housing benefit help needed Amber please

[bilalbilal]

My wife is British,she sponsored me for the spouse visa i got my visa in november 2013, together with the visa i got a letter saying:

Under the Immigration rules you are not entitled to receive public funds to help meet your living costs (or those of any dependent)‎. In addition your SPONSOR is not entitled to claim or receive public funds on your BEHALF.

after i got my visa she stopped working, But i work full time now, can my wife get the housing benefit? As she is planning to take a council house, and can i live there?

would it effect my spouse visa extension?

Please i need urgent help as we will be homeless in 1 month

[Amber]

The application for housing should by made by your spouse, however, the tenancy can be in joint names. Any housing benefit should be in joint names but only give an applicable amount for a single person/lone parent rather than couple. Which Country are you native?

[bilalbilal]

Thanks for your reply, I am Pakistani. So does this mean that my wife would have to apply as a lone parent?
Also we are expecting our first child in a month, what rights would our child have as a british citizen, can our child receive any benefits?

[Amber]

If your wife is British and the child born here, the child will be British.

She'll need to claim housing benefit as a couple, but only be given a lone parent applicable amount.

[bilalbilal]

Thanks alot for your help i really appreciate it, just one last question:
As you are aware that i am the only one who is working now, so can I apply for Working tax credit & Child tax credit?

[Amber]

Makes no difference as it's a joint claim.

[bilalbilal]

Hi Amber, last time you have told me that my wife is allowed to claim hosing benefits, but after 2 years when I apply for spouse visa extension, how can my wife sponsor me at the same time as taking housing benefits? Because the sponsor shouldn't be taking any benefits as far as I know, wouldn't this effect our application in any way?

Also today I rang up immigration, they said you have to mention on the application about your sponsor claiming housing benefit, then the case handler will decide if you should be given Visa or not.

[thewhitewater]

Hi Amber, last time you have told me that my wife is allowed to claim hosing benefits, but after 2 years when I apply for spouse visa extension, how can my wife sponsor me at the same time as taking housing benefits? Because the sponsor shouldn't be taking any benefits as far as I know, wouldn't this effect our application in any way?

Also today I rang up immigration, they said you have to mention on the application about your sponsor claiming housing benefit, then the case handler will decide if you should be given Visa or not.

What exactly is the verdict?

[fksumon]

Hi Amber,

I am British citizen and my wife is Indian. She has been here for almost 2 years on a spouse visa in 5 years route. I am working fulltime and my wife was working part time until January this year when she gave birth our first baby. Since then she is receiving Maternity Allowances from DWP. In March this year I applied for Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit, as our earnings was not sufficient to cover increased expenditures.

When applied for Housing Benefit I mentioned on my application about my wife’s Visa status and condition of the Visa (‘no recourse to public fund’) and tell them that I would like to be the only applicant for the claim. They awarded me HB and mention in their letter that for two reason they had to include my wife in my claim as she got an NI no and she is in receipt of Maternity Allowance from DWP. Also mention the latter that, as MA is a public fund and payable from DWP, therefore her entitlement to MA have been included in the claim.

In the attached statement (where they showed how they calculated HB) they include my earnings, CB, C Tax credit and showed my wife’s MA as unearned income. HB entitlement is shown as follows,

Family Premium £17.45
Dependants personal Allowances - For the baby £66.33
Couple with person- 18 to pension age £113.70

My question is,
1. Whether my wife is in breach of her Visa condition due to this HB claim?
2. In November this year she will stop receiving MA. And I assume that because of this HB entitlement will go up. Is this going to effect her Visa condition?
3. Overall how this will effect when she will apply for extension and also ILR and also do we need to declare this in the application from?
I will highly appreciate your response.

[Amber]

Which Country is your wife native?

[fksumon]

Hi Amber,

Sorry for late reply. My wife is from india.

[Amber]

Really the applicable amount should state for a lone parent/single person rather than a couple.

[fksumon]

Hi Amber,
Is that mean my wife is in breach of immigration condition because of my HB claim. If so what would be the remedies?

Thanks.

[Amber]

Ask them to change the couple amount to single/lone parent.