Child Benefit

[yetifella]

I've heard that UK Child Benefit can be claimed from abroad, has anyone had any success in making a claim for Thailand? If so could you give me some guidance on how you go about claiming it?

Thanks

[highchol]

I've heard that UK Child Benefit can be claimed from abroad, has anyone had any success in making a claim for Thailand? If so could you give me some guidance on how you go about claiming it?

Thanks

Child benefit is for children living in the UK and is paid to the carer usualy the mother who is with them.

If your children are overseas for a period ( i think but not exactly sure 6 weeks or more ) you have to inform them. If you dont and they find out you will have to pay back any benefit. Its benefit fraud.

[GuestHouse]

Highcol is correct.

I have a friend who, not satisfied with his six figure expat deal also claimed child benefit while living in Singapore.

He was prosecuted for benefit fraud and heavily fined in abstentia.

[Templer]

Are you sure about this

there has been stories in the news about Eastern Europeans coming to Britain

and claiming Child benifit for there children, back home,

I think this is completly out of order,

may be they can because they are part of EU

[Boo]

certainly not possible if you are living in thailand. A friend came back to the UK after 4 years in Thailand who had forgotten to tell the child benefit people they were moving overseas, when they got back to the UK & went to claim again for the child were told that they had been paid the CB for the past 4 years (in an account the friend hadn't closed but thought was empty), luckily they beleived that it was just an oversight, due to the money still sitting untouched in the account for all this time but it took a lot of hassle to sort it out.

[dsys]

While in the Uk we did not apply for child benefit for the twins - plain forgot. Just before the move to Thailand we applied, being honest that we were moving out here. Got a reply back saying that we had no claim and they would not back date the benefits.

I have also spoken to somebody here who has been prosecuted for benfit fraud through claiming child benefit while not resident in the uk.

[Iambabababor]

Child Benefit is only available for children in the UK. If parents are not in the UK, someone else may claim.

Child tax Credit is similar. The child/children must be in the UK and also 1 parent. Allowed to go overseas for maximum 8/10 weeks holiday a year.

As usual more flexible intrpretation is given to our East European cousins and all others who were not born in the UK. Uk government does its damdest to help almost anyone other than true brits!

[naomisri]

I met someone the other day who advised us to apply for child benefit online, he having done it himself although his son had never been to England. He kept going on about it, the only rule you were breaking, he said, was that you had left the UK for more than 6 weeks!! If that's not as good a reason as any not to claim then I don't know what is!? We gave him a lovely Thai smile for his suggestion

[RagingBrit]

Uk Child benefit is paid for children living in the UK up to the ages of 16 and up to 18 for those in full time education.

Can be claimed for a period of no more than six weeks after the child has exited the United Kingdom.

There are no exceptions to this rule.

[RagingBrit]

certainly not possible if you are living in thailand. A friend came back to the UK after 4 years in Thailand who had forgotten to tell the child benefit people they were moving overseas, when they got back to the UK & went to claim again for the child were told that they had been paid the CB for the past 4 years (in an account the friend hadn't closed but thought was empty), luckily they beleived that it was just an oversight, due to the money still sitting untouched in the account for all this time but it took a lot of hassle to sort it out.

That`s impossible because claimers have to reaffirm their details with the Child benefit office every year.

Someone has been on the fiddle in this case.

[Boo]

Not so actually, they were living in my house at the time of their return & all the letters from child benefit office were coming to my house & I was also privvy to the telephone conversations. The money has been repaid in full but no one checked in the 4 years the family were not living in the UK. So it is quite possible. Oh, & if they were on the fiddle, why was none of the money touched & why would they risk prosecution by admitting that they made a mistake in not informing them they were leaving & getting in excess of 3k pounds paid???. Try not to call people liars, some of us take offense.

[bendix]

Why the UK government pays Child Benefit is beyond me. Seems anyone can get it, but what's it for? If people can't pay for their own kids, shame on them.

Why should taxpayers subsidise this?

[highchol]

In the old days a man could earn enough money to support his wife & family without the need for her to go out to work. The benefit was to ensure that the mother at least had at little financial independance, some money to feed her kids in case she was unfortunate enough to be married to a " keep em short keep em sweet " subscriber or p***k who would piss all his wages up the wall or down the bookies on pay day.

I think..

[samran]

middle class welfare bendix, middle class welfare...

[highchol]

middle class welfare bendix, middle class welfare...

ahh the middle class...just love that extra leg room you get...

[torrenova]

I think there is a distinction here between resident and domicile. Also, it is paid to the carer, not the baby.

I have to re-examine the paperwork but I am, at the moment, not 100% convinced that if the baby is registered to a UK parent, it is not entitled to benefit purely because of the geographical location.

[Templer]

Just to comfirm my earlier post

In the papers yesterday, there is some EU rule wich states that immigrant

workers can claim child benifit for there children back in there home country

if they are working in the UK, if they are from one of the EU countries,

[Mossfinn]

Just to comfirm my earlier post

In the papers yesterday, there is some EU rule wich states that immigrant

workers can claim child benifit for there children back in there home country

if they are working in the UK, if they are from one of the EU countries,

I am not entirely sure if you are correct T, but some of my guy's came in the other day and asked for some official docs to be signed so they could claim benefits including child allowance, because there is a reciprocal agreement with E.U countries.

Not sure if they got their request, but it sounds a lot like what you are saying.

Moss

[torrenova]

I've got to clarify this but I know some German fathers receiving their equivalent whilst here in LOS. I have to run through the UK forms and procedures.