Benefits : affecting ILR? Read before starting new topic.

Hello, hope you can help...seems to be some knowledgeable people around!

My Mexican fiancée is currently applying for a fiancée Visa. Upon the issue of that Visa she will join me to live in UK where we will get married within the 6 months allocated to do so by the Visa. I am a British citizen with no restrictions on my rights to live here.

I am currently in receipt of various benefits:
Employment & Support Allowance (including Support group component and enhanced and severe disability premiums). The award appears to be part contribution based and part income related - I seem to get full contribution based payments for basic rate and support group elements
Disability living Allowance – low rate mobility and medium rate care
Local Council Tax – I get single person discount and full council tax support (paying 8.5% of the Council tax after single person discount applied)

I live alone in a house I own outright.

My query relates to how my benefits are impacted when my fiancée comes to live with me and more importantly how we ensure her application details are accurate and stay will meet issues of being "no recourse to public funds" as will be a condition for Visa.

Would I change my claim for Employment & Support Allowance into a joint claim and insist they do not pay any additional public funds? I presume I will lose severe disability premium as no longer will be single. But will I be able to get couple rate of ESA if contribution based? Also, Enhanced Disability Premium - I cannot determine if this is a public fund or not, would I be able to claim this at couple rate?

For Council Tax I see some old entries on the board regarding an anomaly of the law which arises when single person discount is lost and thus technically greater amount of council tax support could apply. Single person discount not public fund, council tax support is - so although more council tax would be payable, public funds received would also increase slightly. I note a moderator of the board suggested this was receiving some parliamentary interest back in 2014. I am enquiring about this with my local authority but so far nothing. I am wondering if it would be advisable to try and drop my single person discount claim now.. if indeed the council would allow that given I still would be living alone.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi there,
Could some one advise me if my daughter can get child benefit? the scenario is detailed below:
1. she received her ILR a few days ago on the basis of 10yr LR and is under 14.
2. Neither me or my wife has granted ILR yet ( application already made)
3. my daughter was born abroad.

please advise me.

Regards

Hi,

Im on ILR, currently I have bangladeshi passport. Only recently I have applied for my child naturalisation using MN1 form under section 3(i). My wife is my dependent from entrepreneur visa. My questions are..

1) What benefits can I claim without effecting my naturalisation (citizenship process)
2) If I claim any benefits will it effect my spouse ILR application later on.

Regards

Better not to claim any.
It should say on your VISA stamp that you are not allowed to any Benefits...

I have checked my visa card. It says Settlement visa Indefinite Leave to remain. It does not mention anything about benefits.

Those with ILR or settled status have access to public funds.

Hello guys,

I've searched the board but couldn't see the answer I'm looking for, and if it has already been discussed and I missed it, my apologies in advance.

I'm a British citizen and my husband is on his initial 30 months spouse visa. He is a non EEA citizen (Palestinian) and he has no access to public funds.
I'm claiming JSA and HB/CTR in my own right and getting the single person's rate and I let them know them that I'm married.

I know this is allowed so far, as long as I don't claim an increased rate because I'm married. The confusing part for me is that I am the sponsor of my husband and if I'm still allowed to claim these benefits as the sponsor. I'm not planning to stay on these benefits long but I'm wondering if this situation will affect my husband's citizenship application in 5 years' time.

Thanks for reading and for your replies

Kuchiness

I'm wondering if this situation will affect my husband's citizenship application in 5 years' time

He needs Indefinite Leave to Remain BEFORE he can apply for citizenship.

He will also need to apply for an extension of his visa on FLR(M) shortly before his current visa expires. The financial requirements will need to be me with the same sort of documents submitted for his initial visa, plus English A1. Joint incomes can be used for his extension visa on FLR(M).

If your situation is temporary and you plan on returning to work etc, it should not have any implications on your partners visa extension, indefinite leave to remain application or citizenship application.

Ensure that tax credits are claimed in joint names.

Thanks for your reply. But won't they ask if I was ok to support him when he first got his visa and now I can't support him without the help of public funds? We are both looking for work by the way..

Hi. Please help me. I have got ILR and I applied council house the other day and I was asked to provide my wife visa and her home office paper work. Which is she is on dependant visa and no public funds . Council said we gonna call home office and check with them . My question is it might cause any problem for my wife with home office or not?

