Guest Mumsie Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Hi, I am in the process of applying for a partner visa, the application went in last month. My husband is Australian. We have four daughters.....two with Australian citizenship by descent. The older two are my children from a previous relationship. Their biological father left in 2003 when the oldest was just 2 and the youngest was a baby. We were never married and he never had or subsequently acquired any parental responsibility. He has never sought any contact with my daughters. I have no idea where he is. I do not even know whether he is alive or not? He was a violent unstable man and it has taken a long time for me to rebuild my life. The Migration Officer is suggesting that I may need to get Stat Decs from him allowing the girls to migrate......even though he has never had parental responsibility. This terrifies me.....I do not want to seek out this violent person from the past. Is this the norm for Migration to ask for Any advice very welcome Thank you Mumsie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegigg5 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hi, I am in the process of applying for a partner visa, the application went in last month. My husband is Australian. We have four daughters.....two with Australian citizenship by descent. The older two are my children from a previous relationship. Their biological father left in 2003 when the oldest was just 2 and the youngest was a baby. We were never married and he never had or subsequently acquired any parental responsibility. He has never sought any contact with my daughters. I have no idea where he is. I do not even know whether he is alive or not? He was a violent unstable man and it has taken a long time for me to rebuild my life. The Migration Officer is suggesting that I may need to get Stat Decs from him allowing the girls to migrate......even though he has never had parental responsibility. This terrifies me.....I do not want to seek out this violent person from the past. Is this the norm for Migration to ask for Any advice very welcome Thank you Mumsie Hi Mumsie, We had a similar situation. I have a stepson (now 18) but at the time we started getting the paperwork together he was 16. The migration agent raised the issues regarding his biological father, who he had no contact with from 3 months old. (1) It is the norm for the migration agent to ask for, because it covers them for possible "kidnapping" (as strange as it might sound) cases or taking a child out of the country without one of the parent's consent . (2) I can't remember the ins and outs of what we did (I will ask my wife to post a reply in the next couple of days) but we avoided the stat dec with a written statement and some legal searches to prove that their was no parental filings in court. I think it cost us around £100 in solicitors fees and a few hours of time. When we were actually ready to put the Visa App, our son had just turned 18, so it didn't matter anyway, all we have to prove is dependency and as he's still in full time education it doesn't matter. I'll ask my wife to get a better more detailed response to you in the next day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mumsie Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Thank you for your reply thegigg5 I will be very interested to hear your wifes response. What I have provided the Migration Officer with so far is: A Stat Dec stating that I have sole responsibility and that no one else has acquired it subsequently Solicitors letters from 9 years ago stating the biological father has no parental responsibility and outlining the charges against him Deed Poll certificates stating the change of name to my husbands name, the Deed Poll certifies my parental responsibility. The scary thing for me is the fact that their biological father was very violent. It took me a long time to recover from the abuse. Now I am very happily married and my children only know my husband as their father. To suddenly have to locate him, which could be nigh on impossible as I have no idea where in the world he is, could open a huge can of worms. Thank you again thegigg5. Anyone elses imput would be greatly appreciated too. Mumsie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mumsie Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Just an update in slighlty more detail as I am so worried To date I have provided the Migration Officer with: Solicitors letters stating that I have parental responsibility (these letters date back to the time that the relationship broke down). A statutory declaration stating that their biological father has never attempted any contact with them or tried to subsequently acquire parental responsibility. This is signed and witnessed by a JP Certified copies of Deed Poll documentation changing their names to my married name. I wouldnt have been able to legally change their names without having sole parental responsibility However, the Migration Officer is asking that I provide a Statutory Declaration from their biological father to state that they can travel to Australia. This is extremely worrying, firstly I have no idea where he is or even if he is still alive. Secondly he was extremely violent and abusive to me. It took me years to rebuild my life. He was charged with the violence and served some time. I do not want to even think about him, let alone consider seeking him out. He has no parental responsibility and has made no attempt at even contacting his daughters. My daughters call my husband dad and see him as their father....they can remember nothing different. The Migration Officer seems adamant and says she cant accept my word on the Stat Dec What can I do Thank you for any advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggle Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 hi, my husband posted a reply and I hope I can put your mind at rest. I understand some of your anxiety. My eldest childs father was also violent and I was initially given similar advice to you. Fortunately for you (and me) we didnt marry the b****** and this is in your favour. I emailed the Australian High Commission in London. They told me what info is required to satisfy Oz Immigration that you alone have the right to remove your children permanently from the UK. I got a solicitors letter and that was sufficient. I still have the emails, I think the email address to use is london.cc**************. The website is www.uk.embassy.gov.au. Once your child turns 18 no permission or evidence is required anyway. The information Ive given was from 2009. please PM me if you have need more info. Hope I can put your mind at rest as this process is stressful enough, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggle Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 dont know why email address didnt print then, I'll type it again. I used an enquiry form via the website and got a reply the next day. I'd advise anyone to email rather than phone as it costs £1 per minute... email address is london.cc************** again, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggle Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 me again. just looked at the email from Oz High Commission in London. relevant to me was: (England and Wales only). if both parents are named on birth certificate but were not married at the time of birth, please provide a letter from solicitors or legal representative confirming that the non-custodial parent has not lodged a Parental Responsibility Agreement since the birth of the child. the letter needs to make clear whether it permits the child to migrate permanently to Oz. It sounds like you've already provided this information and surely your welfare and that of your children is important? you have proof of his violence and shouldnt have to put yourself at risk again (thats just me sounding off but I do think people need to listen to what youre saying). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mumsie Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Thank you giggle. I will get the solicitor to write a letter. Yes the welfare of the children is paramount and the CO doesnt seem to be taking this into consideration. Have sent you a pm Thanks again mumsie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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