Enrolling an American 15 year old into state school. What are the legalities?

[tomwardthomas]

Want to ask some advice on putting a foreign 15 year old into the UK state school system. It sounds complicated but it's actually for a writing project.

If a teenager has come over from America, with one parent dead, and the other parent is a UK citizen and living here, but has not been involved in their life until now, and is not on their birth certificate, are their issues? Can that parent get the child enrolled in state school fairly quickly or is it a very long and complicate process? Are visas needed? Prove of paternity etc?

Any knowledge on this much appreciated

On fact, in some counties, state schools don't even need to check addresses - this is done by the LA.

How interesting! My local council did not abide by this in my case !

@Andwegoroundagain I think quite a few LAs ignore this. But in practical terms, a place still needs to be actually taken up very quickly after offer (ie the child attending within a couple of weeks), and if there's a waiting list then you still need evidence of the local address in order to be able to rank the applicant correctly, so in many cases it's not actually that helpful to the family relocating. In our LA we were told we needed a confirmed local address plus evidence of booked flights to the UK within the next couple of weeks in order to offer to an applicant still living overseas.

I'm trying to figure out how dad could be listed on BC without dad knowing and kid ends up with Right of Abode.

Kid born in UK? Then mom probably had Right of Abode, so kid gets RofA regardless of whether dad had it? Except kid won't get RofA if mom leaves UK while kid is young unless Mom is a British citizen.

Kid born in USA: whether dad was named might depend on which state where kid was born, and just having his name wouldn't prove his identity as the genetic father. Also, he has to be married to the mom to pass on citizenship. This gets complicated...

If the scenario must be that parents weren't married then I think the Mom must be a British citizen to be sure the kid would have RofA

Not legally but I do know of one case.

It was two primary aged children who were born and living in South Africa. Their mother passed away and their South African grandparents were in an old people's home so the children couldn't live there long term.

The father and the British grandparents could not get them in to the country legally as dad didn't earn enough money.

So they brought the children in to the country on a three month holiday visa.

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10247573.burnley-dad-wins-battle-stop-children-deported-south-africa/

I'm guessing you are in the US.

The UK doesn't have a single system, Scotland has a different system.

The Parent would be a British citizen not a UK citizen. And the child is also a British Citizen although I don't know what is necessary as proof. British citizenship passes down one generation.

15 is a really really bad age to start at a school in the British system. I don't know if that is relevant to your writing.

Kid born in USA: whether dad was named might depend on which state where kid was born, and just having his name wouldn't prove his identity as the genetic father. Also, he has to be married to the mom to pass on citizenship. This gets complicated...

The parents do not need to have been married, although if they were then that would simplify things.

"I'm trying to figure out how dad could be listed on BC without dad knowing"

That was a suggestion by a PP. The OP stated that their story involved a dad who wasn't on the birth certificate.

"Also, he has to be married to the mom to pass on citizenship."

The law around this changed in 2006, so as long as the child was born after 1st July 2006, so would currently be no older than 17 (ok, or 18 years and 5 days), then either parent can pass on citizenship as long as they were able to (not all British citizens can pass on citizenship if the child is born abroad).

Before 1st July 2006 then, yes, the father would have to be married to the mother.