Clarification on tax credits

[Diamond]

Hi, i have read lots of posts on here searching for the answers i need but can someone please clarify a few points for me;

1) Claiming both child tax credits and working tax credits will not go against my husbands spouse visa if i am a British citizen and am entitiled to them in my own right?

2) If claiming these benefits can they be counted towards income for the finance test based on my claim as an individual before my husband joins me?

3) Do i need to provide adequate income for my 2 children as well or are they catered for through my child tax credit claim?

In other words do i need to earn £102.75 per week for my husband and myself after rent and council tax and can working tax credits be included as part of my income for the finance test? Or do i need to earn more than the £102.75 to cater for my 2 children as well or does the child tax credit claim cover them?

Thank you for any help

[John]

Using your numbering :-

1. No problem, as long as the relevant tests are passed.
2. Yes
3. Yes, and including £57.57 per week per child pushes the requirement up to £217.89 per week.

So the financial test is .... after deducting housing costs such as rent/mortgage and Council Tax .... is your net income at least £217.89 per week? In making that calculation include all benefits, including the Tax Credits that you mention, and also the Child Benefit that you don't mention.

Do you pass?

[Diamond]

Thank you for your quick reply, as to whether or not i qualify; i'll have to find a job first but i now know that based on finding a part time job of 16 hours a week on minimum wage i will pass having already used the tax credit calculator.

Is it only rent/mortgage and council tax that has to be deducted from my net income?

If so then we should be fine, thank you.

[John]

Is it only rent/mortgage and council tax that has to be deducted from my net income?

That is right. The £217.89 is there to pay for everything else, apart from housing costs.

[Diamond]

Hi i'm a little confused after reading lots of other posts on this site. Some people including moderators have said that for the financial test you need to deduct housing costs including mortgage/rent payments and council tax from your net wage but also credit/loan repayments.

Which is correct? just mortagage/rent payments and council tax or credit/loan repayments also? I am aware John has already told me just mortgage/rent payments and council tax in the above post but i want to be thorough and not leave anything to chance, thank you for any confirmations regarding this.

[John]

The answer is this. It comes from the amounts for Income Support, and the concept of that benefit.

Simply, Income Support is there to pay for everything .... apart from housing costs .... mortgage/rent and Council Tax. So the idea is that everything else apart from those items needs to be budgeted for out of the cash amount, as defined.

[Diamond]

Thank you John, you have been very helpful.

[Diamond]

Regarding my earlier posts on claiming benefits whilst applying for a settlement visa for my husband. I emailed UKBA regarding claiming benefits and applying for a settlement visa.

This is their reply:

"The sponsor in the UK, that is yourself, may be in receipt of public funds. As long as the visa applicant is able to satisfy the Entry Clearance
Officer that s/he is to be maintained without the sponsor claiming additional public funds, the requirement in the Immigration Rules that the visa applicant shall not have recourse to public funds may be considered to be met.
That said, a sponsor who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own, is likely to find it difficult to support another person for any length of time. The Entry Clearance Officer will therefore need to consider whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant while in the UK. If so, the visa application will surely fall to be refused."

Therefore will my current situation be acceptable or not to sponsor my husband? any help greatly appreciated.

I am a full time student, in receipt of a student bursary. My bursary will be saved and used towards savings totalling £6000.00 by the time we are ready to apply.
I am working part time, my income from employment is £85.00 per week, child tax credit received is £98.00 per week, working tax credit received is £70.00 per week and child benefit received is £33.70 per week.
We intend to apply for the settlement visa after the next tax year has started in April. The income support amounts for a couple in the new tax year will be £105.95 and £62.33 per child. I have 2 children to support also.
Total income is therefore £286.70, i have no rent to pay as i am living in a house owned by my mother but lived in only by my family, she fully owns the house so does not charge me rent. I will have to pay £16 council tax per week when my husband arrives taking into account the 25% discount as i am a full time student.
I am aware this leaves us with more than the income support amounts for a family of our size.
However my question is will i be considered to be too heavily dependent upon the state in satisfying the financial test and therefore liable to have my husbands visa application refused?
He has been refused once due to my income, hence the fact i now have a part time job alongside my studies to supplement my income. So in reality this is our last chance of applying as 2 refused visa applications would definately go against any further applications should we fail again. Unless i leave my degree i dont see much else i can do?
Again any help greatly appreciated, thank you.

[John]

Before answering your question, assuming the visa is granted, when your husband gets to the UK, what will he do? Will he work? If so does he have an particular skills? What sort of job would you hope he might do? How much might he earn?

[Diamond]

He has no specific skills as he has mainly worked in bars and restaurants. However he has been offered a job over here to train as a hairdresser, but it is an hours drive away from our home. The wage for the job has not been discussed but i'm assuming as it would be a trainee position it would be minimum wage, full time.
Would it make a big difference to the application if he provided evidence of the job offer?
However what if he chose not to accept the job because of the distance, instead waiting to come here and finding a job closer to home? What are the chances of obtaining the visa as he has no evidence of qualifications and does not accept the job offer, instead basing the visa on my income alone. My total income from all sources is above the income support amounts and we will have savings equivalent to 6 months of income support for the family?

[Diamond]

are you able to give any further advice please John?

[John]

Sorry, I overlooked your reply.

In what way has an employment offer been made? And indeed made without details of remuneration being agreed?

If the offer of employment is real, and is documented, I certainly think, well, it certainly can't do any harm, can it! He might after all start work, realise it is too far, then find another job nearer to home.

[Diamond]

Thank you for your reply John.