Hi

I am a PhD student and am on Tier 4 General Student visa. I have recently moved in with my partner who is a British citizen. Before we moved in together, she used to receive DLA, ESA (Support Group), Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit and was entitled to receive two bedroom Housing Benefit. After I moved in with her, she notified the local council and relevant departments about changes in circumstances and now all her benefits are stopped! She is informed by the local council that receiving HB may be viewed as a breach of immigration conditions of my visa because my immigration status is subject to no recourse to public funds. Even that I am not claiming any benefit and she is claiming for whatever she and her daughter are entitled to, I am apparently indirectly benefiting from her benefit. The tenancy agreement is a joint tenancy agreement and she has entered my name as her partner in HB claim form.
I am receiving around £1,150 a month as a PhD scholarship and we (me,her and her 14 years old daughter) are not really able to live on it. At the same time I do not want to get into trouble later when I have to apply for ILR or Tier 2 visa.
Is there anyone aware of how we can work around it? Any information and suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Mohamad

John wrote:

I had no option but to claim benifits JSA, housing benifit and child tax credit.
I claimed these in my name only

I hope you didn't claim Tax Credits in your name only! It is a requirement, in respect of a couple living together, that any Tax Credits claim must be in joint names.

In the Immigration Rules, Rule 6 includes a definition of Public Funds. But immediately following are Rules 6A and 6B, and they are rather important to understand the benefits situation.

In respect of JSA it is even more complicated, given that there are two types of JSA ... contribution-based and income-based. Which did you claim? If it was income-based, and the following also applies to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, Rule 6A says you cannot claim more benefit because your wife is living with you, and you confirm that to be the case. If it was contribution-based JSA, then that is not within the definition of Public Funds, so absolutely no problem you claiming whatever amount, including increase for your wife.

Tax Credits! Absolutely no problem you and your wife submitting joint claims for Tax Credits, either in the past or now. The legislation .... reg 3(2), Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, as reinforced by Rule 6B of the Immigration Rules .... states that where one of the couple is a person subject to immigration control (your wife) and the other of the couple is not (you) then for Tax Credits purposes only both are treated as not subject to immigration control .... and thus Tax Credits claims are totally OK, and for such a couple technically Tax Credits are not within the definition of Public Funds.

You do not mention Child Benefit. Is CB being claimed? You (and certainly not your wife) is totally OK to claim CB, and if a claim has not been submitted then it should be submitted without delay.

John, could you please confirm if this is still the case? my husband and i are just about to ask for remain to stay in uk for him. i am british, he isnt but i have received child tax credits and working tax credits. does he say YES to access to public funds in the form ? or NO as i applied for them? regards!

Hello dear nembers! Will appreciate some clarification regarding tge following. Im currently on 30 month spouse visa applied after new rules. My spouse is british citizen. I also have a daughter from previous marriage who has same 30 month visa as me both of visas say no recourse to public funds. My husband submitted an application for counsil house couple of month ago and put me down as his partner put my national insurance number and submitted copy of my passport and brp and listed that me and my daughter will be moving to a house together with him if we ever get a counsil house. We also mentioned that am currently pregnant and expecting a child. My question is will this applicationfor counsil house in any way affect mine and my daughters future ILR application? Should we withdraw tge counsil house application asap as we still havnt geard anything back the counsil. Also, once our baby is born he/she will be britush citizen should my british husband apply for child benefit for british baby? Should he state intge CB applicationform that he has a spouse or there should be no mention of me and my national insurance number at all on tge application form to avoid troubles with ILR application in tge future?

Splitmoon wrote:Hello dear nembers! Will appreciate some clarification regarding tge following. Im currently on 30 month spouse visa applied after new rules. My spouse is british citizen. I also have a daughter from previous marriage who has same 30 month visa as me both of visas say no recourse to public funds. My husband submitted an application for counsil house couple of month ago and put me down as his partner put my national insurance number and submitted copy of my passport and brp and listed that me and my daughter will be moving to a house together with him if we ever get a counsil house. We also mentioned that am currently pregnant and expecting a child. My question is will this applicationfor counsil house in any way affect mine and my daughters future ILR application? Should we withdraw tge counsil house application asap as we still havnt geard anything back the counsil. Also, once our baby is born he/she will be britush citizen should my british husband apply for child benefit for british baby? Should he state intge CB applicationform that he has a spouse or there should be no mention of me and my national insurance number at all on tge application form to avoid troubles with ILR application in tge future?

Your husband can claim child benefit for the new baby and for your daughter without any effect on your visa and future ILR.

Just remember that for your next visa extension, you/hubby have to meet all the same requirements again, i.e income etc.

Truth wins.