Spouse visa and Universal Credit

[cherrystrawberry777]

Good afternoon,

My husband is a British citizen and he is working part-time and also on Universal Credit . I’m on a spouse visa in the UK and I’m not eligible to public funds. We opened a claim as a joint claim but DWP closed my account because I’m not eligible. My husband received the payments as a single claimant. However after half a hear of claiming UC the new DWP worker started asking my husband to provide information about my income! Do I need to report my income to DWP if I’m not eligible to public funds ? And how? My account has been deleted by DWP. It’s very confusing. Thank you

[CR001]

Yes, you need to declare your income. His benefits is based on household income even if you cannot get benefits yourself.

[cherrystrawberry777]

Yes, you need to declare your income. His benefits is based on household income even if you cannot get benefits yourself.

Thanks. How should I do it if I cannot create the account?

[CR001]

You should be ablr to declate it in your husband's UC portal

[JB007]

My husband is a British citizen and he is working part-time and also on Universal Credit . I’m on a spouse visa in the UK and I’m not eligible to public funds. We opened a claim as a joint claim but DWP closed my account because I’m not eligible. My husband received the payments as a single claimant.

This is what should have happened.

If you are part of a couple you and your partner will need to make a joint claim for Universal Credit.

You begin by creating a Universal Credit online account each. The first person to create their account will be given a partner code, which will be displayed on screen.

This code will need to be input by your partner when they register for their Universal Credit online account. This ensures the accounts are joined together and you are correctly claiming as a couple.

Once you’ve created your account a claim can be made for Universal Credit. You’ll have 28 days from creating the account to make a claim. You should aim to complete the application as soon as possible to get your claim started.

If 28 days pass and a claim is not made you’ll need to register for an online account again.

If one of you isn’t eligible, their capital and income may still be taken into account.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... or-couples

[Amber]

CR001 has given the correct advice, the OP states they have created a joint account but their claim was closed as subject to immigration control, that’s correctly what should happen. As CR001 states it’s up to the OP’s partner to inform UC every month of any applicable income or capital the OP has, failure to do so can result in overpayment.

[Casa]

My husband is a British citizen and he is working part-time and also on Universal Credit . I’m on a spouse visa in the UK and I’m not eligible to public funds. We opened a claim as a joint claim but DWP closed my account because I’m not eligible. My husband received the payments as a single claimant.

This is what should have happened.

If you are part of a couple you and your partner will need to make a joint claim for Universal Credit.

You begin by creating a Universal Credit online account each. The first person to create their account will be given a partner code, which will be displayed on screen.

This code will need to be input by your partner when they register for their Universal Credit online account. This ensures the accounts are joined together and you are correctly claiming as a couple.

Once you’ve created your account a claim can be made for Universal Credit. You’ll have 28 days from creating the account to make a claim. You should aim to complete the application as soon as possible to get your claim started.

If 28 days pass and a claim is not made you’ll need to register for an online account again.

If one of you isn’t eligible, their capital and income may still be taken into account.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... or-couples

I have friends who have followed the official guidance JB007 has posted above and it was fine.

[JB007]

CR001 has given the correct advice, the OP states they have created a joint account but their claim was closed as subject to immigration control, that’s correctly what should happen.

That is not correct. They must claim as a couple because they are partners and they must be linked. From the quote I gave above on the gov.uk site "This ensures the accounts are joined together and you are correctly claiming as a couple." This is how UC links partners.

Once linked UC looks to see if they are NRPF and if they are, they only pay the person who can have UC as a single person (in this case). But UC use the NRPF partner earnings to reduce the monthly UC payment. From the quote I gave above from the gov.uk site "If one of you isn’t eligible, their capital and income may still be taken into account."

As CR001 states it’s up to the OP’s partner to inform UC every month of any applicable income or capital the OP has, failure to do so can result in overpayment.

That's not how Universal Credit works. An employer must advise HMRC on the RTI (Real Time Information) every time they pay an employee. Universal Credit uses HMRC's RTI to calculate how much the couple have earned in their monthly assessment period and then use those figures towards calculating what their UC payment will be that month.

I'm not sure what has happened in the OPs case. It could be a DWP error or they might not have linked their claim as described in the gov.uk quote I gave above.

CR001 responded to the OP stating that the DWP had asked what her income is and asking how she can declare this. It affects her husand's UC claim and CR001 correctly stated that the UC Journal is the place to respond to the DWP. That way she/her husband will also have proof that they have responded to the DWP request.

[JB007]

However after half a hear of claiming UC the new DWP worker started asking my husband to provide information about my income!

If they haven't been using your monthly income towards calculating your husband's UC monthly payment for the last half a year, it is likely he has had an overpayment.

[Amber]

It is correct that the claims are linked but then the PSIC will have their claim closed, they will fail the HRT and will not be eligible for UC. It is not always the case that RTI information is received from HMRC, as I said above it is up to the claimant to report each month their partner’s earnings to UC whether that be employed earnings and not received via HMRC or because they are self employed. When you accept a claimant commitment you agree to reporting changes every month, you cannot rely on the DWP getting it correct. You don’t even know if the OP is employed or self-employed, you are yet again jumping to conclusions.