To Claim Or Not To Claim? Benefits When In The Uk

[skeets]

Hi Guys,

Firstly if this is in the wrong section very sorry.

so me and the husband arrived in the Uk in October, Im a full time university student and the husband is working. I cant get student finance as I was out of the Uk for too long but apparently I might be able to claim benefits. But, as Im sure you're all aware it states on the husbands visa that he's not entitled to benefits, obviously I dont want to do anything thats going to jepodise his next visa application as we need to be here at least 4 years so what can I do?. I think I can apply for child tax credits and working tax credits as we're a low income family but how do I claim without putting his name on things?

Cheers.

[CharlieB]

You can claim for child benefit, child tax credits and working tax credits without affecting his immigration status. When you apply, you will have to make a joint application for the tax credits as they are based on family incomes, but this will not affect his status.

Edited December 5, 2010 by CharlieB

[skeets]

You can claim for child benefit, child tax credits and working tax credits without affecting his immigration status. When you apply, you will have to make a joint application for the tax credits as they are based on family incomes, but this will not affect his status.

Thanks Charlie,

Im going to ring tomorrow and get the forms sent so I can apply.

Skeets.

[waz9235]

I had a similar situation, I applied for child benefit in my own name which you can do, but you have to by law apply for tax credits as a couple. wont affect his status in anyway.

Regards

[MAJIC]

Hi Skeets

If I may ask a couple of relevant questions before I try to give some advice,unfortunately we do get a lot of Trolls on TV,who spoil it for everyone,i'm sure you will not take offence,so some questions up front will bring about the right answers,from the many helpful members.

1. How long were you living outside of the UK?

2. How long have you been Married to your Thai Husband?or known him?

3. I presume being a Student you have no Job at present,hence the Benefits Query?

4. So if no Job, how did you claim supporting your Husband for his Visa Application?

5. Had you,your own accomodation to take him to?

6. Which Visa did your Husband enter the UK on?

It's always best to get the preliminaries ascertained to begin with, in order to get the proper advice.

[bangkockney]

Child Benefit

This is claimed by just one person. That is, either parent can claim although probably in most households it is the wife that claims. However either parent is entitled to be the Child Benefit claimant.

As you rightly say your husband has a visa with the "No recourse toPublic Funds" restriction. Accordingly he must not claim Child Benefit. However there is absolutely nothing to stop you claiming Child Benefit, and you should do so as soon as possible.

When you make the claim there is nothing to stop you mandating the Child Benefit to your husband's bank account, if that is your wish.

Tax Credits

Where a couple live together a claim for Tax Credits needs to be made jointly by them. It would be wrong for Tax Credits to be claimed by one only of a couple living together.

At first glance this is a problem in view of the visa restriction. However "small print" in the Tax Credits legislation, namely, reg 3(2)Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003 comes to your rescue. That sub-regulation says that where one of a couple is a person not subject to immigration control (you) and the other is subject to immigration control (your husband) then for Tax Credits purposes onlythey are both treated as not subject to immigration control. Accordingly a claim for Tax Credits is totally OK ... for a couple in your circumstances.

This is reinforced by para 6B of the Immigration Rules.

Summary

Go for it ... get both claims submitted as soon as possible, and certainly within three months of the birth of the child, otherwise benefit will end up being lost.

[andyandythai]

Hi,

When my wife and kids came to the UK to live 6 months ago I did a lot of research into this to make sure I got this one right. You are allowed to claim Child Benefit (in your name) and child tax credits, as previous posts say this has to be joint but make sure you put on the form your other half is Thai and has settlemt visa so they are not counted so to speak.

My step son goes to college here and can not claim EMA as he is on a settlemt visa too so watch out for those kind of benefits.

Put a claim in for both, it can take while for the tac credit but the Child benefit it quick.

Good Luck

Andy

[skeets]

Hi Guys,

First of all to Mr Majic I can assure you i am not a troll or a gremlim or anything else mythical, although i would like to know what this term actually means, i think its about people who start topics just to pee others off but not really sure.

Also you asked more questions than the tax office did! Ok so I'm sure that anyone who was waiting for their settlement visa around june this year might remember me, and i spent alot of time asking Mr 7by7 for help but to catch you all up abit here goes.

Ive been in Thailand since 2000. met the blokee in 2000 as well.

started working in Chonburi as a TEFl teacher in 2001, blokee came with me.

married in 2006 still with same blokee, had been together and living together ever since 2000, do not own any property...it might be love but I'm not daft in the head.

2007 first daughter born, blokee was there.

2008 second daughter born blokee there too.

2009 came to the Uk together to see if blokee liked it.

