kunash

On a related issue I think it is worth mentioning Child Benefit credits.

When our first child was born here in the UK the wife was at the time on FLR so like many others I applied for child benefit in my name although it was paid direct to the wifes bank account.

A few months after she received ILR I transfered the child benefit into her name so that whilst she is not working she gets the NI contributions towards her state pension, as I am in full time employement I do not need them.

Furthermore I was advised that I could have the Child Benefit Credits accrued under my name transfered to her account as I had been in full time employement for the whole duration.

At the time I called both HMRC & DWP & as you would expect, got conflicting advise from both organisations.

The offical advise on the website was not clear cut either.

So regardless I filled in the form CF411A & attached a covering letter being completely honest regarding the dates for both FLR & ILR.

In the end they transfered the full entitlement dated from the 7th November 2010 when our boy was born to my wifes account & not from the 5th February 2013 when she received ILR.

So now she has full NI contributions dated back to the 7th November 2010 & until either she starts to work or the youngest reaches 13.

That is good to hear Waterloo. I get frustrated that the government departments are not singing from the same hymm sheet.

I don't understand how a case worker looking at your iLR application has different guidance notes to a help line worker at the UKBA

I am applying for iLR in about a week, using the premium service. I will just supply them the information they need. But, I will write a covering letter maybe that I will only give them if necessary

I claimed child benefit for my niece last year and as 7by7 rightly says the calculation is done on the claimant i.e. me. Niece did not have ILR at the time. I was also paid child tax credits at the same time - again my wife and niece did not have ILR at the time of applying. I just put down all of my wife's details and got the CTC awarded on my income. I found the whole process straightforward but I didn't ask for advice. I just applied and assumed that if I was not eligible the government would tell me.

I agree, though the man at DWP said that it is up to me to make sure the child I can claim for is eligible to receive public funds. when I send in all the paperwork to apply for tax credit it is not up to them to check the visa stamp. I quoted him what '7by7' said and he said but the children still don't have recourse. maybe he wasn't sure of what he was talking about.

but then I just pray that the person I see in 2 weeks for the ilr visa is not the same person as I spoke to on the phone ( ie I hope they are a bit more clued up )

The leaflet I linked to only says that someone subject to immigration control cannot claim child benefit.

But it also says that their partner who is not subject to immigration control can claim any and all benefits to which they are entitled.

HMRC deal with child benefit, not the DWP. Their guidance notes and the form itself only ask about the immigration status of the person claiming, not the children themselves. I claimed for my step daughter before she and her mother had ILR without any trouble; but that was over 10 years ago.

Maybe phone the child benefit helpline: 0300 200 3100

thanks for link. both dwp and hmrc say I cannot claim ( though 1 man at the HMRC said I could ).

I hope everything will be ok when I apply for ilr. only 2 weeks to go now

thanks for the link 7. that mentions child tax credits. that is good info

is there anything like that which talks about child benefit.?

I couldn't see anything

I am now on the phone to DWP - child tax credits.

they said I cannot claim. the children are not entitled to public funds.

I quoted the reference you gave.

he said, as the children have no recourse to public funds I cannot claim zzZZzzZzz

''neither are treated as being subject to immigration control.''

his way of thinking maybe, that the children are still subject to immigration and have no recourse to public funds. and so you still cannot claim

I am getting frustrated now

but going back to my original request, is there anything like that which talks about child benefit.? please

ok. just spoken to the ukba again. they said that I cannot claim child benefit for my 2 step children. and it can affect my application. it would be up to the case worker at the time of the iLR application. I explained that I phoned the child benefit office who told me I can claim, but the ukba still said I cannot claim

I am so confused now.

I was able to claim child benefit for my step-daughter until they removed it for those earning over a certain limit. It is not up to the UK V&I to decide, it is the Dept of Work & Pensions.

Presumably you sent the birth certificate etc to Newcastle so they would have decided whether you qualified or not. Your non-EU partner is not entitled to anything but you are!

Cannot advise on Child Tax Credits as have never claimed them but if you are honest when you fill in the form it will be assessed under the rules and a decision made.

Reading other posts it suggests you may be eligible Child Tax credits but I am sure someone with far more knowledge will answer your question!

ok thanks

I just don't understand why the UKBA would tell me that.

