Public Funds - Child Benefit - Query

[tvn_ramesh]

Please advice about the Public Funds

X.Pubic Funds...

I have 3years 2months old child who goes to local private Nursery school, who came up with an application saying that my child is eligable for

FREE Entitlement (Early Years Provision) formerly know as the "NURSERY Education Grant"...

The Free Entitlement is provided by the government to ensure all children between 3-5yrs have access to good quality early education....

All children are eligible for the Free Entitlement the term after they become 3. A child moving to England from another country can access the Free Entitlement on the same basis as any other child, regardless of whether they have british citizenship..

"West Sussex county council will claim grant, to be paid to providers for educating your child for up to 5sessions per week lasting a minimum of 2 n 1/2 hours per session...

I am trying to apply for Tier1 general from current Work Permit.. In my work permit it is specially mentioned..

My Nationality - INDIAN, not claiming any tax credits also..

"NO Recourse to PUBLIC FUNDS"

Question1:
Does this Free Entitlement or Nursery Education Grant comes under PUBLIC FUNDS? - Child Benefit??

Question2:
Does that mean using the Nursery Education Grant/ Free Entilement means i will be breaking the rule - by using the "Public Funds"?

I still did not start using the Funds from the nursery and can go back to the nursery and withdraw the application for the Free Entitlement..

just to make sure, NOT to create one more reason for the Tier1 application to be rejected...

Any advice or comments on this would be higly appreciated,

[push]

This is a bit of a grey area (at least I have difficulty understanding it) The guidelinessay:

What happens if I claim funds I am not allowed to receive?
There are very serious consequences if you illegitimately claim any type of benefit or support that counts as a public fund. Unless you are
receiving a fund under one of the exceptions set out below, claiming public funds is a breach of your conditions of entry to the UK.
Breaching your conditions of entry is a criminal offence. It may mean that your leave to remain in the UK comes to an end. You may also have applications for further or indefinite leave refused.

Do any exceptions apply to benefits?
In most cases you will not be able to claim any of the benefits or tax credits that count as public funds. However, for some funds there are
exceptions to this. If you receive a fund under one of these exceptions, it will not count as recourse to public funds.

Does this mean if I am eligible for a Public Fund (benefit) I am well within my rights to avail of it and this would not be in contravention of my VISA status (no recourse to public funds) and would thus not affect FLR or ILR??

The Leaflet further notes:

This leaflet is only a general guide to the effect immigration status can have on eligibility for public funds. It is not a full and authoritative statement of the law. If you are in doubt about whether you are able to claim a particular fund you should contact the department or agency that issues it.

My understanding therefore is that if we write to the concerned agency, citing our VISA status and they confirm that we are eligible to receive a particular benefit, we will be fine as far as conditions of our stay in UK are concerned?

Immigration Experts please advise.

[tvn_ramesh]

Thanks Push... for the quick response...

I would wait for any of the Immigration Experts in this board to throw some light on this issue...

As adviced, i will try to put a mail to HMRC/childbenifit... will revert back if i hear anything positive..

Looking forward for some responses from the Immigration Experts..

Ramesh

[gautat]

Hello Ramesh,

Sorry for opening an old thread.

I am in a similar situation and wanted to ask if you have had any response from HMRC or Agency? I am HSMP holder with limited leave to remain.

I am thinking of private nursery for my child and have been told that since my son is 3 year old I can claim Nursery Voucher under government programme. However before I proceed with this I would like to make sure that I am eligible for it and not using any public funds.

Thanks in advance

[John]

It is important to appreciate that the definition of Public Funds in para 6 of the Immigration Rules does not attempt to include every possible type of benefit that might be paid by the UK Government.

In particular there is nothing education-related in the definition, so it is totally OK for anyone to claim this particular type of benefit, irrespective of any endorsement on their visa.

[skomati]

sorry for opening the old thread..
Ramesh did you get any reply from ukba or hmrc regarding the child education grant?
thank you