Tax Credits, Housing Benefit and CB - specific situation

[Saanvi]

Hi All,

I am thinking of applying for any or all of the benefits whichever i am eligible for. My query is, if this will effect me when applying for ILR or PR?

Situation is like this:
1) Indian citizen, currently on Tier1 stamped just 2 months ago for three years. Have 'No recourse to public funds' on my passport.
2) Single mum with 2 yr old child. Paying for childcare atleast 790 pounds a month.
3) Renting an apartment and applied for Council Tax discount. Awaiting reply.
4) Working full time. More than 35 hours a week.
5) Currently separated from husband. Will apply for divorce as soon as possible.

Just for information, i was getting CB (even with 'No recourse to public finds') before i applied for Tier1 (don't know the reason why i was given child benefit even with 'no recourse to public funds': though yeah i had mentioned in the child benefit form, the reason for separation from husband which was domestic violence and a case was also in the court against him) and had returned it so that it may not become a problem when i was applying for Tier1.

Now, I wish to apply for any of the benefits which i am entitled to. Could the moderators please suggest which benefits i should be able to SAFELY apply for so that it doesn't effect me when going for ILR or PR in future. I mean i should be able to apply for ILR or PR without any hassle of returning funds etc.

Thanks a ton,
Saanvi

[khan85]

hmmm from what i understand, i dont think you can apply for any benefits, until you actually get ur ILR..

im sure John will correct me if im wrong

[nksg]

What ever your circumstance is .. the answer is NO..

if you do, it will affect your ILR.. unless some expert in the field advices other way round.

[Wanderer]

Is the child a British Citizen?

[Saanvi]

He was born here but as me and my husband both are Indian citizens, he is Indian too. Would that affect?

[John]

Saanvi, did either you or your husband work in another country, apart from India, before coming to the UK? If so, details please.

Renting an apartment and applied for Council Tax discount. Awaiting reply.

Do you mean that you have applied for the 25% discount? If so, that is not Public Funds.

[Saanvi]

Hi John,

After marriage, both of us have worked only in the UK as UK employees.

I have never worked anywhere other than in India (before marriage) and in UK (after marriage).

He worked in India (before marriage) and has travelled to different countries on and off (on business purposes, say, to Australia, UK etc). I am almost sure that it was always Indian employment. After marriage he worked in the UK only and didn't need to travel to any other country even for business purposes.

He left UK, Dec 2008, after his sentencing was done. I have no clue whether he is working currently or is still searching for a job. As per my information, he is in the US now.

Would that affect?

In anticipation,
Saanvi

[Saanvi]

Yes John, i have applied for single person's discount and i received a letter yesterday from the councial that its approved. I do understand that it is not a public fund. I just mentioned it.


Thanks,
Saanvi

[John]

Saanvi, thanks for the additional information. In view of the information you post you are not entitled to claim any Public Funds (as defined) until you get your ILR, or at least your circumstances change, for example you start to live with a British Citizen, or someone that is settled in the UK.

You certainly should not be claiming any of "Tax Credits, Housing Benefit and CB" that you mention.

I asked about if you had worked in any other country because, for example, if you had worked in say Canada or NZ prior to coming to the UK, you would be entitled to claim Child Benefit, in view of the wording of a Social Security reciprocal agreement between Canada and the UK.

[Saanvi]

Thankyou very much John and everyone who has replied to my query.

[Onika]

Hi All,

I am in a similar situation with Saanvi but the only diffrence is my child is british, pls John and others what benefits am i entitled to? At the moment am claiming CB, CTC and WTC have been b4 2005.
Any response will be greatly appreciated.

[John]

Onika, I shall give further thought about Child Benefit, but as regards Tax Credits I cannot see how you can claim.

My Tax Credits reasoning goes like this. You are here in the UK on a visa with the "No recourse to Public Funds" restriction. and in para 6 of the Immigration Rules Tax Credits are most certainly listed. However following para 6 are some small paragraphs and for quite a few people claiming Tax Credits it is para 6B that comes to their assistance. For example, and do appreciate that in respect of a couple living together the Tax Credits claim must be made jointly, if one of the couple is British, EEA or has ILR, then even if the other of the couple has a restricted visa like yours, it is totally OK for the couple to make a joint claim, and para 6B states " a person (P) shall not be regarded as having recourse to public funds if ....... ".

