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Claiming DLA and Carer's allowance - exempt from new rules

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pammy124
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Claiming DLA and Carer's allowance - exempt from new rules

Post by pammy124 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 10:50 am

Hi all
Sorry if this has been asked so many times. I am claiming dla and carer's allowance. My current income is £790 after rent, I also receive income support and child tax credits as I am unable to work been a full time carer for my son. I am reading alot of horror stories where spouse visa are been turned down using the exempt route even where an applicant has adequate maintenance after rent.

What would be our pitfalls if we made an application at present and what benefits will count towards the adequate maintenance? Will the dla I get for son count towards income? I also have savings of £5000 in my account. I would be able to return to work once my proposed partner is here but I do not have any job offers at present and neither does he. Do i need to get a letter from the benefits people to detail how much benefits will go down by once my partner is here. I am so scared now as some of the refusals am reading seemed to have air tight applications, its like they are looking for any reason to say no.

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Post by Amber » Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:16 am

What is your partner's nationality.

Please state a full breakdown of benefit income, rent and number of children?
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pammy124
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Post by pammy124 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:07 pm

Hi Amber, thank you for the reply.
I get middle rate dla for my son and only have 1 child. My partner is applying from zambia.
The benefit breakdown is as follows:
£59.75 carers allowance p/w
£53 dla p/w paid every 4 weeks -£212
£70 income support p/w
£124 p/w child tax credit(includes disability element)
Rent is £436 per month, council tax is also fully paid. I was recently self employed but had to stop as I could not do much work around my son's needs - we are hoping to resume the business when my partner does get here.
Should I count the dla as income towards the application. I do not claim housing benefit as I feel guilt about what I get so far.

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Post by Amber » Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:13 pm

Before we even begin to consider, put in a claim for housing benefit tomorrow, do not feel guilty it's your legal entitlement. Using your son's dla to pay rent is ludicrous and needs to stop now.
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pammy124
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Post by pammy124 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:27 pm

I will drop by and pick up an application form. It takes a while to process though so I may as well do it asap. I am assuming the housing benefit would only cover part the rent for the amount of benefits I already get. If we are to put in an application after housing benefit with all the benefits above what kind of pitfalls are we looking at. Which of the benefits would would be excluded?
We are looking to file an application by mid october.

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Post by Amber » Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:31 pm

As you're receiving income support, you're entitled to full housing benefit subject to LHA limits.

I'll go through the rest later when I'm on a desktop.
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Post by pammy124 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:50 pm

Thank you for the response Amber, I will put the application in for housing benefit tomorrow.

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Post by Amber » Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:14 pm

I would not include your child’s DLA as your income as this is paid to meet their Care and or Mobility needs. The following should be included with your application and is based on you receiving Housing Benefit.

Following the Upper Tribunal case of Ahmed [benefits; proof of receipt; evidence] Bangladesh [2013] UKUT 84 [IAC] and the Immigration directorate instructions Chapter 8, Section FM 1.7A – Family – Maintenance (click) (include a copy) at page 3, paragraph 5.2 , staff considering an application for entry clearance, leave to remain, further leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain must demonstrate calculations detailing the actual financial position of the applicant/sponsor in all cases that fall for refusal using the following formula:

A – B ≥ C

A minus B is greater than or equal to C.

Where:

A is the projected income (after deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions);

B is what needs to be spent on accommodation; and

C is the amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of that size can receive.

For the purpose of income, benefit income can be used as income as per the Immigration directorate instructions Chapter 8, Section FM 1.7A – Family – Maintenance at page 2, paragraph 5.1(a). No benefit income is said to be excluded in the Immigration directorate instructions, however, as the Disability Living Allowance is for my children’s care and mobility needs therefore, I have not included this in the calculation. I have calculated all figures as weekly as per the benefit entitlement letters (included). For C, the income support applicable amounts for my family unit, I have used the latest April 2013 income support rates as per the DWP figures (included).

Therefore,

A, income is:

Income support = £70.00
Child benefit = £20.30
Carer’s Allowance = £59.75
Child Tax Credits = £124.00
Council tax benefit = £11.60
Housing benefit = £100.62

Total income = £386.27 per week

B, accommodation costs:

Rent = £100.62
Council tax = £11.60

Total accommodation costs = £112.22 per week

C, income support applicable amount:

An amount for a couple = £112.55 per week
An amount for 1 child = £65.62 x 1 = £65.62 per week

The total income support applicable amount for my family unit including my partner =£178.17 per week

A at £386.27 – B at £112.22 = £274.05

As £274.05 is greater than C at £178.17 I satisfy the requirements as per Ahmed [benefits; proof of receipt; evidence] Bangladesh [2013] UKUT 84 [IAC] and the Immigration directorate instructions Chapter 8, Section FM 1.7A – Family – Maintenance (include a copy) at page 3, paragraph 5.2. Therefore, my application should be granted.

Furthermore, I have savings of £5000 which would be an additional tariff income of:

£5000 divided by visa duration of 130 weeks (2.5 years) = £38.46 per week

Furthermore, all the benefits I receive will be paid at the same rate when my partner joins me, even though some applications will be changed to joint applications. There will be no additional recourse to public funds when my partner joins me. This was key in the case of Yarce which held that:

“It seems to us that, since these issues involve mixed fact and law, an appellant in an immigration appeal must be able to demonstrate to the judicial fact-finder, either that the actual financial position on arrival will be such as to make it unnecessary to rely upon benefits in order to provide a standard of living equivalent to that available on means tested benefits, or that the relevant law bears on the circumstances of the family, in such a way that there will be no additional recourse to public funds in doing so.”

I have supplied enough evidence, and explained the case clearly to show that we satisfy the adequate maintenance and accommodation requirement. Thus the application should be granted immediately.

Also include a letter from your Landlord stating is acceptable for your partner to live with you.
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pammy124
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Post by pammy124 » Fri Sep 20, 2013 9:12 am

Thank you so much for the letter. Sorry if this is silly and I am just repeating myself. If dla paid for my child why can we not use it as income to support a family as that is money paid for my son who is part of the family my partner is making an application? And would the application be turned down if I included the dla even if the adequate maintenance is sufficient without it?

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Post by Amber » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:20 am

There is no rule that says it cannot be included. However, as the DLA is in your child's name, it's only paid to you because your child is under 18 I have said it perhaps should not be considered as your income. The DLA is for the additional care and or mobility needs your child requires.
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Post by pammy124 » Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:06 pm

Thanks again Amber. I only asked as I read on the immigration rules somewhere(I could be wrong here) that you could count salary from an adult living in the house towards the minimum income requirement for example if my son was over 18 living at home and working we could use his and my income to reach the required income. I was wondering if that rule and technicality would be valid to exempt applications where dla is paid for an under 18. It is so easy to get tangled in these ever changing rules

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Post by Amber » Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:18 pm

pammy124 wrote:Thanks again Amber. I only asked as I read on the immigration rules somewhere(I could be wrong here) that you could count salary from an adult living in the house towards the minimum income requirement for example if my son was over 18 living at home and working we could use his and my income to reach the required income. I was wondering if that rule and technicality would be valid to exempt applications where dla is paid for an under 18. It is so easy to get tangled in these ever changing rules
No.
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Post by pammy124 » Fri Sep 20, 2013 9:48 pm

Thanks for all your help Amber :)

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