7.16 Private Fostering Guidance |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This should be read in conjunction with Private Fostering Procedure.
The following is an extract from the replacement Children Act 1989 Children Act Guidance on Private Fostering, the full text of which can be found on the Every Child Matters website.
Immigration and Nationality |
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| 1.1 | There is no specific provision in the Immigration Rules for children to be admitted to the United Kingdom for private fostering. However, foreign nationals and Commonwealth citizens who are admitted to the United Kingdom for a limited period, for example as visitors, students or work permit holders, may be joined or accompanied by their children provided that certain conditions are met (for example, the parents must be able to maintain and accommodate their children adequately without recourse to public funds). There is no bar to parents placing their children in private foster care during their stay in the United Kingdom provided that they take the child with them when they leave the country and meet all the usual requirements about notice and suitability of the proposed arrangement. Children will normally be given leave to remain for the same period as their parents. The date when the child’s leave to remain expires will be stamped in the child’s passport on arrival in the United Kingdom. If the social worker who is responsible for inquiring into a prospective private foster care arrangement or one that has already begun is not satisfied that there are clear plans for the child to return with the parents e.g. purchased return tickets and clear traceable return address in the country of origin, they should discuss these issues with the adults concerned and, if concerns remain, should seek advice from the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate. |
| 1.2 | Any person who has limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom must leave the country before his or her leave expires or apply to extend that leave. If he does not do so, he will automatically become an overstayer, which is a criminal offence (except for children under age 10), and will be liable to removal from the United Kingdom. Parents may make an application to the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate for an extension of leave to remain, whether in relation to themselves or their children. It should be noted that any application for an extension of leave to remain must be made before the child’s current leave expires; and that there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for a person who was admitted for 6 months as a visitor to be granted further leave to remain as a visitor or a student. |
| 1.3 | A person born in the United Kingdom prior to 1 January 1983 is a British citizen and is not therefore subject to immigration control. A child born in the United Kingdom after that date will be a British citizen if at the time of his birth his father or mother is a British citizen or lawfully settled in the United Kingdom. A new born child who is found abandoned in the United Kingdom is assumed to meet the above requirements unless the contrary is shown i.e. the child will be assumed to be a British Citizen. |
| 1.4 | The social worker should check a privately fostered child’s passport to in order to satisfy himself about the child’s immigration status, in particular that the child is lawfully present in the UK. This should be done on the first occasion that the child is seen following notification that a private fostering arrangement is in place. This simple, practical step is also an important means of confirming the child’s identity. For children who are UK citizens, it is recognized that they may not hold a passport. A local authority or private foster carer who is in any doubt about a child’s immigration or nationality status is strongly advised to consult the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate at the earliest opportunity. The local authority can also seek assistance from the authorities in the country of origin or the International Social Service (ISS) with a view to tracing the child’s parents and arranging for the child to be returned to them. In most cases, the ISS is able to provide for the exchange of medical and educational histories of a child, as well as to ascertain whether there would be any reasonable grounds not to return the child to his parents and whether parental responsibility has been terminated or circumscribed by any overseas authority, or to make arrangements for the reunification of the child with his parents overseas. |
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| 1.5 | A parent of a child who is being privately fostered, or other person with parental responsibility for him, can arrange for his return to his own country from the United Kingdom, even in those instances where this is in opposition to the wishes of the child himself or in opposition to the wishes of the private foster carer. It would be advisable for local authorities to ensure at the outset of an arrangement, in so far as it is practicable to do so, that there are any plans for the child to be reunited with a parent who is not present in the UK. This will avoid frustration that may arise from mistaken, confused or disappointed expectations about any proposed or actual plans for the child to return to the country of origin. |
| 1.6 | Where arrangements for leaving the UK need to be made for children whose families live abroad, this is primarily a matter for the private foster carer and the parent. However, if the arrangement has broken down and the child is accommodated by the local authority, the authority may wish to assist the parents by making travel arrangements, and then check that the child has arrived at his destination and been met. |
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| 1.7 | Children of statutory school age without a right of abode who apply for leave to enter the UK on their own will only be granted leave to enter in very limited circumstances and will not be permitted to take up a place at a maintained school. Leave to enter the UK in order to receive an education will only be granted if the child satisfies the requirements specified in paragraph 57 of the Immigration Rules. For example, if the child is under 16 years old, he must produce proof of acceptance for a course of study at an independent and fee-paying or private educational institution. The Immigration Rules can be viewed on the Home Office website. |
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| 1.8 | EEA national children who come to the UK as students, and who are not accompanied by their parents, enjoy the same rights to education as British citizens. Non-EEA children of EEA parents who are not accompanied by their parents do not have this right. |
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| 1.9 | Holders of passports describing them as British Dependent Territories Citizens or British Overseas Citizens have no automatic right of abode in the UK, nor do other non-EEA nationals. |
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| 1.10 | A child from overseas, who is resident in the UK lawfully and for a settled purpose, may apply to register with a General Practitioner, or their parent or private foster carer may do so on their behalf. |
| 1.11 | A child who is being privately fostered may or may not be chargeable for NHS hospital treatment, depending on the exact circumstances of their stay in the UK. A child who, for example, enters the UK on a visitor’s visa, but then remains beyond the validity of that visa, being privately fostered while his parents return to their home country, would not be here legally and could, therefore, be charged for NHS hospital treatment. |
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