Without NI , can we claim child tax credit

Hello everybody
I just want to know please that i got ILR and need to switch my wife as on spouse visa next month,
my Q is, she never had a work in this country neither have NI number, can i claim a child tax credit because i got 3 UK born kids with us under 16 years of age?
Thanks

can i claim a child tax credit

Well no, but you and your wife jointly can!

The lack of NI for your wife does not prevent a claim being made, but the Tax Credits office may say otherwise, but they would be wrong. The legislation was changed a few years ago.

But before you submit a claim, have you used the calculator on the HMRC website? By definition if the income is too high, no Tax Credits will be paid.

Although as John says, you should be able to claim without your partner's NI number, I'm afraid many HMRC decision makers are ignorant of the rules. Therefore, as it's a relatively straightforward process, your partner can just call the NI helpline and request one for 'work'.

D4109125 wrote:Although as John says, you should be able to claim without your partner's NI number, I'm afraid many HMRC decision makers are ignorant of the rules. Therefore, as it's a relatively straightforward process, your partner can just call the NI helpline and request one for 'work'.

Thanks for your help

John wrote:

can i claim a child tax credit

Well no, but you and your wife jointly can!

The lack of NI for your wife does not prevent a claim being made, but the Tax Credits office may say otherwise, but they would be wrong. The legislation was changed a few years ago.

There has been advise on this forum that the law about needing to provide a NINO when applying for Tax Credits changed years ago to the effect that now, as long as one of the joint claimants provides a NINO, then the other is not so required to provide one, as long as they have never been issued with one. I find this advice very misleading and confusing.

This misleading advice is often based on the Tax Credits (Claims and Notifications) Regulations 2002: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/tctm06110.htm. I have looked at the law but does not say what you have written. As I have already posted in another thread, the Regulations clearly states that "If either of the claimants do not have a NINO, they must apply for one. They must provide sufficient information or evidence, which will allow a NINO to be allocated to them by a DWP or DSD District Office."

The only two exceptions are where an officer of the HM Revenue & Customs decides that the person who made the claim had a ‘reasonable excuse’ for not having a NINO or being able to provide evidence to allow one to be issued, or where any person who is included on a claim is subject to immigration control and falls within the meaning set out in section 115(9)(a) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and to whom a NINO has not been allocated."

Section 115(9)(a) Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 specifies that a person subject to immigration control” is a person who is not an EEA national and who requires leave to enter or remain in the UK but does not have it. Following a change in DWP Regulations (2009) NINO’s will no longer be issued to people residing in the UK illegally. These people will still have to verify their identity at an identity interview (usually held at a DWP office) but they will no longer receive a NINO after this interview.

Unless what you have said fall within the two exceptions, can you clarify where the law says that as long as one of the joint claimants provides a NINO, then the other is not so required to provide one, as long as they have never been issued with one?

The OP's spouse in this case is not an EU national but rather subject to immigration control so the advice is correct, you're an EU national so it's different.

You should inform the HMRC if there has been a change of circumstances. You need to work a prescribed number of hours for WTC:

On or after 6 April 2012, couples with children are entitled to Working Tax Credit if they are both aged 16 or over and

they work at least 24 hours a week between them, with one person working at least 16 hours a week. If only one person works, that person must be working at least 24 hours a week,

or

for people aged 25 to 59 years of age without children or a disability
are working for at least 30 hours weekly (in a joint claim the other person must be at least 16)

Straightforward claims usually take 2-8 weeks to award.

I'd like to resurrect this thread as I am in the same situation as the OP.

I am an EU citizen, my wife is non-EU awaiting EEA2. I am working full time, she is unemployed (home with the kids). She hasn't requested a NI number yet as she won't be working in the near term and is not claiming any benefits in her name.

I submitted a claim for Child Benefit and Tax Credits at the beginning of September. On both applications I put myself as primary claimant and details of my wife, and ticked the box to say she has no NI. CB office has written twice to ask further details. Nothing heard from TC office. I called them 10 days ago to follow up, lady said lack of NI for spouse may be delaying the claim. I told her spouse is non-EU, she said she would make a note of it (really? nationality was already declared on application form) and that I should wait to be contacted. Still nothing to date.

John, Amber, you say the legislation was changed recently and that some TC staff are unaware of it. Could you please give me a pointer to the specific regulation/paragraph that says NI is not required for non-EEA, so I can quote this on my next phone call?

Also, can you confirm that the same applies for joint CB claims?

Many thanks in advance
Alberto

Partner is British and friend is a non EU subject to immigration control. Her partner does not know what to do because the council has requested proof of my friends nino and ID. My friend does not have a nino only a TN number. She has no leave to remain. Any advice would be welcomed as the council has suspended her partners claim. She thinks Tax credits will also be stopped .please any advice???

You say that the wife in under Immigration control, but you then say that she has no leave to remain. Do you mean that she is here illegally?

Yes an overstayer but has sent off application to home office.
Any advice