Claimable Benifits Whilst On Spouse Visa

[maymay]

Dear Forum

I have a general question about what legitamately I am able to claim interms of public funds whilst in the Uk on a spouse visa. My visa stamp state 'no recourse to pubic fund'. I understand obviously I cant claim unemployment benifit. But what happens is I am sick. Can I go to the local GP or even in an emergency go to the hospital. Would I be denied the use of an ambulance for example. Can I join the public libery. That may sound a daft question but the libery is financed through public funds.

Also if i cant use public funds does that mean i dont need to pay national insurance.

Oh and one more thing I read that i dont have to pay council tax because i am ineligable to vote, is this true?.

Thanks for any advice

Maymay

[bread]

Sorry to job in to this one but I would also be intrested to hear the answers to this as I was also wondering though my TGF will be on a 6 month fiancee visa when she has my baby can I claim Child support. Can she use the GP etc ??

[maymay]

Sorry to job in to this one but I would also be intrested to hear the answers to this as I was also wondering though my TGF will be on a 6 month fiancee visa when she has my baby can I claim Child support. Can she use the GP etc ??

No worries Bread.

Just one thing, when i was here on a fiancee 6months visa I could only use the local GP if I paid for the consultation and the medication....... dont know about a birth though... maybe others here can help

Maymay

[maymay]

Sorry to job in to this one but I would also be intrested to hear the answers to this as I was also wondering though my TGF will be on a 6 month fiancee visa when she has my baby can I claim Child support. Can she use the GP etc ??

Bread I just got this off the BIA website:

Public funds are income-related benefits paid by the state. They include income support, income-based job seekers allowance, housing and homelessness assistance, housing and council tax benefit, working families' tax credit, a social fund payment, child benefit and any disability allowance. Benefits paid as a result of contributions, such as the state pension, are not considered to be public funds. Social housing is not considered to be a public fund either. Claiming public funds when you are not eligible is known as benefit fraud and it is a criminal offence.

Looks like u cant claim child support because that would be public funds...........

[CharlieB]

Sorry to job in to this one but I would also be intrested to hear the answers to this as I was also wondering though my TGF will be on a 6 month fiancee visa when she has my baby can I claim Child support. Can she use the GP etc ??

Bread I just got this off the BIA website:

Public funds are income-related benefits paid by the state. They include income support, income-based job seekers allowance, housing and homelessness assistance, housing and council tax benefit, working families' tax credit, a social fund payment, child benefit and any disability allowance. Benefits paid as a result of contributions, such as the state pension, are not considered to be public funds. Social housing is not considered to be a public fund either. Claiming public funds when you are not eligible is known as benefit fraud and it is a criminal offence.

Looks like u cant claim child support because that would be public funds...........

Yes HE can claim child benefit for his kids, his wife/partner can't.

[Templer]

I was in the same position as you 4 1/2 years ago.

When we found out my now wife was pregnant,

I asked the Doctor how much I had to pay, He replied nothing!

That may depend on the Health authority, but not sure.

When Baby is born, Child Benifit Child Tax Credit & Working Tax credit,

Will need to be claimed by yourself, as the main carer, until she has ILR

Once she has Indefinate Leave to Remain, Change the main Carer part to Her,

as it helps with her Pension in the future,They will pay her NI contributions whilst looking

after the child.

[londonthai]

Can I go to the local GP or even in an emergency go to the hospital. Would I be denied the use of an ambulance for example. Can I join the public libery. That may sound a daft question but the libery is financed through public funds.

Also if i cant use public funds does that mean i dont need to pay national insurance.

Oh and one more thing I read that i dont have to pay council tax because i am ineligable to vote, is this true?.

the best is to register with your local GP, even before you need to make an appointment, might take several days to register, see the nurse. Usually there is no proof of address, but some busy GP clinics might ask, to check you don't live too far. In emergency you can always go to the hospital, no previous registration needed, same with the ambulance. You can join you local library, proof of address - again to confirm you live in the borough.

if you are working than your employer suppose to pay NI contribution, if you are self employed you can pay a voluntary contribution about £3/week.

every household has to pay a council tax, even if you are not on a voting roll. From the council tax the libraries are financed, as well as the other services

[torrenova]

Then surely a guy with his wife or fiance who is not allowed to claim public funds should be able to claim a reduction in the council tax as a single occupier because his partner cannot claim on the state ?

[Templer]

Last year I think some one from Nottingham did get the rebateof 25%

I think I read it on Thai Visa

Edited April 12, 2008 by Templer

[CharlieB]

Then surely a guy with his wife or fiance who is not allowed to claim public funds should be able to claim a reduction in the council tax as a single occupier because his partner cannot claim on the state ?

