Entry Clearance For Indefinite Leave To Enter As An Adopted Child

You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) for your adopted child if all the requirements as set out in paragraph 310 of the Immigration Rules are met. Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert legal advice and representations in relation to your adopted child’s application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE).

Requirements For Indefinite Leave Enter (ILE) As An Adopted Child

According to paragraph 310 of the Immigration Rules, following requirements needs to be satisfied for an adopted child to be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK to join the adoptive parent in the UK:

• The child must be seeking leave to enter to accompany or join an adoptive parent or parents in one of the following circumstances
  • both parents are present and settled in the United Kingdom; or
  • both parents are being admitted on the same occasion for settlement; or
  • one parent is present and settled in the United Kingdom and the other is being admitted on the same occasion for settlement; or
  • one parent is present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement and the other parent is dead; or
  • one parent is present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement and has had sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing; or
  • one parent is present and settled in the United Kingdom or being admitted on the same occasion for settlement and there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make exclusion of the child undesirable and suitable arrangements have been made for the child’s care; or
  • in the case of a de facto adoption one parent has a right of abode in the United Kingdom or indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom and is seeking admission to the United Kingdom on the same occasion for the purposes of settlement; and
• The child is under the age of 18; and
• The child is not leading an independent life, is unmarried and is not a civil partner, and has not formed an independent family unit; and
• The child can, and will, be accommodated and maintained adequately without recourse to public funds in accommodation which the adoptive parent or parents own or occupy exclusively; and
• The child was adopted in accordance with a decision taken by the competent administrative authority or court in his country of origin or the country in which he is resident, being a country whose adoption orders are recognised by the United Kingdom; or
• The child is the subject of a de facto adoption; and
• The child was adopted at a time when:
  • both adoptive parents were resident together abroad; or
  • either or both adoptive parents were settled in the United Kingdom; and
• The child has the same rights and obligations as any other child of the adoptive parent’s or parents’ family; and
• The child was adopted due to the inability of the original parent(s) or current carer(s) to care for him and there has been a genuine transfer of parental responsibility to the adoptive parents; and
• The child has lost or broken his ties with his family of origin; and
• The child was adopted, but the adoption is not one of convenience arranged to facilitate his admission to or remaining in the United Kingdom; and
• The application does not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal.

What Is De Facto Adoption?

According to Paragraph 309A of the Immigration Rules, a de facto adoption shall be regarded as having taken place if:

• at the time immediately preceding the making of the application for entry clearance under these Rules the adoptive parent or parents have been living abroad (in applications involving two parents both must have lived abroad together) for at least 18 months preceding the date of application and must have cared for the child for at least 12 months preceding the date of application; and
• during their time abroad, the adoptive parent or parents have:
  • lived together for a minimum period of 18 months, of which the 12 months immediately preceding the application for entry clearance must have been spent living together with the child; and
  • have assumed the role of the child’s parents, since the beginning of the 18 month period, so that there has been a genuine transfer of parental responsibility.

Inter-Country Adoptions

According to paragraph 309B of the Immigration Rules, Inter-country adoptions may be subject to section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or the equivalent legislation in Scotland or Northern Ireland if the adopter’s habitual residence is there. Where this is the case, a letter obtained from the Department for Education (England and Wales habitual residents) or the equivalent from the relevant central authority (Scotland or Northern Ireland habitual residents) confirming the issue of a Certificate of Eligibility must be provided with any entry clearance adoption application under paragraphs 310-316C.

Adoption agencies are responsible for assessing prospective adopters wishing to adopt a child from another country who approach them. The Intercountry Adoption Casework Team must then process all cases of intercountry adoption.

Submitting The Application To Inter-country Adoption Casework Team

After approving intercountry adoption applicants as suitable to adopt, the adoption agency must send the completed application to the Intercountry Adoption Casework Team.

The submission of incomplete files will result in delay, so agencies should make sure that the application is complete before sending the application to Intercountry Adoption Casework Team. To make sure you send them all the necessary documents, the Intercountry Adoption Casework Team recommends attaching the ‘Intercountry adoption application checklist’ to the front of the application.

List of Designated Countries

Adoptions made on or after 3 January 2014

England, Wales and Northern Ireland automatically recognise adoptions made on or after 3 January 2014 in any of the countries listed on The Adoption (Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013.

Scotland recognises adoptions made on or after 3 January 2014 in the countries listed on The Adoption (Recognition of Overseas Adoptions)(Scotland) Regulations 2013 and its amendment.

Adoptions made before 3 January 2014

The UK government automatically recognises all adoptions made before 3 January 2014 in any of the countries listed on The Adoption (Designation of Overseas Adoptions) Order 1973 and The Adoption (Designation of Overseas Adoptions)(Variation) Order 1993.

How Can We Help?

The immigration solicitors at Sunrise Solicitors are experts in dealing with applications for entry clearance for Indefinite Leave to Enter as an adopted child. The quality of our service is self-evident from the clients’ reviews about the service provided by our immigration lawyers. You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from immigration lawyers in London in relation to your Indefinite Leave to Enter application as an adopted child and our immigration solicitors will provide you fast, friendly, reliable, honest and professional immigration service.

If instructed to represent you regarding your Entry Clearance application for Indefinite Leave to Enter as an adopted child, the casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter application as an adopted child;
• Discussing your Indefinite Leave to Enter application in detail with you and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your Indefinite Leave to Enter application as an adopted child;
• Advising you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your entry clearance application for Indefinite Leave to Enter 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 for Indefinite Leave to Enter application 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 to introduce and support the Indefinite Leave to Enter application wherein our immigration solicitors will explain in detail how all the requirements of the rules are being met for the Indefinite Leave to Enter to be granted by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO);
• Liaising with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO), if necessary, for a timely decision on the Indefinite Leave to Enter application;
• Protecting your interests while your Indefinite Leave to Enter 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter application.

Our Fixed Fees For Indefinite Leave To Enter (ILE) As An Adopted Child Of A British Citizen / Settled Person

Our fixed fees for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application from outside the UK by an adopted child of a British Citizen / Settled Person are as given in the fee table below:

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the entry clearance application of an adopted child and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee for the entry clearance application for an adopted child, the applicant also has to pay the Home office UKVI fees for the UK visa entry clearance application.