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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

my fiancee and i are planning to get married,we have been in the relationship for 2 years,and we really want to spend our live together,i am a non eu student on a 4 year visa,but my fiancee claims benefit,do i therefore have the right to marry her and live with her,and change my student status to a spouse visa?
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help please

vinny · Moderator Joined: 25 Sep 2007 Posts: 12122

How old are you both?
Can you support yourselves without her claiming more public funds?

After marriage, see also If you are already in the UK.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

thank you for your answer viny,my fiance and i are both 30,she is looking for a job but its not easy for her as she has to look after her 5 years old son,so she is still on income support and housing benefit...i have got a part time as many students,looking at the link you sent to me our main concern is now the benefit she claims,does it mean that she absolutely has to get out of benefit if we are to get married? because what are earn will obviously not be enough to prove that we an maintain ourselves.
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John · Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 9:24 am Post subject:

taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

the forum on claiming benefit is seems to be locked..my fiance is on housing benefit,and income support.
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

and we are not living together yet
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John · Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 10:27 am Post subject:

The Claiming Benefits section locked? Well no ..... click here.

Not living together yet ... of course fine ... there is nothing in UK immigration law that says that an engaged couple must live together prior to marriage. (And nothing to stop them if they want to.)

Once the two of you start living together the benefits situation will change. By the way, as well as the benefits you mention, no doubt she is also claiming Child Benefit and Tax Credits?

A quick check about your fiancÃ©e? Her nationality? UK immigration status?
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

yes i know she claims child benefit.she is on ILR and have been in the country for 20 years(she was 10)has all her family over here..she is caraibean i cant say more for reasons that are obvious..thank you for your assistance by the way.she is looking for a job,especially in care where she is qualified,and want to get out of income support and housing benefit as soon as possible..
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John · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 8:30 am Post subject:

taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

yes and child tax credit
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

as i previously said,i have got a part time job,and earn Â£500 net monthly,is it enough along with my qualifications(bachelors degree from my country and i am completing another degree over here) to prove to the ECO that i will not need to rely on any additional public fund from my fiancee?
thank you for your help...
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

i have got Â£5000 in my bank account,and earn Â£500 monthly in my part time job
,is it enough to convince the ceo that i will not need any additional money from my fiancees benefits? my employer is ready to write a letter for the applications purpose saying that i will be employed full time if entitled to do so.my fiancee lives in a council house on top of all that...she seems to be more optimistic than i am,she is willing to get a job,even part time,but with her 5 ears old son its not easy at all.
please can anyone help me at this stage?i didnt get any answer since my last post,does it mean my case is hopeless?
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

our son was born 4 months ago,a british citizen by birth according to the law,we are getting married in april.but the problem remains the same,i am still on a student visa,and my wife to be is on (full)benefit.we now have two british sons.any help or advice at this stage would be highly helpful
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John · Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:06 am Post subject:

Please confirm that the Tax Credits claim is in the joint names of you and your fiancée.
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

no,it is on her sole name as we are not married yet,we have been advised that ,if she gives up her income support then we might get
a small chance..?
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John · Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:14 am Post subject:

taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

thank you for your reply john.
we are not yet living together,we are well aware that i am still on a student visa,and as a student visa holder i am not entitled to any public fund,so we didnt take the gamble or risk,i rent my own place and would only move in after respectively,the marriage,the council approval(that i can live there) and of course a new stamp on my visa.and of course concerning her benefits we will have to face the consequences(hefty cuts)we are well aware of that.so for these reasons the child tax c is still on her sole name.as for the income support claim i am not mentionned yet,but she will have to give up on it anyway.
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John · Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:38 pm Post subject:

taribo, a few points to make. Firstly as regards the issue of Public Funds, I suspect that it is far more complicated than you think. I suggest that you go to the Public Funds section of this board and at least read the pinned topics there.

Accordingly if the two of you were living together, it would be totally OK for you to be a joint claimant for Tax Credits. Indeed as and when the two of you do live together, there might be a sizeable amount of Working Tax Credit coming to the two of you.

Secondly, the type of visa held by you is irrelevant as regards what I have written above.

Thirdly, there is of course no compulsion for an engaged couple to live together, and in some cultures it is a total no-no. But neither is there any prohibition against living together, and I suspect that you are fearing a problem that does not really exist. Also, when the two of you are married, it will look very strange if you are still living apart when you use form FLR(M) to apply for your 2-year spouse visa.

And finally, a question for you. You are earning. How many hours per week do you work?
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taribo · Junior Member Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 40 Location: uk

i work 20 hours a week and earn around 600 pounds a month,i have always been very cautious about the conditions attached to my visa,last june we were granted the certificate of approval(2 weeks from application)we had to postpone cos we thought it is best to marry after the child birth.of course john we both fear cos everyone keep telling us we are wasting our time applying for spousal visa,because she is on benefit.
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John · Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:33 pm Post subject:

Thank you for that. So 20 hours per week, abiding by the terms of your visa, but also working 16 hours or more, which is important for Working Tax Credit.

I think the two of you will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of Working Tax Credit, which will replace the Income Support when the two of you start living together.
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