Bring niece and nephew to UK

[pg05052020]

Hi.. I am in a precarious situation. I have twins who are 15 months old and have been left by my brother to the care of my elderly parents who are 72 and 73 years old. He disappears for months in a row as he cannot cope with them. There is no mother as he conceived them via single male surrogacy. I am settled here and financially well off. I used to visit them regularly (as much as I could and support them). All of them are financially dependent on me. I am wondering if there is any way to bring them here to the UK as I am the only other family member who can look after them. I am single and have no children of my own.

[geoeng]

I am wondering if there is any way to bring them here to the UK as I am the only other family member who can look after them. I am single and have no children of my own.

I am not aware of any immigration route that would allow you to bring children to the UK that are not yours. Financial dependence would likely be insufficient to establish a parental relationship and any attempt to obtain a UK visa for these children would likely be complicated by the local laws of the country they currently live in regarding who has a parental responsibility for the children. You would probably need some significant professional legal expertise for this one both for immigration and family law issues.

[pg05052020]

Thank you for the reply. Is there any way to obtain joint custody - special guardianship etc. so atleast they are here for a few months so my parents can have a break? Due to Covid i am not able to visit as often as i would have either.

[geoeng]

Is there any way to obtain joint custody - special guardianship etc. so atleast they are here for a few months so my parents can have a break?

Most of that question is more a legal one than an immigration one. If you're just looking to give your parents a break for a few months, a standard visitor visa for the children may be sufficient to achieve that (if eligible) and it becomes more an issue of obtaining suitable parent/guardian consent. You haven't mentioned where the children are from, but I'm assuming here it's not an EU country as the whole visa discussion then becomes rather irrelevant (for now).

[secret.simon]

You have not mentioned which country the children are in and are citizens of.

In order to bring them to the UK, you will likely need either court-sanctioned custody or adoption.

And depending on the country, the adoption and/or custody may not be accepted in the UK. For instance, "guardianship" under Islamic law (granted by the courts in some Islamic countries) is not considered the equivalent of adoption under UK law.

[pg05052020]

Oh sorry! I thought I mentioned. They are in India and not under the Hague convention.

[pg05052020]

To answer both responses. Visitor visa I am unsure if they will get it as they are too young.
In terms of parental consent I can ask my mother to see if she can ring my brother to get him to send some document if needed. I am not sure if he will respond though. May be when he comes back again. He has disappeared since end of February this time.

[Zerubbabel]

Take the mater to the police. Child abandonment is punishable in most countries.

[geoeng]

Visitor visa I am unsure if they will get it as they are too young.

I don't think there are any age restrictions as long as all the eligibility requirements are met. I would imagine many people visit the UK with young children.

https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-vis ... e-under-18

[ALKB]

Visitor visa I am unsure if they will get it as they are too young.

I don't think there are any age restrictions as long as all the eligibility requirements are met. I would imagine many people visit the UK with young children.

https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-vis ... e-under-18

Two toddlers travelling without their parent coming from a relatively unusual family set up (the surrogacy situation would have to be explained in the visa applications) will definitely raise questions.

[Zerubbabel]

Two toddlers travelling without their parent coming from a relatively unusual family set up (the surrogacy situation would have to be explained in the visa applications) will definitely raise questions.

I agree. I have seen kids getting visitor visas and other kids refused. The only pattern I noticed is that anything out of the ordinary may trigger a refusal. And honestly, who can believe that a pair of toddlers are seeking a visitor visa just to go alone to the UK to visit.

As a father myself, I feel for these kids. It's easy to pay and get Kids as a Service but it's much harder facing a life time responsibility of taking care of them.