entry clearance as a parent - definative word on section 246

[kate4885]

further to my earlier post in respect of using this rule as a means to obtain entry clearence I have now had definative word from Meg Hillier, the Under Secretary of State in the form of a personal letter dated the 14th of January 2008.

she confirms that this rule is applicable to all parents who have a child resident in the uk. In respect of the necessary evidence required for this rule she said the following (i have inserted anything in italics so as to make sense )-



' following investigations by my officials last year, it is apparent that applicants can no longer make use of this option ( namely obtaining a district judges certificate). Therefore this has been replaced by the option of supplying a sworn affidavit from the non applicant parent ( ie the UK resident parent or carer of the child ), confirming that the applicant parent can have access to the child, and describing in detail the arrangements made to allow for this. The statetment must be sworn before and attested by a legal officer (this will be an officer of the court who can be found at any magistrates or county court ). if contact is supervised, then the statement must be made by a supervisor.

In due course the rule will be amended to take account of this, but i can assure you that all British Diplomatic Posts, which is where this type of application must be made, wee made aware of this amendment last November.'




that said when i contacted the Australian embassy they had never even heard of rule 246 let alone the amendment.

i hope this helps someone - pays to be persistent i guess

[shaddy]

I have been following the trend about the entry clearance .I want to find out the following

-if it is applicable to a person(applicant) who is no more in a relationship with the other legal resident parent(british),though he will give his consent
-How long must the child been living in the uk like in my own case, my asylum appeal in ireland dhas been rejected and am going back to my country but it is ok to leave my son with his father in the uk and then apply from my country for the entry clearance.

Would appreciate some advice pls

[mod]Am editing the post as the font size was unreasonably big[mod]

[Twin]

further to my earlier post in respect of using this rule as a means to obtain entry clearence I have now had definative word from Meg Hillier, the Under Secretary of State in the form of a personal letter dated the 14th of January 2008.

she confirms that this rule is applicable to all parents who have a child resident in the uk. In respect of the necessary evidence required for this rule she said the following (i have inserted anything in italics so as to make sense )-



' following investigations by my officials last year, it is apparent that applicants can no longer make use of this option ( namely obtaining a district judges certificate). Therefore this has been replaced by the option of supplying a sworn affidavit from the non applicant parent ( ie the UK resident parent or carer of the child ), confirming that the applicant parent can have access to the child, and describing in detail the arrangements made to allow for this. The statetment must be sworn before and attested by a legal officer (this will be an officer of the court who can be found at any magistrates or county court ). if contact is supervised, then the statement must be made by a supervisor.

In due course the rule will be amended to take account of this, but i can assure you that all British Diplomatic Posts, which is where this type of application must be made, wee made aware of this amendment last November.'




that said when i contacted the Australian embassy they had never even heard of rule 246 let alone the amendment.

i hope this helps someone - pays to be persistent i guess

You impress me, Kate!

Job well done!

So tell me, how does your partner plan to proceed on this application when even the Australian embassy haven't a clue t about this rule? Isn't this going to be longer than anticipated?

Thanks for updating us, much appreciated.

[kate4885]

the rule is for both parents who are still in a relationship and for those who have split up

i was told by the australian embassy that it would take 4 weeks to process an application under this rule. he simply has to file the paperwork and then it is referred back to the UK - it is not an application that the embassy can determine

as for the status of the children - they must be uk citizens as far as im aware - you would need to check if it is sufficient for them to have indefinate leave to remain - i would have though so as the rule states that they need to be 'resident' in the uk

as a starting point you could email the Uk visa people - they take about two days to reply

goodluck

[Twin]

the rule is for both parents who are still in a relationship and for those who have split up

i was told by the australian embassy that it would take 4 weeks to process an application under this rule. he simply has to file the paperwork and then it is referred back to the UK - it is not an application that the embassy can determine

as for the status of the children - they must be uk citizens as far as im aware - you would need to check if it is sufficient for them to have indefinate leave to remain - i would have though so as the rule states that they need to be 'resident' in the uk

as a starting point you could email the Uk visa people - they take about two days to reply

goodluck

As per the boldened - Katie, I wonder why that is...I mean why the case has to be referred to the UK! Doesn't this mean that the application might take even longer considering the snail pace at which the BIA operate?

I would like to know why this is a mandatory referral. I mean, what is so special about the Right of Access visa to make it very different from other visiting visas? What exactly do they have to check? The rule was afterall modelled on the Visitor's visa!

The good thing is as opposed to the settlement visas, this visa application fee is relatively cheap.

In my country of origin, the British consulate do not require an interview for visit visas and I wonder if this would apply to this category as well.

I un

[vinny]

The criteria for admission in this capacity are very strictly drawn and all applications are mandatory referrals to:

NCC2 (see Chapter 25.4)

[Twin]

As the paperwork would have to be sent to the BIA, does this mean that there will be no interview?

[vinny]

See also 246a SUCCESS access rights to a child resident case

[Twin]

See also 246a SUCCESS access rights to a child resident case

Vinny, you are awesome!

Should you be called the "link" man?

I think it's so much easier if the other parent was on a spousal visa as it saves having to return to their home country.

Thanks once again, Vinny.