SINGLE PARENT: ‘SOLE RESPONSIBILITY’ FOR A MINOR CHILD?

Sue lives outside of the UK. She has a British passport and wishes to move to the UK on a permanent basis to work and live here with her minor son Pete (non-British), currently 6 years of age.

Pete is not able to claim British citizenship through his mother (who was born outside of the UK). Sue is divorced and responsible for Pete’s day to day upbringing.

One of the common requirements to bringing a non-British minor child to the UK applicable to most routes (visa types) relates to the question on who, which parent, is responsible for the minor child (on the assumption that only one parent is moving to the UK).

A single parent must be able to prove that he/she has sole responsibility for the minor child. ‘Sole responsibility’ must be proven on the facts. It will not be sufficient for the other parent to simply consent to the minor child being removed to the UK to live here permanently. One needs to look carefully at the role each parent has played or continuous to play in the child’s life, the permanency thereof and past or current contributions made.

In some instances, it will be prudent to obtain a court order before submitting a visa application confirming that sole responsibility for a minor child has been granted to the parent wishing to relocate to the UK.

The bottom line is that evidence that ultimate control rests with the sponsoring parent will be required.