Sole Responsibility for a Child Visa: Evidence Requirements

Table Of Contents

1. What does Sole Responsibility mean
2. What if the child and the parent claiming sole responsibility are separated
3. Evidence requirements for Sole Responsibility for a child visa
4. What evidence can you include
5. When is sole responsibility usually not required
6. Summary

If a non-British child applies to join or stay with a parent in the UK under certain immigration routes, such as a UK family visa or as a dependant on other immigration routes such as Work visas, the parent in the UK may be required to prove that they have sole responsibility for the child in question. 

The “sole responsibility” test also applies where a child’s one parent is relocating to the UK, and the other parent remains abroad. The UK’s immigration rules effectively presume that a child should remain outside the country with their other parent, unless the parent moving to the UK can show they have the child’s “sole responsibility”.

For the Home Office, it is simply not enough to look at who the child lives with. It has to examine, based on the evidence, whether one parent claiming sole responsibility has exclusive control and responsibility over the child’s major life decisions, including their healthcare, education, religion, residence, and general welfare. The child’s other parent must not be sharing this responsibility.

What does Sole Responsibility mean?

Where parents of a child are not married, or the marriage of their parents subsists, but they do not live together, or where the marriage of their parents has been dissolved, a child may qualify to join or remain with one parent, provided that parent has had “sole responsibility” for the child’s upbringing.

The word “sole responsibility” is intended to reflect a circumstance where a child’s parental responsibility rests mainly with one parent. Such a situation is in contrast to the ordinary family unit where both parents share responsibility for the upbringing of a child (raising, caring for, guiding, and making important decisions about a child’s development and welfare). However, responsibilities do not necessarily have to be shared equally by each parent.

Sole parental responsibility means that one parent of the child is unknown or has abdicated/ abandoned their parental responsibilities, and the other parent is the only person actively managing and guiding the child’s everyday life and wellbeing.  

Importantly, sole responsibility and sole legal custody are not the same. You may have sole legal custody of your child while the child’s other parent is still involved in their life. You may be making significant or even sole financial provision for a child, but this does not in itself demonstrate you have sole parental responsibility. When both parents are involved in the child’s upbringing, it is rare for one parent to establish sole parental responsibility.

Sole responsibility for the child can be recent or long-standing.

What if the child and the parent claiming sole responsibility are separated?

Where you and your child are separated, the physical day-to-day care of your child must be entrusted to others, and it is expected that where the child is being looked after by relatives, they should be your relatives rather than the other parent’s relatives.  If this is the case, to claim “sole responsibility” you must still be able to show that you have retained the ultimate responsibility for the child’s upbringing and provide the majority of the financial and emotional support needed by the child.

If it is established that your (where you are the father of the child) relatives are caring for your child but it is the child’s mother who has applied for the child to join her in the UK (or vice versa), the mother’s application should normally be refused.

Evidence requirements for Sole Responsibility for a child visa

If you are claiming to have had “sole responsibility” for a child, you must satisfactorily demonstrate that you have, usually for a substantial period of time, been the main person exercising your child’s parental responsibility. If you want this assertion to be accepted, you must show that you have had, and still have, the ultimate responsibility for the major decisions relating to the child’s upbringing, and provide the child with the majority of the emotional and financial support he needs. You must also show that you have and continue to have control and care of the child.

A successful application normally requires producing evidence that shows a history of exclusive decision-making and the absence of meaningful involvement from the child’s other parent.

In assessing whether a person has sole parental responsibility for a child, the caseworker must consider the following evidence:

1. The parent claiming sole responsibility for the child is the chief decision-maker

You must demonstrate to the Home Office that you are the main decision-maker in the child’s life. These decisions may include whether you are responsible for deciding:

• What faith/religion your child is raised in, and how they practise this faith/religion; 
• The place where your child lives; 
• Recreational activities your child is involved in;
• Whether your child undergoes certain medical procedures;
• How the health (physical and mental) of your child is generally looked after; 
• With whom and where the child goes on holiday; 
• Who does the child’s legal representation;
• The child’s property.

2. The parent claiming sole responsibility for the child has the financial responsibility

Even if you are the child’s main financial support provider, it is not the sole determinant of the child’s responsibility. However, it is an important factor. If you are making significant or even sole financial provision for your child, it may contribute positively towards the assessment, and if there is any absence of financial provision it may be telling.

3. The parent claiming sole responsibility has had and continues to have the responsibility for the child’s welfare

The Home Office would like to see evidence from you that proves that you are responsible for your child’s protection and giving them the appropriate guidance and direction. To prove you have the main responsibility for the child’s welfare, you will also need to include evidence showing your involvement in the child’s daily care, even if you and your child do not live together.

4. Absence of the child’s other parent

If your child’s other parent is alive and involved, you must show that they do not have any responsibility for the child’s welfare and for what happens to the child in key areas of their life. This helps you assert that the other parent has abdicated/abandoned their parental responsibility. You must also provide evidence if the other parent is deceased or not contactable.

What evidence can you include?

The evidence that is necessary to include to demonstrate you have sole responsibility will largely be dependent on the particular facts of your case. Common examples of evidence include:

• Court documents showing your child lives with you or that you’re taking an active role in their upbringing;

• Your child’s medical records such as a letter from your child’s doctor/dentist/or health visitor confirming that you take them to appointments;

• Your child’s school reports such as a letter from your child’s school confirming you take them to school or go to parent evenings;

• Bank statements showing you have the financial responsibility for the child;

• Letters of support from friends and family;

• Records of your communications with the child or with anyone responsible for looking after the child, such as a grandparent or babysitter;

• Photographs/pictures of time spent with the child.

When is sole responsibility usually not required?

You generally do not need to prove sole responsibility for the child if:

• Child’s both parents are applying to come to the UK with him/her; 

• The child is already living in the UK with both parents; 

• The child’s other parent is also coming to the UK and has lawful permission to enter or stay; 

• The application falls into a category where the sole responsibility requirement does not apply.

Summary

Proving sole responsibility for a child is most commonly required where that child is overseas and only one parent in the UK is seeking permission to bring them to the UK, especially after abandonment, separation, divorce, or where the child is being cared for by relatives. The focus is given on who has made the important decisions in the child’s life over a period of time, rather than simply who provides everyday care or financial support.

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