I just phoned the child benefit office, and they tell me I can claim, so I am just going to give ukba a ring again

this is from 2011

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/511517-claiming-uk-tax-credits-and-child-benefit/

Hi

I have just spoken to the UKBA help line

I am a uk citizen, married to a Thai, with 2 Thai step children.

I have been claiming child benefit for my 2 step children. I claim this in my own name.

I am also claiming child tax. This is in joint names, but as my wife isn't working she puts zero.

my wife and 2 step children cannot have recourse to public funds.

I can as a uk citizen. that is what I was led to believe from reading this site.

the lady at ukba tells me as the 2 step children have no recourse I cannot claim on their behalf.

what is right here?

I am a bit confused

if I cannot claim, then maybe I should pay it all back???

I don't want to harm any iLR application

I hope I am right in thinking that a British national, married to a Thai lady, on a 2 year temporary visa, can claim child benefit for his step children ( on a temp 2 year visa as well) - in the name of the British national,

and also claim child tax credit - this has to be claimed jointly of course , but the British national is the only one who is working. The Thai national would put zero hours worked zero pounds earned.

hope this is right

Congratulations Mal

not really. there is room in the application form to list all previous address's. if there are a lot, maybe explain why you have moved so much

try and put your wife's name on a utility bill if you can. that will help. then ask the company to send out a new bill

Hi, I would like to fly this route please. can someone please tell me the carriers?

to Thomasteve. you wont be able to book an online appointment for October yet. Keep looking though. It should be about 4 weeks before, or I was told 6 weeks, so make your choice.

if choosing Singapore - I personally would find a hotel on orchard road, where the main shopping area is. also remember Singapore and KL will be more humid. Singapore has sentosa island which is a good day out.

Singapore has lots of cheap places to eat / street food. but it is not like Thailand though. you will have to look a bit harder for the street food. Singapore is also a lot cleaner

ukba are quite easy to contact. maybe a short wait. but you might not get much joy out of them

08706067766

I am in the same boat as you mal. I have 3 birth certificates , name change and divorce paper translated by Hull. I am ringing ukba now. I don't want to send the papers to the thai embassy. I don't think it is worth it. the papers have a stamp on them certifying correct translation, signed and dated, with her name. I think from your post 6, that is all they want.

just spoke to someone who said the stamp I have on my papers should be fine. not a problem

Thank you for your reply Bobrussell, I have just been quoted £55 for the translation of the divorce and name change

1) Divorce certificate is £30

2) Changing name document is £25

So if we can do our own translation, Then that would be acceptable? If so, I could have a go at doing our own, But looking back at other translations that we got done in Thailand, These got stamped.

The lady from the Hull consulate told me that they forward the translations to London to be stamped.

we have had some translations done from Hull.

Hull, did not send the translations to London. she said we had to do that. When we got them back, the lady from Hull had stamped them. The stamp says ''certified correct translation'', she had signed it, the date and her name. we have decided not to forward them to London for them to certify it. I don't think it is worth it.

when I had my marriage certificate translated in march 2012, at the hull consulate, the honary consul himself signed the translation as well, together with a large red stamp. they obviously don't do that anymore.

thanks 7

we will be using the premium service for the iLR visa

I know they will take my wifes biometrics the same day, but thought there was an application form I could fill out.

edit or do they send the app when you request an appointment online for ilr?

Hi. I am having trouble finding the right biometric application form on the UKBA website.

my wife has never had her biometrics done before

she is in the UK, on a 2 year sett visa.

I will be applying for Ilr visa soon, and require an application form for this.

can someone pls point me to the web page

thanks

My wife has passed her ESOL speaking and language exam, with citizenship. The Cambridge Board certificate says she has passed a speaking and listening exam. no mention of citizenship. the accompanying letter from the college says that she completed citizenship materials with the course. is this right? is this sufficient to apply for ILR under the current rules??

thanks

oh good, that will be near us then.

My wife has heard of a new shopping centre planned for Surin. Has anyone else heard of this?

There is a very nice Swiss restaurant. Quite near big c in the Same road as the private dentist

thanks for all the helpful replies. I will use EMS at the post office