Benefits : affecting ILR? Read before starting new topic.

Hi everyone,

Although I've read many posts, I would greatly appreciate some clarification on my own situation about benefits and ILR so as not to make any mistakes.

I am British, wife Chinese. We married last year and she is currently half-way through a 2-year spouse visa. We live in our own home, myself employed, she not. I have never claimed any type of benefits.

My wife is pregnant and we are wondering if she is eligible for the health in pregnancy grant or if this will affect ILR when we apply next year. I have read a few threads, one which said someone should claim this but have called the advice line only to be told they are not eligible, which is why I'm checking.

Also what other benefits I am eligible for once the baby is born (child tax credits?) as long as they do not jeopardise her ILR application.

Thank you
spriter

There is no problem your wife claiming HiPG, and once the baby is born, one of you claiming Child Benefit, and the two of you jointly claiming Tax Credits.

Also, based upon the pregnancy, no problem your wife having free NHS prescriptions and free NHS dentistry, during the pregnancy and for 12 months after the birth.

Thanks for your swift and clear response John, that's good to know. Hopefully ILR will be straight forward next year.

John wrote:There is no problem your wife claiming HiPG, and once the baby is born, one of you claiming Child Benefit, and the two of you jointly claiming Tax Credits.

Hi

I am on a spousal visa,my wife is British and also we both work though she is on maternity leave right now. she applied for the More choice in lettings (MCIL) earlier in the year. But we only just got a response today requesting for some other documents to be sent within 21days. But we only just had our son 2 weeks ago and we do not have the Child Benefit proof requested. What do we do? Also would claiming CB affect my ILR next year. We did claim HIPG earlier in her pregnancy.

Please do help out

A number of questions here. Firstly as regards Child Benefit, and indeed Tax Credits, claim as soon as possible. Such claims are totally OK, for the reasons as explained in this topic.

As regards MCIL, I presume that this is the name of the choice-based lettings in your Council area. What Council area is that?

As I understand choice-based lettings, now operated by a number of Councils around the country, it is a Council-run scheme, but housing that might get allocated might be Council housing or Housing Association housing.

If it is Council Housing then that is not a problem, as long as the accommodation allocated is no bigger because you will be living in the place. However as Council tend to allocate the same size accommodation to a couple with one child, as to a single parent with one child, there should not be a problem.

If it is Housing Association accommodation then it would depend upon whether the Council is exercising nomination rights. If they are not then there is certainly no problem, and if they are, then the same applies as for Council Housing mentioned above. So agian no problem.

No proof yet of Child Benefit? I think all you can do is point out that your child has only just been born, say that a Child Benefit claim has been made, and enclose a photocopy of his birth certificate.

Thanks John.
The council is Barking and Dagenham.
We would look at the child tax credit also.
We just want the accommodation at a cheaper rate.

OK, I have looked at your Council's website, and then progressed through to the website of East London Lettings Company. As I suspected it is one organisation dealing with the lettings of Council accommodation and also Housing Association accommodation.

Whichever you might get allocated, for reasons as previously said, it should not cause you a problem as regards applying for ILR in due course.

John wrote:A number of questions here. Firstly as regards Child Benefit, and indeed Tax Credits, claim as soon as possible. Such claims are totally OK, for the reasons as explained in this topic.

As regards MCIL, I presume that this is the name of the choice-based lettings in your Council area. What Council area is that?

As I understand choice-based lettings, now operated by a number of Councils around the country, it is a Council-run scheme, but housing that might get allocated might be Council housing or Housing Association housing.

If it is Council Housing then that is not a problem, as long as the accommodation allocated is no bigger because you will be living in the place. However as Council tend to allocate the same size accommodation to a couple with one child, as to a single parent with one child, there should not be a problem.

If it is Housing Association accommodation then it would depend upon whether the Council is exercising nomination rights. If they are not then there is certainly no problem, and if they are, then the same applies as for Council Housing mentioned above. So agian no problem.

No proof yet of Child Benefit? I think all you can do is point out that your child has only just been born, say that a Child Benefit claim has been made, and enclose a photocopy of his birth certificate.

John, I have question very much related to this topic, however this question is specific to Tier 2 visa holder with no recourse to public fund.

