Question about bringing my 27 yr old autistic son over from america

I have lived in the UK a long time. I have indefinite leave to remain. My son is 27 and this year has expressed a large interest in coming to live here with me.

Can anyone tell me what direction I go in to find out if this is even possible?

Thank you so much

Unfortunately it really isn't possible.  He would have to be completely dependent (unable to wash himself and clothe himself for example) AND live in a country where adequate care isn't available.  The US has adequate care, which means it's virtually impossible to bring a dependent adult over.   

Thank you, this was what concerned me.

If he can qualify for a work visa or a student visa, he could come over on that, on his own merit.

As KFDancer said, the Adult Dependant visa is extremely difficult to get because you have to prove that:

- through age, illness or disability, he is unable to take care of himself and relies on long-term, personal care to complete everyday tasks (washing, eating, dressing etc.)
AND
- even with your financial and practical assistance, he cannot get adequate care in the US because either it is not available and there is not person in the US who can reasonably provide it, or because it is not affordable

Sorry! Don't mean to hijack this by any means, but now I've got a question as I've seen this come up a few times (not currently in this situation myself and highly unlikely I would be - just for references so it's not imperative it's answered, I'm really just curious), but is it pretty much impossible that you would be able to get any relative over to live with you in the UK (let's just say without any illnesses)? Like if you had a child that was over 18 who was living with relatives in the US to finish up school or something and you had moved over to the UK, would it be pretty much impossible once they were adults to be able to acquire a visa for them to be able to move over and live with you? That seems really harsh to me that some people would literally have to choose between starting a new life in the UK with their spouse or leaving their children behind? Or suppose your mother or father needed you to care for them when they were older. You'd pretty much have to decide, if nobody else is there to do it, between putting them in a home or moving back to the US (and uprooting I know isn't always easy to do especially once you've settled in!). Are there really no options? It's just really sad to think about!

That pretty much sums it up!

That pretty much sums it up!

That pretty much sounds incredibly depressing! Is there honestly no other way?

I just think about how when my mother becomes old enough to need more help. Luckily I have two sisters in the US, but I feel like I can't do my bit unless I give up the life I've been building here to move back to the US (and face more visa issues as my husband would then need to go through the US visa process and we'd need to start over and build up again). I can't even imagine having a child that can't come over and live with you, their own parent, for more than 6 months (unpaid) at a time!

Surrinder Singh, but it looks like that door is closing in the coming years, what with Brexit and all.

Haven't you noticed that the UK is not so big on immigration at the moment? There is no chain migration to the UK.

Surrinder Singh, but it looks like that door is closing in the coming years, what with Brexit and all.

Just googled Surrinder Singh..doesn't seem like that would really work as a person coming from the US and not from somewhere within EEA rights (unless I'm misunderstanding which I probably am)...

Either way, didn't mean to hijack the thread, but thought I'd as the question..

The British citizen would have to move to another country in the EU, the family member then joins them under EU rules. The UK citizen is required to 'move the centre of their life' to the other EU country. The whole family then moves back to the UK under EU rules as the UK citizen has been exercising treaty rights....

So you are right, in that you need to be moving to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, but only one family member needs to be an EU/ UK citizen.

That pretty much sounds incredibly depressing! Is there honestly no other way?

I just think about how when my mother becomes old enough to need more help. Luckily I have two sisters in the US, but I feel like I can't do my bit unless I give up the life I've been building here to move back to the US (and face more visa issues as my husband would then need to go through the US visa process and we'd need to start over and build up again). I can't even imagine having a child that can't come over and live with you, their own parent, for more than 6 months (unpaid) at a time!

It's good that you are thinking/talking about this now. It's better spoken about good and early so that everyone has an idea of the expectations of the other family members.

When we realised I was staying in the UK indefinitely, my parents took out long term care insurance in the US.  Hopefully we will never have to use it, but it's there if I'm "stuck" here.

What's really crazy is the amount of people who moved to the UK to be with a partner, had a child, and the relationship broke down.  The US parent cannot move back to the US with the child without expressed permission from the other parent.  If a parent or family me,her in the US is ill or incapacitated they have to choose between being there for their child or their loved one in the US.  Lots to think about in regards to immigration!

When we realised I was staying in the UK indefinitely, my parents took out long term care insurance in the US.  Hopefully we will never have to use it, but it's there if I'm "stuck" here.

What's really crazy is the amount of people who moved to the UK to be with a partner, had a child, and the relationship broke down.  The US parent cannot move back to the US with the child without expressed permission from the other parent.  If a parent or family me,her in the US is ill or incapacitated they have to choose between being there for their child or their loved one in the US.  Lots to think about in regards to immigration!

I think for 99% of people, there would be no contest. They would go "home" for a loved one if that was something that needed to happen. They would not abandon their family member in a time of real need. It's just so sad to think that, in doing so, you are then going to spend potentially thousands  (that you may not even have readily) on another transatlantic move (which may only be a shorter term thing). You have to sort out your job, your home, your daily life, and even friendships you've made. The longer you live in another country, the harder it is! I honestly can't imagine if I were in this OP's situation where you have a child that doesn't qualify as a dependent because they are legally an adult and you cannot have them live with you. They can visit for 6 months at a time without the ability to work (so you will likely need to be caring for them financially for 6 months - which I'm sure isn't a problem if it's your child, but still!) or, if they work in the US - where you don't get as much time off - they would need to be able to clear it with work to make longer visits. My heart does just break for people in that situation. It doesn't really seem all that fair...

All those situations are horrible, but I can't help but think about the people fleeing Syria, sitting in a miserable camp in Calais.  I bet many would happily settle for any of our problems. 

All those situations are horrible, but I can't help but think about the people fleeing Syria, sitting in a miserable camp in Calais.  I bet many would happily settle for any of our problems.

Considering who will care for our aging parents when the time comes is a real and extremely important issue for expats. I applaud x0Kiss0fDeath for her thoughtfulness.

We all understand that there are people in the world worse off than ourselves but minimizing this very real dilemma that many of us face is not helpful in the context of this conversation.

In my opinion, there is very little, if anything, which is more important than providing care for the people who did everything for us.