Identify the issuing authority and request the appropriate record or replacement before assuming that an informal copy is sufficient. Family relationship evidence is a separate task from the principal worker’s professional evidence. Have counsel review alternatives if an official record is unavailable.
Track each family member’s record
Prepare a list of names as shown on passports and civil records, noting genuine name changes or spelling differences. Confirm whether translations and separate visa steps are needed for the particular family member and route. TD status does not itself authorize work, so document delays should not be bridged by assuming dependent employment.
Consider whether a later family arrival is practical, but verify the evidence required for that plan before committing to it. Relationship evidence succeeds or fails on what the civil record states: the parties, the date, the place and the issuing authority. A ceremonial certificate or a family photograph may corroborate, but the registrar’s record is what a reviewer expects to find.
Long-form birth certificates naming both parents settle questions that short-form extracts leave open. Hypothetical example: An animal scientist preparing TD documents for two children discovers that one certificate was issued in short form, so the long-form replacement is ordered while there is still time rather than after a question is raised. TD dependants may study but are not authorised to work, so no household budget should assume a second income arriving with the family.