# Returning to UK sponsoring foreign spouse and stepchild?



## strontiumdog74 (May 25, 2016)

Hi Guys,

I am pretty sure this hasn't been answered already from what I can see, I will tell the full story but I only need help with the step child VISA for UK.

I am a British citizen, UK born and raised. Currently living in Abu Dhabi and about to get married to my Filipina fiancée. She has an 18 month old daughter in the Philippines being brought up by her sister.

The father (Tunisian national) of the child disowned my fiancée at 1 month into being pregnant as soon as he found out the news and has had no contact with my fiancée since that time. He has therefore had no contact with the child either. She was living in Qatar at the time and returned to the Philippines to give birth. No father is listed on the birth certificate.

I am familiar with the requirements for the VISA for sponsoring my wife to be and her child for going to the UK once we become married, my issue is that the recommendations on the UKBA site state that she should prove that she has sole custody of the child or the father of the child should write a legally attested letter stating that she can take the child permanently to the UK.

OK, so as there is no father listed on the birth certificate how do I achieve these requirements? A solicitor recommended a letter from a school stating that only my fiancée had dealt with the child's education requirements but as the child is under 2 this is not possible as no school involvement. Even if we could get contact with the father and he provide such letter there is no actual proof that he is even the father as he is not listed on the birth certificate.

Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated... also if anyone has any experience of bringing a step child to Abu Dhabi and the visa process for that feel free to chip in with these details.

Thanks in advance


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

Seems like it might be easier to obtain required evidence of sole custody from a legal authority in the Philippines?

I sponsored my stepson in dubai a few years ago, I might have been lucky but no one asked for anything more than marriage certificate and birth cert which only named my wife as the mother (no named father on the certificate, no NOC or legal letter required); later the same sponsorship was transferred to Abu Dhabi as a govt to govt transfer. I suspect it might not have been so straightforward if the original application was in Abu dhabi.


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