I would greatly appreciate any help .....

Hello, I am brand new to this forum. I have been married to my Turkish husband for 5 years but we have never really spent a long period of time living together as he lives in Turkey and I am based in the UK. I am claiming child tax credit and child benefit as we have a 4 year old daughter who is autistic. My husband works in Turkey then comes for the winters to the UK on a tourist visa. I go out to Turkey for a few weeks a few times a year so I don't claim JSA as I am not seeking work.
We have now decided we want to be together permanently and for that to be in the UK as we want our little girl to be educated here. But now we have no idea where to start.
I have so many questions and I am so worried about everything.
1. Will me claiming benefits over the last 4 years negatively affect his entry into the UK as I didn't claim us to be living together as obviously we were not?
2. Will I be able to continue claiming benefits once he comes over?
3. Also I am living with my parents now, we will need to find somewhere to live - will I be able to claim housing benefit?
4. Will my husband be able to work?
5. Will he need to change to a spouse visa he currently has a 5 year tourist visa?
I am so sorry for all the questions
I am so confused and I am desperately hoping somebody will be able to help or be able to point me in the right direction
Many thanks

MAA2 Public funds wrote:UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Bear in mind that in some exceptional cases an applicant may be able to claim in their own right the public funds listed. This is either as a result of reciprocal arrangements between the UK and their home country, or as a result of the fact that they will be married to / living with a British citizen /EEA national. Where these exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant should not be treated as having recourse to public funds.

For more detailed guidance on this please read:
Immigration directorate instructions: Chapter1 Section 7

See also Benefits : affecting ILR? Read this b4 starting new topic and 3rd Party Support & Accommodation.

Visitors may not switch to spouse status. Your husband should apply for a spouse visa before travelling to the UK.

How do I qualify to join my husband, wife or civil partner in the UK? wrote:At first, you will be allowed to stay and work in the UK for two years. Near the end of this time, if you are still married and intend to continue living together, you can apply to stay permanently in the UK.

pixiepie, I have edited your post, but merely to insert numbers to your questions. Using that numbering :-

1. No
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes, on a spouse visa he can work.
5. Yes, to live in the UK, rather than just visit, he will need a spouse visa, and he will need to apply for that in Turkey. The spouse visa, once in his passport, will supersede his 5-year visitor visa.

But you have a bigger problem. It appears that currently all of your income is benefits, and whilst it is totally OK for you to claim those benefits, it does mean, on that level of income, that you will struggle to pass the financial test ..... the need to show that your husband will not need to claim certain Public Funds.

Does your husband possess any particular skills that will make it easy for him to find work in the UK? Or if he comes to the UK and looks after your 4yo child, do you have any particular skills that will make it easy for you to find a job?

Do the two of you have any savings? If so, roughly how much?

3. You may continue living with your parents if their home is adequate and not overcrowded for all of you.

Wow thank you so much for your swift and very informative replies.
Sadly we have no savings whatsoever and no my husband does not have any specific skills however I am university educated and have a robust CV so I could certainly look into getting back into the workplace. As our little girl will be going to school soon too my husband is also a very hard worker and would be keen to turn his hand to anything he could pick up, although we both understand the current economic climate is aganst us at the moment.
Staying with my parents until we get on our feet would definitely be an option as they have a 4 bedroom house where our little girl has her own room and is very settled there. We would be very welcome. Do you think that would be looked upon more favourably in the financial test?. We have no chance of passing it otherwise - we are skint!!!
Once again thanks very very very much for your help - it has cleared up so many questions. I will get the ball rolling on the spouse visa in Turkey straight away

If there is room for all of you in that 4-bedroom house, and your parents are happy for him to move in, rather than just stay when visiting, well yes, just stay. At least until one or both of you find employment.

But to clarify, assuming the spouse visa granted, who will be living in the house? Would that be 4 adults, and one 4yo child? Please confirm, or correct as necessary.

Also, and you are going to have to do this sooner or later, so why not do it now .... grab a tape measure ..... ignoring any Spam, bathroom and toilet, whatever their size ..... how many rooms in the place exceed 50 square feet in size?

Then with the information about the occupants, and the number of "counting rooms", it will be possible to say whether the place or overcrowded as defined, or not.

Staying there and thus avoiding rent payments could well help. But whilst free or highly subsidized accommodation from your parents is OK, even if they were willing to paying you a regular sum of money, to assist your budget, that would not help as far as the immigration rules are concerned. Such assistance would be ignored as far as the financial test is concerned.

Do your parents work? I ask because if not, and therefore, even for a temporary period, if one of them was able to look after your 4yo while you work, could well assist the financial equation considerably. Even part-time work, especially if at least 16 hours work per week, would help considerably.

16 hours per week? Because it is at that point that Working Tax Credit kicks in, and getting Working Tax Credit, as well as Child Tax Credit, could do wonders for your budget.

Thanks very much again. Yes we would be 4 adults and one child and I will get measuring straight away. Both my parents work and would therefore be unable to look after my little girl. My husband works in tourism and we were planning for him to come over at the end of the season ie November.
Am I right in assuming that if I could find a good paying job for myself between now and then, and he apply for his spouse visa in October, our financial test would be much more favourable?
I do appreciate this invaluable help, you are wonderful