Family Permit is applied for. Can I ask, the child's father? Still alive? Previously married to your wife, and now divorced? Or not even named on the child's birth certificate? In short, please explain more.

Thanks for the clarification John. My wife's family has had the responsibility for the child since she was 4-5, in, as i mentioned, in close co-operation with my wife. And we are using an agency in China that specialises in cases like this, in order to make all the arrangements necessary, and to make sure we get all official papers required. My wife went through much of the same before coming to the UK. She was married to the child's father, but they divorced and he refused custody of her. So she see her grandparents on her father's side sporadically.