Bringing spouse from abroad

jmcg44

I am going to marry a USA citizen and bring them back to the UK. What will they be entitled to? Will they have any problems getting NHS treatment? Will I be entitled to the tax marriage allowance? Will my wife be entitled to any government pension or benefits? We are both in our 70s, and I have a full Government and work pension.

Albermarle

This is quite a complex area, You would probably be better asking  a wider potential audience.
About Pensions here.
Pensions, annuities & retirement planning — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Tax issues here 
Cutting tax — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Benefits issues here.
Benefits & tax credits — MoneySavingExpert Forum

You even have to consider some professional advice.

MattMattMattUK

jmcg44 said:

I am going to marry a USA citizen and bring them back to the UK. What will they be entitled to? Will they have any problems getting NHS treatment? Will I be entitled to the tax marriage allowance? Will my wife be entitled to any government pension or benefits? We are both in our 70s, and I have a full Government and work pension.

You should probably be speaking to an immigration advice service and/or solicitor. 

DullGreyGuy

They will have to show they can financially support themselves in the UK as part of the application of spouse visa. They'd not have access to "public funds" for benefits until they receive ILR which can only be applied for after 5 years. 

 State pension isn't considered "public funds" as it's paid from National Insurance contributions but having made no NIC themselves they won't be entitled to a UK State Pension. They'll need to check about the arrangements for their US pensions. 

As part of the visa process they will have to pay a fee to the NHS, so for a 2.75 year spouse visa it's  £3,105. After thats paid they get standard access to the NHS. The fee will be repeated when they renew their visa.

General_Grant

DullGreyGuy said:

They will have to show they can financially support themselves in the UK as part of the application of spouse visa. They'd not have access to "public funds" for benefits until they receive ILR which can only be applied for after 5 years. 

 State pension isn't considered "public funds" as it's paid from National Insurance contributions but having made no NIC themselves they won't be entitled to a UK State Pension. They'll need to check about the arrangements for their US pensions. 

As part of the visa process they will have to pay a fee to the NHS, so for a 2.75 year spouse visa it's  £3,105. After thats paid they get standard access to the NHS. The fee will be repeated when they renew their visa.

NI contributions aren't hypothecated in that way.  State pensions are paid from the same pot as everything else.

Albermarle

General_Grant said:

DullGreyGuy said:

They will have to show they can financially support themselves in the UK as part of the application of spouse visa. They'd not have access to "public funds" for benefits until they receive ILR which can only be applied for after 5 years. 

 State pension isn't considered "public funds" as it's paid from National Insurance contributions but having made no NIC themselves they won't be entitled to a UK State Pension. They'll need to check about the arrangements for their US pensions. 

As part of the visa process they will have to pay a fee to the NHS, so for a 2.75 year spouse visa it's  £3,105. After thats paid they get standard access to the NHS. The fee will be repeated when they renew their visa.

NI contributions aren't hypothecated in that way.  State pensions are paid from the same pot as everything else.

Not strictly true.
There is the National Insurance Fund. All NI contributions during the year are paid into this fund, and then state pensions are paid out of it. Usually there is a surplus that is used to support some other specific health spending.
It is true that the Government could change this arrangemen, and pay NI into the main consolidated fund and pay state pensions out of that. 
So the fund could be said to be more of an accounting exercise than anything else, but it does actually exist.

DullGreyGuy

General_Grant said:

DullGreyGuy said:

They will have to show they can financially support themselves in the UK as part of the application of spouse visa. They'd not have access to "public funds" for benefits until they receive ILR which can only be applied for after 5 years. 

 State pension isn't considered "public funds" as it's paid from National Insurance contributions but having made no NIC themselves they won't be entitled to a UK State Pension. They'll need to check about the arrangements for their US pensions. 

As part of the visa process they will have to pay a fee to the NHS, so for a 2.75 year spouse visa it's  £3,105. After thats paid they get standard access to the NHS. The fee will be repeated when they renew their visa.

NI contributions aren't hypothecated in that way.  State pensions are paid from the same pot as everything else.

Doesn't really matter how it works behind the scenes these days its still the rationale used by the government to decide which are "public funds" claims (eg housing benefit) and which aren't (eg state pension). A person living on a temporary visa cannot have access to public funds other than in exceptional cases.

Savvy_Sue

Well, perhaps the important message for this thread is that you only get state pension if you've paid NI for enough years ...