Foreign national on spouse visa - "not entitled to benefits"?

Your spouse is not entitled to claim any Social Security money for the initial spouse period. You are right. As your partner she is entitled to free healthcare on the NHS also free dental care (depending if you can find a NHS participant dentist with vacancies) and free prescrpitions depending on your circumstances.

If you have children and you are on benefits you can claim Child Tax Credit but you can only receive benefits for yourself as a single parent.

If she works it will impact on your benefit entitlement because the department of work and pensions and also housing benefit if applicable will take into account her income if she is working. They will claim that you can live on her income but they must take her living expenses into consideration in that case and you might be able to get benefits to supplement your income and or working tax credits for the child and other factors.

I don'y know how a maternity grant would be considered but that's something you would have to check with the department for work and pensions as you are not the mother physically. However, it might be possible to get a community care grant instead to cover part or all of the amount of the equivalent maternity award for the mother.

The mother cannot claim benefits in her own right for the children and you will have to do that on their behalf.

Hope that this helps

:beer:

BrunoM wrote: »

In my wife's settlement clearance in her passport, there is a note about not being entitled to benefits here. There wasn't any supporting documentation or anything with it to give more detail.

Does anyone know how far-reaching this is? We've already established that NHS clinics would see her and give her prescriptions etc without charge.

What I am now thinking towards is more like child benefit, and the range of benefits a couple might receive when having a baby. Does anyone know whether we'll lose out on these? I am a regular-type UK citizen myself.

Thanks!