The no recourse to public funds is as it says, the person with the visa is not allowed to claim money given by the government as outlined in this document, it doesn't mean you can't use your local library and yes you can use the NHS. I would advise you to go down to your local doctor and get yourself registered. Take your passport with you as your visa will prove that you are entitled to healthcare on the NHS. If they query it, ask for the local Primary Care Trust address and write to them outlining your situation and your need to register with a doctor.

Yes, you will have to pay NI if you are able to work, everybody pays NI, it is taken out of your wagesby your employer. I doubt you will be able to get away with not paying council tax, or getting a rebate. The council tax is worked out on 2 adults occupying the house. If you are on your own you can get a 25% discount, but as you are on a spouse visa, you presumably live with your partner and are over 18 so you will not qualify for a discount.

[mariner29]

My wife recieves benefit for her daughter Thai and we can claim family tax credit.

[steve187]

if you are working than your employer suppose to pay NI contribution, if you are self employed you can pay a voluntary contribution about £3/week.

If you are self employed you have to pay self employed stamp about £26.00 per quarter, and a percentage of your taxable income at the end of the year i think its 9%

[bkk_mike]

I don't believe there's any reduction in Council Tax, unless they're a full time student.

As for the others, I know my wife got Child Benefit when my daughter was born, which was before she got her ILR. but that could have been because it was still my child.

As for believing that someone can get a reduction in National Insurance contributions because they're ineligible to receive benefits. - Exactly that situation is one of the reasons I left the UK. They brought in a little thing called IR35 which meant, although I was self-employed, I would have to pay full employee - AND employer - National Insurance contributions, because I was working on-site for a single company, so I was a "disguised" employee. Yet, if I lost the contract, I would still not receive unemployment benefit because I'm self-employed.

The UK government will take money from you at every possible opportunityit has. After all, Visa fees 6 years ago were set to cover costs. They have more than doubled since because they want to discourage employers from employing non-EEA citizens, but they put the same 100%+ increases onto spouse visas.

The UK government is actually making a profit on visa and ILR fees on people marrying foreigners. (It's a monopoly - if a private company tried to do the same thing, there would be legislation somewhere to prevent them from profiteering in this manner).

[roygsd]

Dear Forum

I have a general question about what legitamately I am able to claim interms of public funds whilst in the Uk on a spouse visa. My visa stamp state 'no recourse to pubic fund'. I understand obviously I cant claim unemployment benifit. But what happens is I am sick. Can I go to the local GP or even in an emergency go to the hospital. Would I be denied the use of an ambulance for example. Can I join the public libery. That may sound a daft question but the libery is financed through public funds.

Also if i cant use public funds does that mean i dont need to pay national insurance.

Oh and one more thing I read that i dont have to pay council tax because i am ineligable to vote, is this true?.

Thanks for any advice

Maymay

[roygsd]

Sorry dont know wha thappened to my very lengthy reply to this posting,

briefly the facts are below.

in september 2005 I helped someone who had returned from thailand to the uk 6 months earlierwith his wife ( spouse visa) to claim Income Support and Housing Benefit, which I am pleased to say they got.

Clearly the wife wass NOT ENTITLED TO CLAIM INCOME SUPPORT OR HOUSING BENEFIT/COUNCIL TAX , ..... However the husband IS ENTITLED TO CLAIM FOR HIMSELF AND HIS WIFE AND OR HIS CHILDREN AS THEY ARE HIS DEPENDENTS!

I KID YOU NOT!

When completing an appiliction for Income Support and Housing Benefit/Council Tax, you ARE REQUIRED to provide the information asked for in the forms, which include full details of your dependents.

I visited both departments with the applicant and the Officers were shown the "no recourse to public funds" visa stamp in his wifes passport and in fact the applicant made it quite clear he did not want to include his wife in his claim for either of the above benefits!

The response from both Both Departments was the same, we will not process your application unless you provide full details of your dependents.

So appliations were made, including the wifes details and more importantly full disclosure of his wifes visa restriction i.e. non entitlement to both benefits.

Both applications were appproved and paid for over a year when the applicant ceased his claim.

Oddly the Housing Benefit payment was about £40 short of the monthly rent so I appealed the award on behalf of the applicant and some weeks later they confirmed that they would pay the full rent for a 6 month period which was obviously sorely needed.

