Settlement Success

Under UK Immigration Rules, when a child applies for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) their parents must each be either applying for settlement at the same time as their children, be settled, or a British citizen. If one of the parents does not satisfy this requirement, then we must show that the applying parent has sole responsibility or there are serious and compelling circumstances.

Our client’s experience

We recently acted in a case involving a client, M, and her two children who applied for settlement while their father was resident abroad. M had entered the UK five years earlier on a Skilled Worker visa and was eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the 5-year route available to skilled workers.

The fact that the father lives abroad posed challenges regarding the children’s eligibility for settlement. Although M has primary care of the children in the UK, her ongoing marital relationship with their father - who lives in Pakistan - created an obstacle to proving sole responsibility. For this reason, the Home Office initially assumed that M did not have sole responsibility for the children and advised that their applications would likely be refused.

This position was particularly unreasonable given that the children had previously been granted dependent visas by the Home Office itself - effectively acknowledging M’s sole parental responsibility at the time. It seemed unjust to now depart from that previous assessment without good reason.

To overcome this, we worked closely with M to gather and present compelling evidence demonstrating that, despite being in a subsisting relationship, she bears sole parental responsibility for the children in day-to-day matters. This included documentation related to the children’s schooling, healthcare, financial arrangements, and other aspects of their welfare which are solely managed by M in the UK. 

Additionally, one of M’s children suffers from cystic fibrosis and was over the age of 18. We successfully obtained a medical waiver exempting him from taking the Life in the UK and English tests, which are required for settlement for anyone over the age of 18. 

This case highlights the complexity of UK settlement applications where both parents are not present in the UK. Despite several rounds of communication and scrutiny from the Home Office, our persistence and thorough presentation of evidence resulted in a successful outcome. Our client and both of her children were granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.

Razan AlMusawi took care and conduct of this case under the supervision of Sashi Pararajasingam.

This article was written by our Legal Intern Vanathi Sutharsan.