No recourse to public funds....

clb776

Hi guys,

I think I might have asked this before, but I just wanted some clarification.

Me and my husband got married almost 2 years ago and have a baby together, his visa is almost up for renewal and looking through the home office website I noticed a paragraph that mentioned that the leave would be considered if I can support him in adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds. My husband currently works full time (minimum wage - 35 plus hours per week), we get wtc, ctc, child benefit and i am currently claiming JSA cont based for the 2nd time this year!!! We will shortly be moving into a house (Taken us almost 2 years to find one!) of our own and will also be claiming some housing benefit to top it up and some council tax benefit.

I am a British Citizen, and now I am really worried, what is going to happen? Am I allowed to claim these benefits that I am entitled to? I am currently job searching so hope it won't be for a long period, but still, I do worry about it! I would rather live on the streets than have my life torn apart!


I hope someone can put my mind at rest!

Thanks....hope everyone enjoyed the lovely weather this weeked!!

Killmark

clb776 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I think I might have asked this before, but I just wanted some clarification.

Me and my husband got married almost 2 years ago and have a baby together, his visa is almost up for renewal and looking through the home office website I noticed a paragraph that mentioned that the leave would be considered if I can support him in adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds. My husband currently works full time (minimum wage - 35 plus hours per week), we get wtc, ctc, child benefit and i am currently claiming JSA cont based for the 2nd time this year!!! We will shortly be moving into a house (Taken us almost 2 years to find one!) of our own and will also be claiming some housing benefit to top it up and some council tax benefit.

I am a British Citizen, and now I am really worried, what is going to happen? Am I allowed to claim these benefits that I am entitled to? I am currently job searching so hope it won't be for a long period, but still, I do worry about it! I would rather live on the streets than have my life torn apart!


I hope someone can put my mind at rest!

Thanks....hope everyone enjoyed the lovely weather this weeked!!

Public funds do not include benefits that are based on National Insurance contributions. National Insurance is paid in the same way as income tax and is based on earnings. Benefits to which a person is entitled as a result of National Insurance contributions include:

• contribution-based jobseeker's allowance;
• incapacity benefit;
• retirement pension;
• widow's benefit and bereavement benefit;
• guardian's allowance;
• statutory maternity pay;
• maternity allowance; and
• contribution-related employment and support allowance.

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Maintenance: General requirements There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size.
More information is available on the British & Irish Legal Information Institute website (BAILII)

If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds.

Maintenance may be provided by either:

• The applicant with their own funds or with funds available to them; or
• The sponsor; or
• A combination of applicant and sponsor funds.

MAA10 Assessing adequate means of maintenance
The following list, which is not comprehensive, is intended as a guide to the factors which may need to be considered when assessing means of maintenance:

• the applicant’s past and current employment;
• do the applicant’s / sponsor's educational qualifications and any other skills or qualifications offer a reasonable chance of obtaining employment? If so, that should be viewed as sufficient to meet the maintenance requirement without having to make further enquiries.
• the sponsor’s current or proposed employment;
• any plans the applicant has for employment in the UK;
• What is the unemployment situation in the area in which the couple intend to settle? High unemployment in a particular area or amongst a certain age group with particular skills (or lack of them), is not in itself sufficient to show that the maintenance requirement has not been met. It would be a relevant factor if the couple’s plans were not realistic or if they did not have any skills or qualifications.
• any arrangements which have been made, or could be made, by the sponsor, any other relatives, friends or contacts in the UK in connection with the plans for employment;
• satisfied that job offers are genuine and the work likely to last for the foreseeable future?
• any support which will be forthcoming from others.

paulofessex

Killmarks post is very good and informative. My additonal advice to you would be that if you live within an area where the ratio of immigration issues may not be so common to the relevant agenices do your homework search sites print off the info and take with you. Only to often some workers in agenices have very little knowledge (they can't know everything, immigration is complex also) some will use their own personal views on immigration matters when a service user makes an enquiry etc and get in the habit of saying "the computer says no"

Best of luck with it

clb776

thankyou, we have claimed housing benefit before (it was for a couple of months only) when i was pregnant, as I went on maternity leave and my income dropped from £1500 pcm to £124 a week, when I applied, I wrote in the additional information this :

My husband is on a spouse visa and is not entitled to public funds. I am not claiming this benefit to support my husband in any way, I am claiming to support myself as a british citizen, I am not entitled to further monies due to my marital status.
I then enclosed a copy of his visa, as well as a copy of the letter that came with it which explained all of the rules surrounding his current entitlement to the uk.

