Adopted Child of a person Settled / Citizen in UK.
How do I bring my adopted children to the UK?
You must be able to show that:
- you currently live and are settled in the United Kingdom legally, with no time limit on your stay
- you can adequately support and house your child without help from public funds
How does my adopted child qualify to join adoptive parents in the United Kingdom?
You, or your child, must show that he or she:
- is not leading an independent life, is not married and has not formed an independent family unit
- is under 18 years
- was adopted when both parents lived together abroad or when either parent was settled in the United Kingdom
- has the same rights as any other child of the adoptive parents
- was adopted because their original parents could not care for them and there has been a genuine transfer of parental responsibility
- has broken all ties with their original family
- was not adopted just to make it easier to enter the United Kingdom
Your adopted child must get entry clearance before they travel to the United Kingdom.
Following the implementation of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 on 30/4/2001, it is now an offence* for prospective adoptive parents to bring a child into the United Kingdom for the purposes of adoption, unless they have complied with requirements prescribed in law. The penalty for non-compliance is a fine of up to £5000 and/or up to three months imprisonment.
*Section 56A of the Adoption Act 1976, inserted by Section 14 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999
The Adoption of Children from Overseas Regulations 2001 aims to deter people from bringing children into the United Kingdom for the purpose of adoption unless they have first been assessed and approved by a local council or a voluntary adoption agency (VAA) and had their suitability endorsed by the Secretary of State. In order to avoid committing an offence, the Regulations require prospective adoptive parents in England and Wales, to have first:
- applied for their suitability to adopt a child to be approved by a local council or VAA
- complied with the assessment process
- received confirmation, in writing, of the agency’s decision to approve them as suitable to be an adoptive parent
- received written notification from the Secretary of State that he is prepared to issue a certificate of eligibility
Within 14 days of the prospective adoptive parents’ arrival in the United Kingdom with a child, they must notify their local council of their intention to adopt or not. Once this notification has been received, the child will be a protected child under Section 22 of the Adoption Act 1976 and his/her placement will be monitored by the council under Sections 32 to 37.
How long can my adopted child stay?
If your child was adopted in a designated country and both you and your husband or wife are settled here, or you have sole responsibility for the child, he or she will normally be allowed to stay here permanently from the date they arrive. If your child has not been adopted in a designated country he or she will normally be allowed to stay for 12 months so the adoption process can continue through the United Kingdom courts.
Will my adopted child become a British citizen automatically?
Your child will only become a British citizen if you adopted them through the United Kingdom courts and at least one of their adoptive parents was a British citizen when the adoption order was made.
Will a foreign adoption order be recognised in the UK?
A foreign adoption order will only be recognised in the UK if it was made in a country that is included in the Adoption (Designation of Overseas adoptions) Order 1973. This is known as a designated country.
Please note Pakistan is not included in the list of designated countries hence the adoption order of Pakistan Courts is not recognized in UK.
PART I – COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES AND UNITED KINGDOM DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Botswana
- British Honduras
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- The Republic of Cyprus
- Dominica
- Fiji
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Guyana
- Hong Kong
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Pitcairn
- St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla
- St. Vincent
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Southern Rhodesia
- Sri Lanka
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
- Zambia
PART II – OTHER COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroes)
- Finland
- France (including Réunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guyana)
- The Federal Republic of Germany and Land Berlin (West Berlin)
- Greece
- Iceland
- The Republic of Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- The Netherlands (including Surinam and the Antilles)
- Norway
- Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira)
- South Africa and South West Africa
- Spain (including the Balcarics and the Canary Islands)
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- The United States of America
- Yugoslavia
If the adoption order was made in a country that is not designated, the child can apply to come to the UK to be adopted through the UK courts.
The UK will normally recognise an adoption order made under the law in any of the countries named on the above ‘Designated List’.The adopted child does not, however, gain British citizenship automatically and this must be applied for separately whilst the child is still a minor. Although you may have gone through the formalities of adoption overseas, your case must still be assessed by a UK adoption agency to establish that you are a suitable person to adopt a child by their criteria. This however does not apply if the adoption is a recognized /enlisted in one of the above countries under the Hague Convention Adoption which was effected within the 12 month period leading up to the adopted-child being brought to the UK.
What happens if a child dependant visa application is refused?
If a child’s visa application has been refused, there will be the option to appeal the decision or submit a fresh application. We recommend contacting us for legal advice if you have received a refusal. Our immigration Lawyer will assist by carefully reviewing the decision and advising you on your options going forward.
The rules and process governing recognition of British citizenship status of the adopted child are complex. You should book a consultation for legal advice with our Immigration Lawyer to verify whether adoption in question is recognised and whether the child really does qualify.
The casework to be carried out by our immigration lawyer will include the following:
- Taking detailed instructions from you and advising you about the relevant immigration laws and procedures to be adopted by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) in your case as an adopted child;
- Discussing in detail with you and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your application as an adopted child;
- Advising you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your entry clearance application as an adopted child;
- Checking all the relevant documents to ensure that the documents to be submitted in support of the application are in accordance with the Home Office, UKVI requirements;
- Arranging for the property inspection report for the accommodation occupied by the UK sponsor to comply with the Home Office requirement of adequate accommodation;
- Completing the online application form and discussing the same with you;
- Submitting the entry clearance application form online and arranging an appointment for you to hand over your application at a designated application centre;
- Preparing a sponsorship declaration for the UK sponsor to confirm his/her relationship to the applicant and to confirm that the UK sponsor will maintain and accommodate the applicant in the UK without public funds, if necessary;
- Preparing detailed statement of the applicant or the UK sponsor, if necessary, to explain the background of their relationship and covering the potential issues in the case;
- Preparing a cover letter/skeleton arguments to introduce and support the application wherein immigration lawyer will explain in detail how all the requirements of the rules are being met for application to be granted by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO);
- Advise and assist you about the adoption /certificate of eligibility to be executed within the UK by the adopting parents, if the country of adoption is not designated in the list of designated countries, whereby adoption is not recognized by UK Courts.
- Liaising with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO), if necessary, for a timely decision on the application;
- Protecting your interests while your application is pending with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) and making further representations in support of the application, if necessary;
- Doing all the follow up work until decision is reached on your application.
If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to schedule of appointment for free consultation session/highlights of this category.
