Child benefit and immigration question

Voyager2002

My wife, complete with her daughter from a previous marriage, will shortly arrive here (UK) from China. Should we apply for child benefit (and hence perhaps working families' tax credit, etc.), and if so how? To complicate matters, they are entering the UK on student visas, rather than visas for settlement. (Long story: but their student visas give them nearly five years, while a visa for settlement only gives you one year and then must be renewed...) One condition of immigration is that you do not claim public funds, but does child benefit count as 'public funds' for this purpose?

Thanks for any opinions.

Noozan

If you are not subject to immigration control, I think you are entitled to claim Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit:

From IR website:
"Important exception: Some people who, even though they are in the United Kingdom, do not qualify for CTC and WTC because they are subject to immigration control. A person is subject to immigration control if their leave to remain in the United Kingdom is subject to the condition that they must not have recourse to public funds. However, if one member of a couple is subject to immigration control and the other is not they can still claim CTC and WTC as a couple. These rules are contained in the Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003.

To claim Child Benefit, the general rule is that the claimant and the child (see pages 10 and 11 below) must be in Great Britain (section 146 (1) and (2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as inserted by section 56 (1) of the Tax Credits Act 2002) or in Northern Ireland (section 142 (1) and (2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, as inserted by section 56 (2) of the Tax Credits Act 2002). As with tax credits, short absences abroad will not affect eligibility and some people may be eligible even if they do not live in the United Kingdom"

However, I'm not sure where you would stand with the child not being yours? Hopefully someone will be along soon to clarify matters for you.

northern_star

Voyager2002 wrote:

My wife, complete with her daughter from a previous marriage, will shortly arrive here (UK) from China. Should we apply for child benefit (and hence perhaps working families' tax credit, etc.), and if so how? To complicate matters, they are entering the UK on student visas, rather than visas for settlement. (Long story: but their student visas give them nearly five years, while a visa for settlement only gives you one year and then must be renewed...) One condition of immigration is that you do not claim public funds, but does child benefit count as 'public funds' for this purpose?

Thanks for any opinions.

I think any form of benefit counts as "public funds" in this case.

I share an office with a colleague whose field this is and I have overheard similar questions many times. Immigration law is complex (as I'm sure you know) but I have heard of cases where people have claimed and then had to repay everything at a later date because of the "no recourse to public funds" clause. I'm back at work tomorrow so I'll ask her advice on this one and post her reply later.

ps Have you asked the Home Office to clarify?

lynzpower

The DWP will want to see a copy of the passport of your OH. In it will have stamped no recourse to public funds. Sorry, there really is NO way around it.

I have worked with a number of families on student visas as a children & families social worker, and the best we could do was give food vouchers.

You MAY be able to claim CB for the child as your own, but there are likely to be many questions asked. My understanding ( from last year so a bit outdated) is that if you are coming on a student visa you have to prove you have income/ savings to support yourself during your stay. ifthe person is coming "sponsored" then the sponsoree needs to show proof that they have the money/savings/ income to suport the sponsoree ( i think but not sure- at Income support rates per week)

HTH

trackingtime

From personal experience you will struggle to claim very much, if anything. I was in a broadly similar position to yourself.

Unless your wife and child have a visa which allows them to remain in the UK without limit on time, i.e. for ever, then they CANNOT be a burden to the state and neither should they be.

In our own case this meant that my daughter was permitted free schooling and health care only.

We were not permitted to claim anything else for her.

In the case of my wife, I had to prove that I had sufficient funds to pay for her every need. That in essence meant that if she required anything it had to be paid for privately. Doctors, private prescriptions operations etc, were all met by myself. The cost could have been huge had she had a serious illness. As it was we had a few prescriptions at about £135 each and not much else.

We were lucky.

I would not have dreamed of claiming anything to which I was not entitled and I am sure that as one of Martins followers you would be the same. However people do claim when they are not supposed to and the worry is that they will be found out, this will not ease their passage into the UK, long term.

Good luck anyway, you have a hard, but ultimately rewarding, road ahead of you.

elvis_bloggs

trackingtime wrote:

Good luck anyway, you have a hard, but ultimately rewarding, road ahead of you.

Oh yeah, come one come all, get what you can.

Voyager2002

elvis_bloggs wrote:

Oh yeah, come one come all, get what you can.

That last comment is singularly unfortunate.

Just for the record, my wife will be paying university tuition fees of about 9,000 pounds per year; plus VAT on most of what she buys; plus all the other indirect taxes that you end up paying when you live in the UK. OTOH child benefit is supposed to be a universal benefit, and is very clearly intended to be payable to children cared for by couples if one member of the couple is British, as I am.

Anyway, my thanks to the previous posters for their helpful comments.

Tondella

I've reported the post, best wishes voyager.

BernadetteN

Would it not be better if your wife is planning to live with you, to have her enter on a wife-settlement Entry Clearance, as ILR is possible after 2 years (unless has changed since I went on mat leave) whereas with a student Entry Clearance, ILR is OUTSIDE the rules only after 10 years - technically after the end of her student conditions, she and child will have to return to China is she has not made it to 10 yearsas a consition of a student EC is that someone intends to leave the UK at the end of studies. Also with ILR, she will be treated as a "home student" and not an overseas one.
Child Benefit IS NOT PAYABLE to children of students (I am assuming you are not the father) but IS payable to children with ILR.
CTC and WTC IS payable for people who are on SETTLEMENT CONDITIONS in the UK whereas it is possible that HMRC will not let your wife claim (or let her be included in a claim you make) because she is on STUDENT CONDITIONS. I am assuming the same for CTC.

Slapps

elvis_bloggs wrote:

Oh yeah, come one come all, get what you can.

how nasty tho 1 idea did come 2 mind, come one come all in exchange 4 this person

slapps

bigmuffins

If you are British and already married abroad, best to enter on spouse visa as will only cause complications later otherwise. Can contact UK Immigration Advisory Service (charity) - they will give you info and advice.

http://www.iasuk.org/

That way you will be able to claim any benefits (eg NHS CB etc) you are legally entitled to AND MAY be entitled to home student status. Although I think you may need to be resident for x years first. Anyway, if you enter as student and then try to change status, may be problematic.
On spouse visa, used to be that after 1 year could apply for citizenship or permanent residency, do not need to renew. Don't think has changed.
Good luck!