However you are not making a joint claim with say a British Citizen and I have just checked, there is nothing in the detailed Tax Credits regulations to assist you, so para 6B does not, for you, come to your rescue!

But there is possibly another angle to this. Onika, Can you please post details of your nationality. Also if prior to coming to the UK, if you worked anywhere outside your country, please post details of such work outside your country.

[Onika]

Thanks again for your reply John, i do understand your stand but As i was confused more by a document posted by one of the member of this forum. When i went through the document i found this paragraph:

'3.4.2. Exceptions as a result of living with a family member
Quote:
A person subject to immigration control who is living with a family member who is a British Citizen or national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), for example a child or partner, is eligible for certain public funds if they have a right to reside in the UK. A list of EEA countries and the Public Funds which nationals of those countries are entitled to claim is given below;'

3.4.2.1.1. Public Funds they are entitled to claim

Attendance Allowance
Carer’s Allowance
Child Benefit
Child Tax Credits
Working Tax Credits
Disability Living Allowance
Contributory related Employment and Support Allowance - ESA (C)
Severe Disablement Allowance
Social Fund Payment

I actually came across the document quoted above from this forum. It was posted by member OBIE in response to KAFF’s post (HiPG from NHS eligibility) on the 1/09/09 here is the document:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

The document is titled Immigration Directorate Instruction dated July 2009.
Pls read section 3.4.2 Exceptions as a result of living with a family member
The father of my child is british and i was married to him. I now live alone with my child who was born in the UK and has a british passport, i take full responsibility for the child without any support from the father.

Hope i have made this clearer

[John]

What you have not made clear is :-

Can you please post details of your nationality. Also if prior to coming to the UK, if you worked anywhere outside your country, please post details of such work outside your country.

I look forward to reading that detail.

[Onika]

Sorry about that. I am from Ghana and i did not work in any other country outside my country before coming to the UK in 2002.

Thanks
Onika

[raovar]

This is also on the similar line but bit different.

i am on Tier 1 and working in UK. Before that I worked in India.

can i accept 'Child Care Vouchers' from my employer if i am keeping my child in a registered/approved child care?.

i know this is not in the list of 'Public Funds' but does it indirectly belong to any of the 'Tax Credits' thing like 'Child Tax Credit' or 'Working Tax Credit' etc.
Thanks

[John]

can i accept 'Child Care Vouchers' from my employer if i am keeping my child in a registered/approved child care?.

Yes, you can certainly accept such vouchers, no problem with that.

I shall reply about other points later, in a quieter moment.

[raovar]

Thanks a lot John. will wait for your reply on other points.
Thanks

[John]

Onika, you need to appreciate that the guide you provided a link to is only that, a guide, and it does not claim to be a definitive statement of the actual law. And like many UKBA guidance pages, it is not necessarily 100% accurate, or different parts are contradictory.

I think the clue for you is in the index of the document. That is, at 3.4 the index entry is :-

Exceptions as a result of nationality, nationality of partner or current situation

So dealing with those three possibilities separately :-

• (Your) Nationality - given that your country, Ghana, has not entered into a Social Security Reciprocal Agreement with the UK, this possibility is of no assistance to you
• Nationality of Partner - you don't have a partner, you are a single parent, and therefore it must be the case that this possibility is also of no assistance to you
• Current situation - there is no evidence that this applies to you. That is, you don't need to claim Public Funds temporarily because your funds from overseas have dried up. So this is also of no assistance to you.

Your problem, in a nutshell, is that when reading 3.4.2., which is headed "Exceptions as a result of living with a family member", you are assuming that you can class your (British) child as a family member in order to assist you in making benefit claims. And I don't think you can do that. I think that whoever wrote that guidance for UKBA assumed that someone reading it would think that family member refers to spouse or partner, and they were not thinking that anyone would read a child as assisting a benefit claim.

So my conclusion is that because of the "No recourse to Public Funds" restriction on your visa, you really should not be claiming Child Benefit or Tax Credits.

You posted :-

At the moment am claiming CB, CTC and WTC have been b4 2005.

-: to which I say, I suspect that back in 2005 you were living with your British husband, and accordingly at that time it was no problem you claiming Child Benefit. Also the Tax Credits claim would have been claimed in joint names, and so again, thanks to reg 3(2), Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, that joint claim was totally OK. But later you separated, and started claiming Tax Credits as a sole claimant, and it was at that point that the problem starts arising.

This is a rather complex matter, and I urge anyone who thinks they can contribute to the technical argument to do just that.