I advised the applicant to appeal the six month limit decision when it ran out as it is clear to me that, provided that there has been no change in his or his wifes circumstances there is no legitimate reason for reducing a payment that they had agreed the applicant had been entitled to for the previous 6 months.

Disapointed as I was at the tme I am sure you will agree and understand the applicant did not want to rock the boat so to speak.

The applicant ceased to claim a few months before the wife was entitled to apply for the Settlement Visa and at the appropriate time an application for the Settlement was submitted with a lengthy letter confirming the facts regerding the benefit claim by the applicants husband along with referenced to european law and I am delighted to confirm the passport was returend about 7-8 weeks later with the much appreciated settlement visa being attached/ approved.

Obiously every ones personal cirumstances are different , therefore it is a requirement for every aplication to be treated on its own merits rather than a banket approach as they might like to provide.

Whilst it is true to say there is legislation in place in respect of the Visa requirements, it is also true to say that the requirements of other Government Departments and european law appear to be at variance with the Department responsible for issuing the Visa requirements.

As a consequence no one should be suprised when people obtain a benefit to which they are (according to the issuing departments anyway!) entitled to recieve for themself and their DEPENDANTS.

WHilst I confess to not knowing much about the child benefit sytem it seems to me that any child of the uk passport holder ( who is resident in the uk) is entitled to recieve child benefit.

In the case of a mother with a spouse visa I would not be suprised if the mother was not entitled to claim child benefit but I stronglt suspect dear old dad can claim it instead.

Hope this helps those in need rather than greed.

[Lancashirelad]

the Housing Benefit payment was about £40 short of the monthly rent so I appealed the award on behalf of the applicant and some weeks later they confirmed that they would pay the full rent for a 6 month period which was obviously sorely needed.

If he couldn't afford to sub the rent by just £10 a week, how had been affording trips to Thailand to meet her in the 1st place?

I strongly disagree with the content of the above post. It is abundantly clear the guy was not in a position to afford to import a Thai wife.

[londonthai]

to afford to import a Thai wife.

yes, thai imports are becoming more expensive because of the weak £ and strong bht - surely the gentalman ordered his wife from the net and shipped in a 1 cubic meter container, avoiding paying tax duty by claiming it's his relocation belongings

[Eastender]

My wife had the same visa with 'no recourse to public funds'. She's registered with the NHS, has used this (doctors and hospital) many times, we've had a kid here in the UK, she's had maternity pay, and now we get child benefit and famlily tax credits. Some done in my name and some in hers, not sure if that mattered but I explained her visa situation to the relevent offices on the phone and they advised us. So, no probs. In some cases what matters is that at least one of the partners is a UK citizen, not both.

After re-reading your original post - not sure about library, but I would expect it's free, but I'm sure you will have to pay council tax. There's no escape!!!

Edited April 18, 2008 by Eastender

[roygsd]

the Housing Benefit payment was about £40 short of the monthly rent so I appealed the award on behalf of the applicant and some weeks later they confirmed that they would pay the full rent for a 6 month period which was obviously sorely needed.

If he couldn't afford to sub the rent by just £10 a week, how had been affording trips to Thailand to meet her in the 1st place?

I strongly disagree with the content of the above post. It is abundantly clear the guy was not in a position to afford to import a Thai wife.

It is your right to Strongly disagree, but with respect it is not your right to judge who and who is not eligible for entry into the uk.

Clearly the person I helped satisfied the requirements of the UK government in order to obtain the settlement visa for his wife in the first instance, and clearly they were satisfied that his wife fulfilled their requirements in order that she may be granted LTR as se was.

Affording to import a Thai wife may be how you view the process, but I think you are in the minority with that kind of thinking.

Peoples circumstances can and often do change overnight, unemployment, illness to name just a few reasons why and how things can quickly change.

As you clearly strongly disagree with his wife being granted LTR in the uk lets hope that should you or a member of your family ever find yourself in a situation where your circumstances take a dramatic downturn their fate is not to be determined by someone with your judgmental views but by people who treat each case on its own merits and under the legislation and government guidance that is in force at the time.

Coming from Lancashire do you also voice your views there about asians in that county who quite legally have two or more wives and again are legally entitled to obtain benefits to support them? If not why not?

Presumably because it is illegal to do so?

Given the huge inequalities in Thai legislation regarding farang residence/employment etc you must know that there is little chance of the uk citizen being allowed to advance themselves there, so presumably you think he must stay in the uk and his wife should be sent home to thailand?

Be interested to hear what you would do if you were in this man and wife's situation.

Incidentally goods are imported, people are not.

Roygsd