I had hoped that by doing this that I would have given them all information, this would mean that they could not say that I had claimed money for my husband too.
Is writing something like this a good idea to cover my own back?

Also, I notice that alot of these rules etc concern entering the uk, he didnt enter the uk as my spouse, he was on a student visa, and had been here for 2 years studying prior to our marriage, we then got married and the visa was changed to that of a spousal visa. So also wondered if this made any difference to the rules or if they were the same!

Killmark

clb776 wrote: »

Also, I notice that alot of these rules etc concern entering the uk, he didnt enter the uk as my spouse, he was on a student visa, and had been here for 2 years studying prior to our marriage, we then got married and the visa was changed to that of a spousal visa. So also wondered if this made any difference to the rules or if they were the same!

Most the UKBA information assumes that you haven't transfered from one category to another and each category has its own rules.

The core of it as I understand for someone on a spousal visa is that they are considered a dependant of the sponsor, however the assessment on "means of support" takes into account both parties not just the sponsor as they are a couple.

Just the same way as a couple with 1 partner working more then 24hrs a week is expected to support the other if they don't qualify for JSA(C) and just get their NI stamp paid with JSA(IB)

clb776

Thankyou Killmark, my husband does work full time, so hopefully this will mean that the earnings qualify us as having a means of support rather than being dependant on the state! Thankyou very much for your information, it has been very helpful.

welshmoneylover

clb776 wrote: »

we have claimed housing benefit before (it was for a couple of months only) when i was pregnant, as I went on maternity leave and my income dropped from £1500 pcm to £124 a week, when I applied, I wrote in the additional information this :

My husband is on a spouse visa and is not entitled to public funds. I am not claiming this benefit to support my husband in any way, I am claiming to support myself as a british citizen, I am not entitled to further monies due to my marital status.

Sorry I'm confused here, you say you claimed but not to support your partner but yourself. But doesn't he gain from having a roof over his head paid for by housing benefit? So although he may not be receiving money directly, he is gaining a service indirectly paid for by the taxpayer?

sharnad

The list of public funds is shown as

income-based jobseeker's allowance;
income support;
child tax credit;
working tax credit;
a social fund payment;
child benefit;
housing benefit;
council tax benefit;
state pension credit;
attendance allowance;
severe disablement allowance;
carer's allowance;
disability living allowance;
an allocation of local authority housing;
local authority homelessness assistance;
health in pregnancy grant; and
income-related employment and support allowance
is he applying for settlement as a partner as it says you should not use public funds
Dont know if they will take his earnings into account

Killmark

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Sorry I'm confused here, you say you claimed but not to support your partner but yourself. But doesn't he gain from having a roof over his head paid for by housing benefit? So although he may not be receiving money directly, he is gaining a service indirectly paid for by the taxpayer?

If the local authority is notified on his immigration status then they should adjust the housing benefit appropriately and it will already have been adjusted as he is contributing to the household income.

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

clb776

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Sorry I'm confused here, you say you claimed but not to support your partner but yourself. But doesn't he gain from having a roof over his head paid for by housing benefit? So although he may not be receiving money directly, he is gaining a service indirectly paid for by the taxpayer?

if it was a strictly business transaction, then i would be liable for half the rent, he would be liable for half, i was claiming for my half of the rent so to say.

His income details etc were given, i am not sure how they worked it out. Because I am over 25, I was entitled to the 1 bedroom LHA rate at the time as myself. We did not get full housing benefit, I probably got about a third of the allowance, I do not know how they worked it out.

clb776

sharnad wrote: »

is he applying for settlement as a partner as it says you should not use public funds
Dont know if they will take his earnings into account

Not sure? whatever form we have to fill in, but it does ask about benefits on it, hopefully by then we wont have to put it on there. He has to do the life in the uk test (even i cant do it, its a waste of time, perhaps an english exam would be better placed, but thats a different topic!!)

Dont really understand it all. The rules seem to be set out for those entering the UK, my husband is already here, working full time so there is no question of him being supported by the state when he arrives?

Regardless of wether I was with him or not, I would still be entitled to the 2-bed LHA whilst in this situation, so if they take his income into account for their calculations then he is supporting himself, and i am being supported by the state (uuggghh!!) lol!!

...is that a good way to look at it, or not???