Long-term claiming benefits

[dewdrop]

Hello

I have been living in the UK for the past 29 years. I was granted ILR in 1994 based on my marriage but the marriage broke down soon after and I started claiming Income support and Housing benefit etc. as I was a single mother and my son was 5 years old at that time. In 2004 I started claiming Incapacity Benefit which went on upto 2012. In 2012 my son got his Degree and started working immediately. Around the same time my benefit was stopped for some reason or the other and although I still had a lot of health problems I decided not re-apply as my son's salary was more than enough for both of us.

My son who was born and brought up in the UK was granted British citizenship recently and I am also thinking of applying myself. I would like to know whether my claiming benefits for a very long time previously will affect my British citizenship application or whether they would take into consideration only the past five years my stay in this country,

I should be extremely grateful for your advice in the matter.

Thank you in advance,

dewdrop

[CR001]

Claiming benefits has no effect on a citizenship application.

[dewdrop]

Claiming benefits has no effect on a citizenship application.

Hello CR001,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

If I claimed Income support before the grant of ILR will that affect my application? I remebered just now that I claimed income support when I lost my job in early 1992 and since my mother was sick and there was no one to look after my little boy I had to go on benefits. I stopped claiming income support and housing benefit when I got married in early 1993. As I mentioned previously I was granted ILR in 1994.

Just to make it clear, when I applied for inclome support earlier I did not resort to any falshood or anything.
My query is will my claiming benefit before I got my ILR affect my application for naturalisation.

Thank you once again,
dewdrop