Claiming child benefits

I have been out of the UK for over 10 years. I have returned to the UK to take up a new job. My wife & eldest (step) child are in UK on Settlement Visas, my other 2 children are UK citizens.

I understand that under the terms of my wife's visa, that she cannot claim child benefit.

I believe that I can claim Child benefit for my two young british children. Is this true?

Can I claim for my step-daughter who is on a settlement visa?

A British citizen is entitled to tax benefits and therefore you would be able to claim for your British children. You say the others are on settlement visas, do you mean they have settled status? If so they can also claim, if however you mean they have a visa which leads to settlement then you cannot claim for them until they have settled status.

Are you a British Citizen? a British Citizen is an EEA national, therefore as your wife is a member of the household of an EEA national she would be eligible to claim child benefit. The information below is from the 'no recourse to public funds' leaflet by the Home Office.

Do any exceptions apply to benefits?
In most cases you will not be able to claim any of the benefits or tax credits that count as public funds. However, for some funds there are
exceptions to this. If you receive a fund under one of these exceptions, it will not count as recourse to public funds.

-I’m a member of the family of an EEA national - am I eligible for any benefits? If you are living with another family member who is an EEA national – for example, your child or your partner – you may be eligible for the following benefits:
• Child benefit
• A social fund payment
• Attendance allowance
• Severe disablement allowance
• Carer’s allowance
• Disability living allowance