Returning to the UK after 5 years, benefits?

MissMoneypenny

wilto wrote: »

Edit : one thing I totally forgot to mention - my wife is subject to immigration control consequently she cannot claim any benefits.

wilto wrote: »

We'll be coming back with less than 16k GBP..
After we pay all credit cards medical bills loans etc we may have 5k GBp left when we come back.

Then she won't get a visa to the UK. The immigration laws changed in July 2012 to stop non-EU immigrants being a burden to the UK's welfare state and now you will have to show that you can afford to sponsor your wife to the UK. If all you have is 5k in savings, then you are well below the savings minimum amount of £62,500 (held in your account for at least 6 months) required, to show you can afford to sponsor her. There is no 3rd party support allowed.

The other alternative is for you to return to the UK without her and work and earn no less than £18,600pa for 6 months, to show that you can afford to sponsor her. That 18,600 must be from your earnings and not benefits. Once you have 6 months of wage slips, she will be able to apply for a spouse visa from the US.

I'm assumming your children are British and that you are not British by Descent with your children born in the US ? If not, then you will need to earn more money, per child, on top of the £18,600pa to be able to sponsor non British children too.

Even when she gets a 30 month spouse visa, you will have to keep working and earning that minimum of £18,600pa, for another 5 years until she gets ILR. You will have to prove that you earn that twice more; to renew her spouse visa for another 30 months and for her application for ILR. On that 2nd spouse visa and ILR, you can add your wages with her wages to make the £18,600, but benefits won't count towards that minimum required income.

mikey_bach

we have been told that anybody coming into the UK or a returning British National after an absence of more then twelve months, will have to prove that they have been a resident of the UK for twelve weeks at least and show proof before they can even make claim to an income related benefit such JSA or start the Hab Res process
The proof needed would include, bank statements showing a
British address, stamped entry documents etc
This comes in from January 2014

What benefits can European nationals currently claim?
People coming to the UK from the European Economic Area - the EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - do not have unrestricted access to UK social security benefits and tax credits. Most will have to pass the habitual residence test before they can claim. To pass, you must have a "right to reside" in the UK, which means you are economically active, or are able to support yourself, and you must be intending to settle here for the time being - in other words, be "habitually resident". The test applies to British citizens returning to the UK after time abroad, as well as people coming to the UK from other countries. If you pass the test, you can claim housing benefit, council tax benefit, access to local authority housing, income support, jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance.

Dunroamin

Shelldean wrote: »

we used our capital to pay down our credit cards.
Our capital was in the form of OH redundancy money. We provided the council with copies of the credit card debts, we also showed the bank statements showing the money going in and out the same day.


Our housing benefit remained unchanged.

Redundancy money and capital aren't quite the same thing but I believe that someone's intention is the most important point. The OP seems to be deliberately paying out money to bring himself to just below the level where means tested benefits won't be affected.

rogerblack

BigAunty wrote: »

Deprivation of capital is a complex area but I always got the impression there was no issue with the payment of debts when legally due

How individual decision-makers will approach this will vary.
Some may consider it reasonable.
However, it is well established that paying off credit cards in full - not simply paying the minimum payment may represent deprivation of capital.

This is very simply as the amount legally due on a credit card is not the whole balance - but the minimum payment.
Unless there is specific language that says if you leave the country, it all becomes repayable immediately.

Note the above 'may represent' - decisionmakers vary - and there is caselaw saying it may not be DOC - if the primary reason for doing it was to avoid interest charges.

Spending enough to purchase a 7 seater vehicle is also extremely questionable from a similar point of view.
Why can't you manage with a second hand car for a short period, or indeed public transport.

wilto

rogerblack wrote: »

How individual decision-makers will approach this will vary.
Some may consider it reasonable.
However, it is well established that paying off credit cards in full - not simply paying the minimum payment may represent deprivation of capital.

This is very simply as the amount legally due on a credit card is not the whole balance - but the minimum payment.
Unless there is specific language that says if you leave the country, it all becomes repayable immediately.

Note the above 'may represent' - decisionmakers vary - and there is caselaw saying it may not be DOC - if the primary reason for doing it was to avoid interest charges.

Spending enough to purchase a 7 seater vehicle is also extremely questionable from a similar point of view.
Why can't you manage with a second hand car for a short period, or indeed public transport.

The reasoning behind paying off the credit cards is due to the difficulty in making payments to credit cards when overseas unless you keep your checking/savings accounts open. To prove residency/domicile I am intending to close all accounts, credit savings checking etc, this simplifies things for me and I would think it would do the same for a case worker.

As a side note we will need a 7 seater as there will be 6 of us to cart around and we will be buying 2nd hand, less than 2K GBP. I've learned a valuable life lesson when it comes to financing and depreciation of new vehicles. I'm having to sink circa $6K into our primary vehicle to eat up negative equity when the time comes to sell.

Thanks to all who have posted positively/negatively, food for thought. I hope and pray that we won't require any assistance but we will only know when the time comes.

specialboy

wilto wrote: »

The reasoning behind paying off the credit cards is due to the difficulty in making payments to credit cards when overseas unless you keep your checking/savings accounts open. To prove residency/domicile I am intending to close all accounts, credit savings checking etc, this simplifies things for me and I would think it would do the same for a case worker.

As a side note we will need a 7 seater as there will be 6 of us to cart around and we will be buying 2nd hand, less than 2K GBP. I've learned a valuable life lesson when it comes to financing and depreciation of new vehicles. I'm having to sink circa $6K into our primary vehicle to eat up negative equity when the time comes to sell.

Thanks to all who have posted positively/negatively, food for thought. I hope and pray that we won't require any assistance but we will only know when the time comes.

You say above you intend closing all your accounts but earlier you said....
''I will want to keep my American bank account open as we will go back on holiday from time to time and to me it's easier to wire funds V cash and traveller checks.''

wilto

specialboy wrote: »

You say above you intend closing all your accounts but earlier you said....
''I will want to keep my American bank account open as we will go back on holiday from time to time and to me it's easier to wire funds V cash and traveller checks.''

After reading some of the comments I think it's best to close everything to prove intent to reside long term in the USA but I am flipping back and forth between every single thought I have right now as there are pros and cons to either side of the argument. Even the idea of moving altogether, I have 6 to 7 months to try and figure it all out, moving country is no fun.

Caz3121

some very important info in post 24

MissMoneypenny

wilto wrote: »

I hope and pray that we won't require any assistance but we will only know when the time comes.

If all you think you can earn is a low wage and yet have 4 children, then you are going to need a lot of state help to feed, clothe and house your children. i.e. benefits such as; Tax Credits; Housing Benefit/LHA; child benefit........

wilto wrote: »

my family of 6 (4 kids under 5)

I will take pretty much any job I can find at minimum 16K to 17K PA to start off.

FBaby

Where do you plan to move in the UK? I many places a car is not am essential. Not easy with 4 small kids but until you get a job you would be able to manage without one . Doesn't seem like a priority to me in this country.