Can Thai Wife Claim Benefits

[dmax]

my thai wife has eea family permit visa and 5 year resident stamp...she is 6 month pregnant...we have now seperated ,,she lives alone now in private rental apt....can she claim benefit now ? help please.......

[taxexile]

whoever got her pregnant should be supporting her , not the state.

[mrbojangles]

I might be wrong but i thought the eea family permit is supposed to be issued to allow family members of a an EEA citizen working in the UK to live together. As this is now not the case, i would have thought the terms of the permit have been broken, so never mind about claiming benefits, i would have thought she would have to leave the country. Maybe someone can confirm.

[H2oDunc]

No I would say YOU should be providing for YOUR wife ! Why should the British tax payer pay for YOUR wife to live on benefits ????????? You brought this woman to the country so YOU have a responsibility to support her.

[Boo]

Suggest she gets herself a lawyer & looks at getting child support & alimony from her husband whilst she is unable to work due to pregnancy.

[taxexile]

Suggest she gets herself a lawyer & looks at getting child support & alimony from her husband whilst she is unable to work due to pregnancy.

if she needs benefits , then how can she afford a lawyer ? ...... oh sorry , forgot. taxpayer funded legal aid.

the eu , including the uk , is on the verge of bankruptcy. is there no end to the amount of benefits the gov. has to dish out due to people running away from their responsibilities.

this is the husband / boyfriends responsibility , not that of the state.

if the husband wont support , then let her return to her home country and let her family or her government take care of her.

[davyboy]

my thai wife has eea family permit visa and 5 year resident stamp...she is 6 month pregnant...we have now seperated ,,she lives alone now in private rental apt....can she claim benefit now ? help please.......

Yes, she should claim benefit from you if you are the father, what are you thinking??

[patklang]

dmax,

how old are you because you sound like kevin the 13yo.

possibly she will be sent home and i hope the family get you.

[7by7]

my thai wife has eea family permit visa and 5 year resident stamp...she is 6 month pregnant...we have now seperated ,,she lives alone now in private rental apt....can she claim benefit now ? help please.......

As far as I know, she cannot claim any public funds herself until she has ILR.

The marriage having broken down her status in the UK is now in doubt. Being pregnant with the child of an EEA national, assuming you are the father, may act in favour of her being allowed to stay. The length of the marriage plays a part, too.

This is a complicated area and she/you really need to seek some professional advice. If you cannot afford to pay for a professional advisor then you should try your local CAB.

[Mossfinn]

eea family permit is supposed to be issued to allow family members of a an EEA citizen working in the UK to live together. As this is now not the case, i would have thought the terms of the permit have been broken,

This is my understanding too.

Moss

[paully]

^ Agree, her right to remain was linked to the OP and her relationship with him. Since that has come to an end, she should have left the UK or possibly made an exceptional leave to remain application.

[DC1066]

.......and welcome to Thai Visa, we are a judgmental lot by the look of some of the replies on this thread, jai yen yen folks.

Hope you get the answers you're looking for Dmax.

[rgs2001uk]

Suggest she gets herself a lawyer & looks at getting child support & alimony from her husband whilst she is unable to work due to pregnancy.

if she needs benefits , then how can she afford a lawyer ? ...... oh sorry , forgot. taxpayer funded legal aid.

the eu , including the uk , is on the verge of bankruptcy. is there no end to the amount of benefits the gov. has to dish out due to people running away from their responsibilities.

this is the husband / boyfriends responsibility , not that of the state.

if the husband wont support , then let her return to her home country and let her family or her government take care of her.

now now taxexile, thats one of the benefits of living in the glorious land of smiles, i can at least console myself with the fact that not one penny of my hard earned money will be being wasted supporting yet another dole bludger.

[Mossfinn]

.......and welcome to Thai Visa, we are a judgmental

There is an early warning system, they normally come in droves from General, must be a bit busy elsewhere today

Moss

[7by7]

eea family permit is supposed to be issued to allow family members of a an EEA citizen working in the UK to live together. As this is now not the case, i would have thought the terms of the permit have been broken,

This is my understanding too.

Moss

As I said before, this is a complicated area, as is anything to do with the EU/EEA!

My understanding is:-

If the marriage lasted for at least 3 years and the couple have been living in the UK for at least 1 year she will be able to remain in the UK and then apply for permanent residence after she has been here for 5 years. However, she cannot do this while they are separated, only once they have divorced. She can remain in the UK pending the divorce but if her current leave to remain expires before the divorce is finalised she will have to leave.

As she is pregnant with the child of (presumably) an EEA national then that child may also be an EEA national, depending on the nationality rules of the father's home country. Assuming the father can pass his nationality to the child, this means the child would be able to exercise it's treaty rights to reside anywhere in the EU and the mother could accompany the child as it's carer (see Chen case).

That is my understanding, but this is a very complicated area, so I am not confident about whether any of the above would apply in this case. Therefore professional advice is required, and required urgently.

One thing is for sure, doing nothing is not an option.

Edited January 11, 2009 by 7by7

[mrbojangles]

You might be right 7by7 and it can be confusing but i thought this area was quite clear. Somebody in the know might pop in and confirm.

Anyhow, from Border Agency website here http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/in...ssnationals#Q12

It states:-

Can my family members lose their right to stay in the UK?

If you lose your right of residence in the UK or leave the UK permanently, your family members would also lose their right of residence.

Your husband, wife or civil partner may also lose the right to stay in the UK if you are divorced or you have legally ended (dissolved) your civil partnership.

Edited January 11, 2009 by mrbojangles

[erikr_]

You might be right 7by7 and it can be confusing but i thought this area was quite clear. Somebody in the know might pop in and confirm.

Anyhow, from Border Agency website here http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/in...ssnationals#Q12

It states:-

Can my family members lose their right to stay in the UK?

If you lose your right of residence in the UK or leave the UK permanently, your family members would also lose their right of residence.

Your husband, wife or civil partner may also lose the right to stay in the UK if you are divorced or you have legally ended (dissolved) your civil partnership.

It answers the question. Only if the divorce is completed may she loose her rights so there are more considerations to make

[nuangchai]

im in the same boat eea permit but a bit ahead ive 2 sons 1 born here 1 born thailand she has a right to remaim but if she leaves she has to return within 2 years she also has full tax credit childs allowance winter allowance rent paid for etc

[7by7]

Only if the divorce is completed may she loose her rights so there are more considerations to make

Quite, it says "may" not "will."

[Alex8]

my thai wife has eea family permit visa and 5 year resident stamp...she is 6 month pregnant...we have now seperated ,,she lives alone now in private rental apt....can she claim benefit now ? help please.......

This OP Boy-wonder obviously is a victim of the British Social Welfare system that promises free everything from cradle to the grave. He imagines he can spread his wild oats and hand us the bill. He was probably pupped by parents and grand parents with the same mentality.

What a pity that we have now spawned a culture of simpering hand-wringers who wish the best for them...always at somebody elses expense, of course.

So many of those who want the privileges seem never to want to pay.

Signed: Alex8