I can understand your point any assistance from housing association does not count as public fund as long as you are not nominated by housing authority. It is very clearly defined in public funds guidance. (I found this in one of your response in this forum)

However, one of my friend on Tier 2 visa applied for a new build home buy scheme. Housing association refused his application saying as the rent on this scheme is subsidized by Government. He then contacted Homes and Community agency and explained this situation, they also confirmed you are not eligible as such schemes are Government funded. I need your advice on this situation. Is there any way we can contact UKBA for confirmation?. He emailed UKBA they simply replied list of public funds.

I can understand your point any assistance from housing association does not count as public fund as long as you are not nominated by housing authority. It is very clearly defined in public funds guidance. (I found this in one of your response in this forum)

Absolutely right.

Housing association refused his application saying as the rent on this scheme is subsidized by Government. He then contacted Homes and Community agency and explained this situation, they also confirmed you are not eligible as such schemes are Government funded. I need your advice on this situation. Is there any way we can contact UKBA for confirmation?. He emailed UKBA they simply replied list of public funds.

As a fact the rent is subsidised, and if the Housing Association wish to impose conditions relating to who qualifies, that is up to them. It is not to do with the whether it is within the definition of Public Funds.

So contacting UKBA is not relevant to this situation. It is up to the Housing Association to decide its own conditions.

John wrote:[quote

As a fact the rent is subsidised, and if the Housing Association wish to impose conditions relating to who qualifies, that is up to them. It is not to do with the whether it is within the definition of Public Funds.

So contacting UKBA is not relevant to this situation. It is up to the Housing Association to decide its own conditions.

Thanks for your reply. Make sense as Housing Associations may have their own eligibility criteria.

To make it more clear, Im assuming, even rent is subsidised by Government, any assistance directly from Housing Associations does not fall under public funds ??

.

even rent is subsidised by Government, any assistance directly from Housing Associations does not fall under public funds ??

That is right. "Public Funds" are defined in para 6 of the Immigration Rules, and that definition makes no attempt to include every type of "benefit" paid by the UK Government.

hi john !

i need some information as well about benefits.
getting DLA will affect getting ILR or not ?

Please explain more about your UK immigration circumstances.

hi john !
thanks for fast reply. i am on spouse visa and applying for ILR in 2011.
my partner is disabled by birth. her mum applied for her DLA when she was little.
she is not getting any penny her mum gets it. she work full time and so i.
we get 950 plus each after tax and N.I she didnt claim any benefit and not claiming any funds.
she has a car through her DLA allowance.
we pay all kind of taxes and bills till date. we have a flat together from a private letting agent on our name.
will getting DLA affect my ILR in june 2011?

regards

she is not getting any penny her mum gets it

Before dealing with the visa issue, can I ask, why is her Mum still getting the DLA? Is Mum living with you?

I ask this because DLA is paid by the Government to assist the disabled with their living expenses, which are higher because of their disability. So whilst Mum was no doubt entitled to it when your wife was still a child, and living with her Mum, if Mum and your wife are now living in different places, where is the justification for Mum still to get it?

How old is your wife now?

she has a car through her DLA allowance.

DLA can be made up of two elements, that is, an allowance for Personal Care Needs, and an allowance for Mobility needs. The second element can be used to get a car, suitably adapted.

So presumably it is only the Personal Care element that her Mum is getting?

thanks for reply...

she is not living with us. its me and my partner lives together.
i dont have idea why her mum gets it. she has just a car through motability which come out from DLA.
i dont know what to do ?
will this DLA affect my ILR ? if it is then what is the solution?

The first thing to sort out is why your M-I-L is getting the money. I think your wife should phone the DWP and ask the "dumb question", "why is my mother still getting the DLA?

I suspect it is just a question of DWP getting your wife's bank details, and they will start paying the money into that account.

