6

I am on a Tier 2 Visa working in the UK. My wife and two kids are on the Tier 2 dependant visas.

We are expecting a newborn in July and I have a few questions regarding his/her visa.

  1. Do I need to apply for a Tier 2 dependant visa for new baby?
  2. Do I need to pay for NHS for new baby, or will baby qualify for NHS since he is born here?
Improve this question
0

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

You only need a visa for the child if you even intend to travel outside of the United Kingdom with the child.

If your intention is to eventually acquire ILR, and you will do that before any intention of traveling outside of the UK with the child, then you can wait until after you have acquired ILR and register the child for citizenship if you so wish. If you do not wish to register the child, then before any travel outside of the UK, you will have to acquire a passport for the child of the appropriate nationality (presumably the nationality of one or both of the parents) and then apply for either ILR (along with your application) or a dependent visa. NOTE: You do not need a passport to apply for a visa or ILR, ONLY if you are traveling outside of the UK with the child.

The child's health care costs are free for the first 3 months of life. If you apply for the child's dependent visa, you will have to pay the NHS charge in accordance with the visa. After the child has ILR/citizenship, then NHS is free as long as they are normally resident. All of your wife's treatment is covered as you have already paid the charges.

Improve this answer
4
  • We will need to get the visa, we are planning on travelling allot. We have only been in the UK for 8 months, so ILR is still a long way off.
    – Captain0
    May 24, 2016 at 12:32
  • 2
    Fine then, passport and visa(s) required. Good luck.
    – ouflak ♦
    May 24, 2016 at 12:42
  • But the passport and visa are independent: you can apply for both simultaneously once you have the birth certificate. In that case, make sure to order two copies of the extended BC (costs £4 each in 2016).
    – Roman Shapovalov
    Sep 20, 2016 at 12:39
  • 1
    Slight correction on the first statement: since 2015, even if not travelling, you may need to apply for a visa within 3 months of birth if you want to have NHS treatment for the child (most people do). More info on the bottom of the page: nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/uk-visitors/… (but in our experience, no one cares about that at hospitals/surgery, as of 2016).
    – Roman Shapovalov
    Sep 20, 2016 at 12:49
4

A lot of this depends on the citizenship(s) of you and your wife. In general, being born in the UK is not sufficient to become a UK citizen. Assuming, the newborn is not a UK (or EU) citizen, it is not clear if you technically need to apply for a visa for your newborn: https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/family-members

If you have children while you’re in the UK, you can apply for permission for them to stay.

You must do this if you want to travel in and out of the UK with your child.

If you plan on never leaving the UK (even for a holiday), potentially the newborn baby might be able to get away without a visa.

You will likely have to get a passport for the baby prior to applying for the dependent visa. When I completed the application for my son, the process was a bit tricky since it is not clear if it is the sponsor or the dependent who is applying. We used a immigration lawyer to help with the paperwork. Further, the question regarding "how did you enter the UK" is a bit tricky to answer since your only choices are air, sea, channel tunnel, and overland. My wife would not let me choose channel tunnel, despite my arguments that it was the most accurate.

You will likely have to pay the NHS surcharge for the new baby, but everyone should have access to the NHS. It is important that you and your wife have valid visas and are qualified for the NHS at the time of birth so you do not get charged.

Improve this answer
4
  • 5
    "My wife would not let me choose channel tunnel, despite my arguments that it was the most accurate"....ROFL ROFL....
    – Captain0
    May 23, 2016 at 15:27
  • 1
    My wife and me are on Tier 2 Visa, and our NHS is sorted. I think I should get in touch with immigration lawyers, just to be sure I do not miss something. Thanks
    – Captain0
    May 23, 2016 at 15:27
  • 2
    @Captain0 from my understanding if you screw something up on the application, you lose your fee. If the lawyer screws something up the home office gives them some leeway. Our lawyer had us fill out all the forms twice (once with me as the applicant and once with my son).
    – StrongBad
    May 23, 2016 at 15:31
  • 1
    They are Tier 2 visa/dependent holders, which means they must be non-EEA nationals. The nationality of the child is irrelevant. Everything depends on the status of the child. It is clear that a newborn does not need to ever apply for a visa unless they are traveling abroad. The baby will not need a passport before applying for a dependent visa. I could go on.... Sorry for the downvote. If you wish to correct this information, I'll be happy to reverse that. I've posted my own answer with the correct and specific information.
    – ouflak ♦
    May 24, 2016 at 11:07

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.