Child Visitors - Requirement to name all those who may travel with a child. Failure to do so may result in child being refused entry to the UK.

On 12 February 2006 the Border and Immigration Agency (now the UK Border Agency) introduced a new requirement into the Immigration Rules relating to child visitors. (Paragraph 46A of the Immigration Rules).

The Rule requires in relation to visa nationals that if a child applies for an Entry Clearance (a visa) as an accompanied child, they must specify which parent or guardian will travel with them. As a consequence, the Home Office may interpret this as meaning that on each entry to the UK the child must be accompanied by the parent or guardian specified on their Entry Clearance. The child could be refused entry to the UK if they are not travelling with the person specified. 

Furthermore, given the mandatory general grounds for refusal introduced on 1 April 2008, [see our previous article] if the child travels with someone other than the person specified on their Entry Clearance, they could be accused of having employed deception in their application. This could result in the mandatory refusal of any future Entry Clearance applications to the UK for up to 10 years (subject to certain defences).

As you can see, the consequences of not disclosing the details of who will accompany a child to the UK can be severe. As such, Gherson strongly advise anyone applying for a child to visit the UK, to specify each and every person who is likely to travel with that child throughout the duration of the visa. Gherson has extensive experience of applications of this nature. If you require specific advice please contact one of our specialist advisors.

To read this page in Russian please click here