OK, visa issue, it is not a problem your wife getting the DLA. That claim will have no effect upon you getting your ILR next year.

thanks john for the reply.
its goes in to post office and she gets it. mean its my in law account.
my partner has a card but never used it and she doesn't want it.
its their personal matter i don't want to involve in it. we are fine and happy so thats more than enough for us.
i am happy i can apply for ILR.
is there anymore suggestion for me john or other possibilities to work out

regards

I am a British citizen but my wife is a Chinese national whose visa is the two year 'probationary period' after marriage. Last year I claimed housing benefit was initially rejected but then, on appeal, received a positive response (their reason being that the incorrect percentage was used in their calculations). I also recieved JSA for about a month at the early part of the year.
However, I am worried that as someone married to one not entitled to public funds I myself am also not entitled to any such funds since a condition of the visa is that I should provide entirely for the both of us. I should also mention my wife was working at the time of receipt and has been in almost continuous employment since March of last year.
Have I put my wife's ILR in jeopardy? Is there anyway I can return the funds if necessary and have the incident stricken from the record prior to any application?
Any help would be immensely appreciated,
Regards
Deej

hi there, i need healp regarding tax credits, my wife is british citizen she is getting CTC and was geting WTC when she was getting maternity pay now she is not getting the WTC as she is not getting the maternity pay any more, i have just started working, i am just wondering can i claim the WTC jointly with my wife while i am on spouse visa, my ILR is due in aprl 2011.
thanks

Here again!!!!!

please would council tax benefit affect getting ILR?

[quote="Deej"]I am a British citizen but my wife is a Chinese national whose visa is the two year 'probationary period' after marriage. Last year I claimed housing benefit was initially rejected but then, on appeal, received a positive response (their reason being that the incorrect percentage was used in their calculations). I also recieved JSA for about a month at the early part of the year.
However, I am worried that as someone married to one not entitled to public funds I myself am also not entitled to any such funds since a condition of the visa is that I should provide entirely for the both of us. I should also mention my wife was working at the time of receipt and has been in almost continuous employment since March of last year.
Have I put my wife's ILR in jeopardy? Is there anyway I can return the funds if necessary and have the incident stricken from the record prior to any application?
Any help would be immensely appreciated,



You as a British citizen are entitled to public funds but until your wife gets ILR you will be classed as a single person and you are expected to survive on this money.
You are not entitled to extra funds for your wife until she gets her ILR and recepit of benefits has no effect on your wife's claim for ILR.

SO RELAX

I've read all the very informative replies and I'm sure they make loads of sense to people with brains but I am still completely confused. As far as I can make out, and stop if I am (inevitably) wrong. I am British and therefore can claim WTC? My husband would be subject to immigration control but the fact is he has not yet got any visa is and we are not living together as we await the decision. Can I claim WTC at this point, or do I have to wait until he does get a visa and we live together and then claim jointly? And if I as his sponsor now claim WTC or CB as we have a child, is this going to affect his current application where the decision is pending, or any renewals in the future? Sorry if this has been explained, I tried so hard to understand but it didn't happen.

Forgot to add that I am currently working full time 40hrs a week permanently and earn around 13K a year incase that is beneficial.

Hi everybody,

Actually I am stuck in a similar kind of a situation where my wife is a British Citizen and she being on DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE and Pragnent is not working. Along with DLA she is getting Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit as well.

Housing Benefit is applied on her name and my name is classified as a partner only. On the other hand, on the council tax papers my name along with my wife's name is written. I am confused a bit as I will be applying for ILR in next 2 months.

Would these above benefits affect my ILR. Also can you please advise that on the form SET (M) it says WHAT BENEFITS ARE YOU TAKING. So, where should I put a Tick.

Waiting anxiously for your response.

Regards,

Tahir

Dear All,

I have read all the forum discussion in the Benefit section but my problem is a bit different now.

Actually I am a British Citizen and my husband is on Spouse Visa and he works 30 hours per week. The problem is that I applied for Housing Benefit in December 2008 and am getting the claim since that time. At the time when I got the claim i reconfirmed (no written evidance available) with the housing benefit people and they said that its the single rate that I am getting so, i kept the things the way they are but today when my husband went to an immigration consultant and showed him the documents then he replied that it is not the single rate that has been paid but it is the couple rate which is being paid since December 2008.

Almost same is the case with the Council tax as well. I can't really understand what and when the things went wrong. My husband's ILR application is due very soon and now we are too much worried that how to resolve this matter.

The third thing is that I am getting Disability Living Allowance as well. But I think the DLA won't be a trouble in my husband's case.

Can you please advise us that what should be done in this regard. I just want to tell you that we are expecting a baby and I don't work. Now you can understand that how despirately I need my husband to be with me and if anything goes wrong then we will be in deep trouble.

Regards,

Qurat Ul Ain