| Parent of a Child at School in the UK - Requirements |
|
There was a time when the British Education System was admired for its quality of education, volume of attention being given to every single student and the equivalency of the UK primary education to the highest standards of education. Although things are not the same since those times but there has not been any drastic changes in the education system of the UK which could affect the number of foreigners looking towards the UK for their children's education. People still like their children to attend British Schools and live in an environment, which is most suitable for their upbringing and their education. Nowadays one can find a lot of children who have come down from their home countries to have the privilege of studying at UK schools for a promising future. In addition to good education the children need some one who can take care of them who could be a legal guardian or parents of the child.
In this Article we would be focussing on the requirements for a parent of a child at school to get entry clearance for the purpose of staying in the UK with his / her child. This category of entry clearance / visa is in fact a sub category of the Visitor's Visa category and is therefore subject to the same rules and restrictions. The only difference is that the maximum period allowed for the applicant to stay in the UK under this category is 12 months as compared to visit visa where the applicants are only allowed to stay for 6 months at one occasion, after which they have to leave the UK. There are however, no such rules which stops a person from applying again for this category of visa for another 12 months` time provided the applicant does not intend to make the UK his / her main / permanent home and the age of the child remains under 12 years. There are certain conditions and requirements, which need to be met by any person seeking to leave to enter or remain in this capacity, which we shall discuss under separate heads.
- Meeting the Requirements set out in Paras 41 (ii) - (vii)
The requirements set out in these paragraphs are for the applicants intending to apply for a visit visa which need to be fulfilled by the applicants applying in this category as well.
- Intention To Leave
A person needs to establish his intention of leaving the UK after a specified period of time which can be done by showing strong financial, social and family ties in his / her home country. The following documents are normally acceptable to establish strong ties of a person in his / her home country.
- Evidence of Ownership of property
- Evidence of an established business oversees
- Evidence that the applicant has got family living in his / her home country. The entry clearance officer normally takes into account only close family members of the applicant (eg. spouse, other children) while ascertaining strength of family ties.
- Evidence that the applicant has got memberships of professional bodies or social groups would be sufficient to prove social ties.
- No Intention to Study
Visitors are not allowed to study or switch their immigration status to any other status. The purpose of the visa of a parent of a child at school is to enable the parent take care of his / her child but not to start his / her own education plans.
The following requirements are more related to availability of funds during the applicant's stay in the UK:
- Not Intention to take employment
The applicant needs to prove that he neither needs to nor intends to take employment whether full time or on a part time basis. Visitor visa / Parent of a child at school visa are normally issued on the basis of the assumption that the applicants would not take employment during their stay in the UK and if such persons engage themselves in any sort of employment whether paid or unpaid, full time or part time then their leave to remain may be curtailed by the Immigration Authorities and they may be removed from the country.
- No Intention to Produce Goods / Provide Services to public
- Able to maintain & accommodate himself and any dependants without recourse to public funds
- Able to meet the costs of the return or onward journey
- The Child is staying in the UK as a Student thus fulfilling all the requirements set out in the Immigration Rules for a Student.
In order to meet this requirement the child must be on a student visa and fulfilling all the requirements as set out in the Immigration Rules Paragraph 57. The child would not have been issued a student visa if he did not fulfil the requirements of the paragraph 57 at the time of making application but it is necessary to prove that all the immigration have been strictly followed throughout the period of the stay of the child. This could be done by enclosing a copy of the child's passport and a letter from the school confirming the admission / attendances of the child in an ongoing course.
- The child is under 12 years of age
Age of the child is really important and only those parents who have children less than 12 years of age studying in the UK can apply for visa or extension of stay in this category. This can be proved by enclosing a copy of the Birth Certificate of the child along with a copy of the child's passport.
- The parent can provide satisfactory evidence of adequate and reliable funds for maintaining a second home in the United Kingdom
This can be proved by Bank statements, which should be sufficient enough to bear the expenses of making a second home in the UK. One has to prove that he has got good funds to maintain his main home in his home country and make a second home in the UK which means good amount of money in their Bank statements which allow them bear the costs of making and maintaining both the homes.
- The parent is not seeking to make the United Kingdom his main home.
This category of visa is only a permission to a person to stay here for a maximum period of one year and if the intention of the person is otherwise then such an application to enter or remain in the UK may be refused. The intention of the applicant is normally judged by the strong family / social / economical ties of the person in his home country.
- The parent was not last admitted to the United Kingdom under the "Approved Destination Status Agreement with China."
In case of Chinese Nationals whose children are studying at a UK school, they are strictly not allowed to apply under this category if they have already been in the UK most recently under the "Approved Destination Status Agreement with China". It is not applicable to nationals belonging to countries other than China.
It is important to meet all the requirements of this category by appropriate documents in order to qualify for this visa. Sometimes the visa application gets refused due to the lack of a document, which could have easily been obtained. Although refusal of a visa of this category triggers a right of appeal but unfortunately it takes too long for an appeal to be considered by a senior Entry Clearance Officer (review) or AIT (Court Hearing). It is therefore advised to give full attention to even minor details while proceeding with the entry clearance application for this category as your child might need your presence in the UK on important occasions of his life!
|
