Child Benefit (Canadian Reciprocal Agreement)

[otwramo]

Hi,

Can any1 help me. I am here on an HSMP visa for the past 3 yrs 4 mths. I have a son (19 mths) who was born here. My late husband was a Canadian citizen and based on the UK/Canadian social security reciprocal agreement, he should have been apble to apply for child benefit without affecting out visa requirements of no recourse to public funds. He has recently died and I want to know if I can apply under his Canadian entitlement.

I have spoken to someone on the helpline who has said to sent the application in but I am concerned that in doing that I will breach my visa restrictions. Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated.

[JAJ]

John is the expert here on claiming benefits and the "no recourse to public funds" rule, but a quick look at the U.K./Canada social security agreement suggests that you would need to approach the Canadian authorities, not the British government.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefit ... -oct05.pdf

http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/isp/ ... w/uk.shtml