Benefits Entitlement - husband without visa

IyaCiara

Hi all,

My husband has just been told by Home Office that he needs to leave the country because he no longer has the right to stay here. They informed his employer of of this decision and he has been told that he can no longer work until he can prove his right to work in the UK. I am not worried about him eventually being given the right to stay here, because his visa refusal was an incorrect and illegal decision made by Home Office, which we will appeal.

However, in the meantime, we will be in a bit of a financial mess because we depend on his wage to get by. I am a student and receive a small bursary from the NHS (£7500 per year). We currently receive child benefit and £38 weekly tax credits. For the foreseeable future, this will be our only source of income. My husband will continue to live with me while we appeal the decision regarding his visa and although technically he has a legal right to be here whilst we appeal, the Home Office have kept his passport, so I can't even prove his identity or prove that he can still legally be here in the meantime. My questions are as follows:

Can I claim HB and CTB?

What should I tell Tax Credits re: change in circumstances? My husband is not working and we are still living together.

Could I claim income support?

Would I be entitled to free school dinners for our daughter?

Is there any other source of financial help that I know nothing about?

Many thanks.

P.S. my husband has always had recourse to public funds because he has been here as a non-EEA family member of an EEA National.

HappyMJ

IyaCiara wrote: »

Hi all,

My husband has just been told by Home Office that he needs to leave the country because he no longer has the right to stay here. They informed his employer of of this decision and he has been told that he can no longer work until he can prove his right to work in the UK. I am not worried about him eventually being given the right to stay here, because his visa refusal was an incorrect and illegal decision made by Home Office, which we will appeal.

However, in the meantime, we will be in a bit of a financial mess because we depend on his wage to get by. I am a student and receive a small bursary from the NHS (£7500 per year). We currently receive child benefit and £38 weekly tax credits. For the foreseeable future, this will be our only source of income. My husband will continue to live with me while we appeal the decision regarding his visa and although technically he has a legal right to be here whilst we appeal, the Home Office have kept his passport, so I can't even prove his identity or prove that he can still legally be here in the meantime. My questions are as follows:

Can I claim HB and CTB?

What should I tell Tax Credits re: change in circumstances? My husband is not working and we are still living together.

Could I claim income support?

Would I be entitled to free school dinners for our daughter?

Is there any other source of financial help that I know nothing about?

Many thanks.

P.S. my husband has always had recourse to public funds because he has been here as a non-EEA family member of an EEA National.

Yes and yes.

Tell tax credits he is now overseas (when he goes) and you get full child tax credits no matter what he earns back in his home country.

Not too sure if your income from the bursary would count against income support.

Yes if you claim only child tax credits then your daughter gets free school meals.

That's about it...

benefitbaby

Hi

What a pickle... you should notify tax credits as your first step as although you can still make a couple claim your husband's loss of income will mean HMRC need to recalculate your entitlement - this will not impact his immigration appeal.

What country is your husband from and is your child his? This may be relevant to benefit entitlement and the different routes to entitlement.

Yes you can claim HB/CTB as there has been no change in your Council Tax liability or rent liability, however these are means-tested so if/when your tax credits increase you need to notify the council so HB/CTB can be readjusted accordingly (will prevent overpayments).

You may qualify for free school meals, need to ask the school if they have a relevant form.

IyaCiara

I don't want to lie to the tax credits people because he won't be overseas. He'll still be living with me. Also, a few years back, tax credits overpaid us by £5000 and have been auditing us 'randomly' ever since. So I want to be 100% honest with any agency that I deal with - just worried about how they will react to him still living with me and not being able to prove his right to be here. Also, he won't be able to claim JSA, so I will have no way of proving that he no longer works - only the refusal letter that he has received from Home Office.

IyaCiara

@benefitbaby, my husband is from Nigeria and he is the father of our daughter. Just worried sick about our finances right now. His last pay is due in the middle of this month and it will be full pay, but we have no savings and have been living from pay cheque to pay cheque :-( I know that having no savings is not ideal, but we've managed okay financially until now.

Pricivius

If he has a right of appeal against the visa decision, then it is my understanding that his rights under the previous visa continue during the appeal process, as long as he makes the appeal in time. Check this with an immigration lawyer and the UK Border Agency and then tell his employers that they should continue to let him work whilst his appeal is dealt with. If I am right and they fail to do so, this could amount to race discrimination as he has the right to work and they are not allowing him to do so.

Please check the position re immigration law.

princessdon

Blindlingly obvious question depsite being a student can you not work?

benefitbaby

IyaCiara wrote: »

I don't want to lie to the tax credits people because he won't be overseas. He'll still be living with me. Also, a few years back, tax credits overpaid us by £5000 and have been auditing us 'randomly' ever since. So I want to be 100% honest with any agency that I deal with - just worried about how they will react to him still living with me and not being able to prove his right to be here. Also, he won't be able to claim JSA, so I will have no way of proving that he no longer works - only the refusal letter that he has received from Home Office.

You can legally claim tax credits as a couple and this will not be affected by his immigration status (confirmed in Immigration Regulations). Whilst working tax credit may have to cease child tax credit should increase.

You do not need to prove he no longer works, you merely need to call tax credits.

For HB/CTB the letter from the Home Office will suffice combined with your bank statements and evidence of other benefits (CB, tax credits etc).

As you are a student you may want to explore student finance options or a part-time job to cover reduced income.

von

You won't be entitled to Income Support because from what you've said you do not satisfy the qualifying conditions. You can't claim JSA because, again from what you've said you are full time student.

By the way please don't be encouraged to lie about your situation.

IyaCiara

@pricivious, I can't work at the moment because I already work 40 hours a week on placement for my degree and will do until the end of July this year.

princessdon

IyaCiara wrote: »

@pricivious, I can't work at the moment because I already work 40 hours a week on placement for my degree and will do until the end of July this year.

You can still work around them - My sisters have both been student nurses and gained hours on the bank as HCA to pay their bills.

that said the amount of benefits you get as a single income parent will probably make it not worth the while.