It is a genuine job offer arranged by my husbands sister, his sister has not filled me in on the specifics, just that there is a job offer open to him as a trainee. But i believe his wage would be in the region of £120-160 per week. Im unable to confirm this at the moment as my sister in law is on holiday, but i will find out more details when i can.

So there wouldn't be any harm in his future ILR application (assuming he got the visa) if he did decide to change jobs? that was my concern in not including the job offer as evidence. I'm not sure he will be happy over a long period commuting for 2 hours a day.

Considering my finances and including the job offer open to my husband do we now stand a chance of success or do i need to work more hours to satisfy the requirements?

[John]

When getting ILR the number of jobs he has had is simply not an issue.

[Diamond]

So can i just check then if overall you feel the financial spect of the settlement visa will have been met?

Do we have a good chance of obtaining the visa with what i have posted? The accomodation aspect is fine.

[John]

Earlier you posted :-

My total income from all sources is above the income support amounts and we will have savings equivalent to 6 months of income support for the family?

-: in which case it looks like the financial test is passed as well.

[Diamond]

Hi
Sorry to keep questioning advice provided on here. Please do understand that i am simply trying make sure my husbands visa application will be successful. I do fully appreciate any advice provided and appreciate people giving there time to help each other.

Further to my above posts, i felt it would be appropriate to have confirmation from UKBA that working tax credit, child tax credit and child benefit can all be claimed and can also contribute towards the maintenance component of the spouse visa. Therefore i emailed UKBA the following question:

Please could you confirm for me whether or not it is acceptable for myself (the sponsor) to include the following funds; working tax credit, child tax credit and child benefit towards fulfilling the adequate maintenance component of the spouse visa VAF 4A when including them alongside earnings from employment.

Their reply:

Thank you for the enquiry.
No. It is not advisable to do so.

Therefore i would like to ask on what basis has the advice before been provided on that it is acceptable? is their any information, a link etc or advice that can be provided by anyone that shows that it is acceptable or other evidence that it has been done successfully by anyone?

John do you know of anyone who has had success in a visa application along these lines? I hope you understand my concern as my husbands and my future together in Britain is at stake. Please do respond, i appreciate any help provided.

Thank you.

[Greenie]

It seems that you already had a reply from the UKBA that you posted earlier on in this thread, in which they confirmed the advice that you have been given, that as a British person you may claim the benefits that you are entitled to, and you may rely on these benefits as part of your income in order to meet the maintenance requirement.


In addition please see

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

page 14.

[Diamond]

Thank you for your reply.

I am aware that i posted a reply earlier in this thread regarding claiming public funds, but that was aimed at whether or not my receipt of public funds would have an adverse reaction to my husbands application; the response was that it was acceptable. But UKBA also pointed out that a person heavily dependent on public funds would find it difficult to support another for a long period of time and so would the visa application would surely fall to be refused.

I sent the further email specifically asking if i can use the public funds towards the maintenance component as has been suggested here. Obviously my financial situation is not perfect hence i am quering my situation here. Having had one visa application refused i do not wish to risk this happening again.

Therefore i am simply seeking evidence that it is acceptable. Admittedly the two responses from UKBA are slightly contradictory but both reach the same overall conclusion that it is not an advisable situation to be in when beginning a spousal visa application.

Thank you for providing the link, however i am already aware i am able to claim the funds and my husband would not be considered to be in receipt of public funds when claiming tax credits jointly with me. But i need information more specifically related to whether i can somehow use these funds to support the application and the maintenance requirements as the responses i have had from UKBA so far are clearly not in my favour.

The only other way i can see at present is the leave my degree and begin full time employment, therefore it appears to me i have to choose between continuing my degree or having my husband here with me.

[Greenie]

the UKBA's response is that there is no objection to you claiming the public funds that you are entitled to, therefore there is no logical reason why you can't rely on these funds as part of the maintenance requirement. They have stated that someone who is heavily reliant on public funds may not be able to satisfy the requirements, but this doesnt mean that someone who is only in receipt of public funds would not qualify, it would just make it very hard. In any case, in addition to the public funds you also get a bursary etc AND you are working part time so in effect you are better off than someone who is just in reciept of income support/JSA

I have dealt with plenty of cases where benefits make up a significant part of the sponsor's income and not had problems where it can be shown that the total income is enough to be adequate in accordance with UKBA's requirements.

If you are unsure perhaps you should seek advice from an immigation solicitor as you may well be eligible for legal aid as you are on a low income.

[Diamond]

John and Greenie thank you both for your help.

Greenie can i just ask in what sense have you dealt with individuals whose benefits make up a considerable amount of their income?

and am i correct in assuming their applications have been successful?

My own paranoia about this whole visa process is getting the better of me and i do appoligise. I contacted UKBA yet again as there response had been contradictory and have had a reply stating that as i am eligible to the benefits they should be included towards the funds available for maintenance. Also i realised the evidence had been before me all along and i have read it many times but somehow managed to forget!

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/mainte ... ommodation

I am now satisfied that the maintenance test will be passed when we come to apply, thank you.

[sarahpoole]

Hi would love to hear a follow up on your case? My situation is exactly the same execept minus the student studies and have one child. My home also owned by parents. So please let me know and any extra advice. Thanks

[Casa]

As this thread is a year old, I doubt whether you'll get an update from Diamond.

[austin91]

Hi, Could someone answer me please, My wife is EEA citizen with registration certificate that she got last year. while im Non EEA National and have just applied for my EEA2 application but haven,t heard anything from HomeOffice. My wife is working at moment but will stop working as we are expecting a newborn baby and im not working. so she is planing to apply for child benefits, child Tax credit and housing benefit. but am afraid if that will course my application being refuse. please i need urgent reply. many thanks