Housing benefit on residence card

I am a British citizen, my wife is non-EEA and we entered the UK using the Surinder Singh route. I was away from the UK for 6 months.

My wife holds a Residence Card. She is a full-time student.

As I have just lost my job, I would be grateful for some advice as to whether we would both be eligible to receiving housing benefit? Would this in any way affect my wife's application for British citizenship in the future - which we think she will be making in roughly 4 years time?

Thank you very much.

Bump.

Anyone?

keloid wrote:I am a British citizen, my wife is non-EEA and we entered the UK using the Surinder Singh route. I was away from the UK for 6 months.

My wife holds a Residence Card. She is a full-time student.

As I have just lost my job, I would be grateful for some advice as to whether we would both be eligible to receiving housing benefit? Would this in any way affect my wife's application for British citizenship in the future - which we think she will be making in roughly 4 years time?

Thank you very much.

I can't see any reason why you would be unable to claim housing benefit etc. Your wife would be entitled in her own right to claim such benefits as she is a family member of an EEA national and as you are aware because of your working outside the UK in the past you have treaty rights.

There is almost no restriction on reliance on public funds with the EEA route and I don't see any variation on that for Singh cases.

I don't see why claiming housing benefit would have any consequences in respect of naturalisation as long as as she asserts her claim to EEA permanent residence 12 months prior to applying for naturalisation.

That's my opinion on your query, unless anyone else has spotted anything I have not! Good luck!

thank you very much for your reply

how do I ensure that my wife 'asserts her claim to eea permenant residence' 12 months prior to applying for naturalisation? Is there some paperwork we need to fill in?

Many thanks again.

el patron wrote:I can't see any reason why you would be unable to claim housing benefit etc. Your wife would be entitled in her own right to claim such benefits as she is a family member of an EEA national and as you are aware because of your working outside the UK in the past you have treaty rights.

There is almost no restriction on reliance on public funds with the EEA route and I don't see any variation on that for Singh cases.

I don't see why claiming housing benefit would have any consequences in respect of naturalisation as long as as she asserts her claim to EEA permanent residence 12 months prior to applying for naturalisation.

That's my opinion on your query, unless anyone else has spotted anything I have not! Good luck!

Apply for an EEA permanent residence document, then wait 12 months and naturalise, that would be the most straightforward way to do it. Although as you are a British citizen would she need to wait 12 months before naturalising? Might be worth investigating if she needs to wait 12 months after obtaining permanent residence.