Urgent help please!

I am British Citizen and my wife will be completing her 30 months Leave To Remain next month. I applied for child benefits in her name and was granted. I have been reading series of comments regarding her entitlement to get child benefits because she has leave to remain. Is she breaching immigration rules by claiming child benefits though I am British Citizen?.

Can gurus here please advise me.

Thank you all.

Yes she is breaching her conditions of leave. Child benefit MUST be claimed in your name only. Child Tax & Working Tax credits in joint names.

johnj1 wrote:I am British Citizen and my wife will be completing her 30 months Leave To Remain next month. I applied for child benefits in her name and was granted. I have been reading series of comments regarding her entitlement to get child benefits because she has leave to remain. Is she breaching immigration rules by claiming child benefits though I am British Citizen?.

Can gurus here please advise me.

Thank you all.

Does wife have any limitation on her visa (recourse to public funds)?

My understanding is you can claim cb in your own right (as a BC) - even for step-children;
but I think your wife should not.

Thank you CASA, Is it possible to stop the payments and paid back the benefits before applying for her extension?.

johnj1 wrote:Thank you CASA, Is it possible to stop the payments and paid back the benefits before applying for her extension?.

Yes, do it immediately. How long has she been receiving child benefit in her name?

Thank you once again CASA, I will ask my wife to stop the payment tomorrow and pay back the benefits, she has been receiving for the past 8 months. If she pay back the child benefit, will this affect her further to remain visa application?.

I think after stopping this payment, the best thing is to declare in the flr(m) form that my wife has been on this benefit for the past 8 months and once she realized that she is not supposed to get it, it was stopped and the benefits was paid back. Will this count against her when UKBA is making decision regarding her application.

Thank you

johnj1 wrote:Thank you once again CASA, I will ask my wife to stop the payment tomorrow and pay back the benefits, she has been receiving for the past 8 months. If she pay back the child benefit, will this affect her further to remain visa application?.

I think after stopping this payment, the best thing is to declare in the flr(m) form that my wife has been on this benefit for the past 8 months and once she realized that she is not supposed to get it, it was stopped and the benefits was paid back. Will this count against her when UKBA is making decision regarding her application.

Thank you

CR001 has the credit for the last post. As long as the CB has been repaid before your wife submits her FLR(M) application there shouldn't be a problem.
The pity is that you were entitled to claim CB in your name. Speak to the benefits office and explain the situation and the urgency to rectify the error.

Thank you very much CASA for this useful information. We will phone the CB office tomorrow and expalin the situation to them, pay the money back if they can accept the payment over the phone and ask them to send us letter confirming the payment. Once again thank you. Your advise has save us from refusing her application.

You're welcome, but don't forget the entitlement to claim CB in your own name.

Hi CASA,

i just find this on internet, what;s your take on this

The exemption in regulation 2(2) therefore covers a claimant who is subject to immigration control but who claims an entitlement to child benefit on the basis that they are a member of a family of an EEA national. This includes a British child, as the United Kingdom is a State contracting party to the EEA agreement as, unlike the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1003), the 2000 Regulations do not exclude the United Kingdom from its definition of an “EEA State”.

Given the above, if someone with leave to remain that is subject to a public funds condition is part of a family unit which contains a British child, they should be able to claim child benefit under this exemption and the Home Office should not consider this as recourse to public funds pursuant to paragraph 6B of the Immigration rules

For Immigration purposes you aren't considered as an EEA national and therefore this isn't relevant to your wife's entitlement to Public Funds. You, as the father of a British child/children are entitled to claim in your name only.