Confused - Are we a couple

only_mee

hunnie wrote: »

Hi kb,
Sorry to see you have had so many frustrating and quite frankly insulting replies.
I don't know the answer to your question but I can see that the situation you find yourself in is not deliberate.

There is no reason why anyone should think you are trying to milk the system or cheat in any way.
I think those who are accusing you of this must be just trying to wind you up for their own amusement!
Either that or they haven't bothered to read your posts properly.

Good luck with your endeavours to make a living and of course your partner should be at home with the two very young children, especially as she is on her own with them mostly.

regards
hunnie

Couldn't agree more.
The OP was asking a question and most have jumped down his throat.

kb92830

G51shopaholic,

Its a combination of the two, I am no longer deemed a resident of the Uk and am therefore seen as a tourist if I return, as previously stated I have no entitlement to free NHS care etc so this would all have to be covered under my swiss medical insurance, at the end of the day there has to be a consistent view of what I am when I return, the goverment cannot exclude you for some purposes (ie. NHS) but include you for others. The fact I also plan not to be a resident for a period in excess of 52 weeks and therefore technically permanently absent in the eyes of the authorities, also rules me out being able to claim or be part of a claim, which is why my girlfriend was encouraged to apply by the tax credit office.

By the sounds of it the whole position is very subjective and just because you get an answer today does not mean you will get the same answer tomorrow or next year, which is why in the first place the question was asked.

I suspect different DM's would also interpret what the payment to my GF would be classed dependant on either their experience or a personal view, and looking at the list of different classifications you could either include it or exclude it at will.

Golden_Anemone

kb92830 wrote: »

I suspect different DM's would also interpret what the payment to my GF would be classed dependant on either their experience or a personal view, and looking at the list of different classifications you could either include it or exclude it at will.

I agree kb that a different DM might place a different interpretation on the classification of the income you would provide to the mother of your child however I disagree that it could be included or excluded at will. If you look at the varieties of specific incomes covered by the DMG the vast majority of them bear no relation to the payments you make.

I could not find any other classification of income which the payment you describe would meet the description of, though someone with more recent experience of using the guidance than I have might do so. One thing is very clear to me, the payment is not wholly child maintenance even if you choose to present it as such.

G51shopaholic

It would amaze you what our Government class as a couple when it suits them. I agree your situation is very confusing.

My partner & I are not married but for Tax Credit purposes we are a couple - yet he gets no tax allowance for this unless we get married.

For DSS purposes I am single but only for the ESA (Employment Support Allowance) I get. If this changed we'd be a couple so I wouldn't be entitled to any benefits (and rightly so).

It must have been a very difficult decision to leave the country.

Good luck

Soubrette

While I don't agree that your partner should be entitled to these benefits - if she is entitled then I personally would claim them. I also don't agree with UK ex pats hot footing it back to claim on the NHS when they become ill and frail after spending years abroad, however I see why they do it and would probably do it myself.

That said, get everything in writing as in general the tax office do not hold themselves liable for incorrect advice. If you are then found to have made a mistake at least you have the evidence that it was genuine.

What happens if this job doesn't work out though - will you be able to get another abroad or will you have to apply to come back to the UK?

Sou

Soubrette

Soubrette wrote: »

While I don't agree that your partner should be entitled to these benefits - if she is entitled then I personally would claim them. I also don't agree with UK ex pats hot footing it back to claim on the NHS when they become ill and frail after spending years abroad, however I see why they do it and would probably do it myself.

That said, get everything in writing as in general the tax office do not hold themselves liable for incorrect advice. If you are then found to have made a mistake at least you have the evidence that it was genuine.

What happens if this job doesn't work out though - will you be able to get another abroad or will you have to apply to come back to the UK?

Sou

Edited to add - ah you gave up residency not your citizenship - sorry misunderstood, all who are not habitual residents have the same rules as you, weird this was a condition of the job though

kb92830

Soubrette,

Residency is not a condition of the job, but a condition of working in Switzerland, it is all to do with taxation and which country recieves the revenue. For me to work in Switzerland the swiss authorities mandate your are a resident so they have the right to tax you rather than your home nation which in my case is the UK.

As for the NHS, any expat who is resident in another country does not have the right to NHS care in the UK if they are part of the social security system in any other country unless it is underwritten in terms of cost by their country of residence or by the bilateral agreements between the EU or EEA countries

G51,

Yes it was a hard decision in some ways but we all need to earn money to pay bills, I had a choice about accepting the position here but the alternatives were less than favourable if I didnt, especially with two young kids and the state of the employment market in the UK.

Deepmistrust

G51shopaholic wrote: »

It would amaze you what our Government class as a couple when it suits them. I agree your situation is very confusing.

My partner & I are not married but for Tax Credit purposes we are a couple - yet he gets no tax allowance for this unless we get married.

For DSS purposes I am single but only for the ESA (Employment Support Allowance) I get. If this changed we'd be a couple so I wouldn't be entitled to any benefits (and rightly so).

It must have been a very difficult decision to leave the country.

Good luck

I didn't think married couples got tax allowance anymore. As I understood it, WTC/CTC have were brought in to replace that tax allowance (and then some).

Golden_Anemone

You are correct Deepmistrust. Labour replaced the married persons tax allowance with Child tax credit, in 2000 I think, changing government policy from supporting marriage to supporting children.

kb92830, when the Tax Credits people said your partner should make a claim as a single person when you go abroad, did they suggest they will accept a claim from someone on the basis that she has no personal income at all from any source but receives £3k per month in child maintenance? I suppose if they're daft enough to do so then good luck to you all.

kb92830

Golden,

They dont even ask the question, under tax credit legislation, maintenance has always been excluded as income whether it be for the child or spousal. Given the legal position it is not on their checklist of questions. My girlfriend was totally honest, explained we were still together and that I was paying all the bills but ultimately just living elsewhere. When they did question where I was living and realised it was outside the UK and I had been gone for more than 12 weeks they accepted the claim immediately. In fact they have already paid the claim which is surprising given the call was only made on Sunday.