2010 applied to uni (at the grand old age of 38) and got offered a place.

applied for settlement visa and got refused on the grounds that they didnt think we could support ourselves without claiming benefits.

waited for redshirts to leave bangkok and then applied again...this time my parents sent in details of their every bank account, stock and share, they have a nice sized 4 bedroomed house and they wrote that we could live there if we needed to for as long as we wanted, i had letters from a recruitment agency who i used to work for stating that they would give us both work.

i sent a copy of the uni academis timetable which shows that students are only at school around 25 weeks a year leaving me lots of time to work.

explained that we would share the childcare with my parents.

got the visa and left on the 7th of octobr.

started uni on the 11th of october.

Husband started work arount the first week of november with the agency as we said he would.

now, to get to the point, student finace england are a bit crap to say the least, i sent my application from thailand, in July, i sent the kids birth certificates that show they were born in Thailand, I sent my employment contract to show i worked in Thailand and i sent my address WHICH WAS IN THAILAND, i even rang to check i was still classed a home student and entitled to student finance...no problems they said, i checked on the computer last friday and the first payment of my loan was going to be in my bank today, then on Saturday everything had been blocked, i rang them, they said ITS BECAUSE I'D LIVED IN THAILAND, well why didnt you tell me that six months ago you dozy t***s, i never lied and said i didnt!

so, now I'm ina bit of a pickle! Should I stay at the parents place so we dont mess up the blokees visa or should i apply for the child tax and working tax credit so we can get our own place? I rang the hm tax office and they said i could claim those two and they wouldnt effect his immigration status but after all the trouble we went to to get his visa and prove that we wouldnt claim benifits I'm not sure i want to.

anyways got to go now and cook the blokees dinner.

thanks guys

skeets

[MAJIC]

Hi Guys,

First of all to Mr Majic I can assure you i am not a troll or a gremlim or anything else mythical, although i would like to know what this term actually means, i think its about people who start topics just to pee others off but not really sure.

Also you asked more questions than the tax office did! Ok so I'm sure that anyone who was waiting for their settlement visa around june this year might remember me, and i spent alot of time asking Mr 7by7 for help but to catch you all up abit here goes.

Ive been in Thailand since 2000. met the blokee in 2000 as well.

started working in Chonburi as a TEFl teacher in 2001, blokee came with me.

married in 2006 still with same blokee, had been together and living together ever since 2000, do not own any property...it might be love but I'm not daft in the head.

2007 first daughter born, blokee was there.

2008 second daughter born blokee there too.

2009 came to the Uk together to see if blokee liked it.

2010 applied to uni (at the grand old age of 38) and got offered a place.

applied for settlement visa and got refused on the grounds that they didnt think we could support ourselves without claiming benefits.

waited for redshirts to leave bangkok and then applied again...this time my parents sent in details of their every bank account, stock and share, they have a nice sized 4 bedroomed house and they wrote that we could live there if we needed to for as long as we wanted, i had letters from a recruitment agency who i used to work for stating that they would give us both work.

i sent a copy of the uni academis timetable which shows that students are only at school around 25 weeks a year leaving me lots of time to work.

explained that we would share the childcare with my parents.

got the visa and left on the 7th of octobr.

started uni on the 11th of october.

Husband started work arount the first week of november with the agency as we said he would.

now, to get to the point, student finace england are a bit crap to say the least, i sent my application from thailand, in July, i sent the kids birth certificates that show they were born in Thailand, I sent my employment contract to show i worked in Thailand and i sent my address WHICH WAS IN THAILAND, i even rang to check i was still classed a home student and entitled to student finance...no problems they said, i checked on the computer last friday and the first payment of my loan was going to be in my bank today, then on Saturday everything had been blocked, i rang them, they said ITS BECAUSE I'D LIVED IN THAILAND, well why didnt you tell me that six months ago you dozy t***s, i never lied and said i didnt!

so, now I'm ina bit of a pickle! Should I stay at the parents place so we dont mess up the blokees visa or should i apply for the child tax and working tax credit so we can get our own place? I rang the hm tax office and they said i could claim those two and they wouldnt effect his immigration status but after all the trouble we went to to get his visa and prove that we wouldnt claim benifits I'm not sure i want to.

anyways got to go now and cook the blokees dinner.

thanks guys

skeets

My Questions No 1, Was of relevance to your case in particular.(so was the rest of the questions)

So you have been out of the Country for a long while,hence you can't get a Student Grant (although I find it hard to reconcile the length of time studying abroad)....Nevertheless,do you honestly think you can walk into the UK? and get everything handed out on a plate ? (if so you have been reading too much Daily Mail (Wail) or the Sun,workingmans: Comic.

First of all for those that have been absent from the UK for a long lenghth of time,and wish to claim Benefits,there is such a thing as the HRT TEST....(No Relation to Hormone Replacement Therapy).........i was,.........but now im not going to make this easy for you,so look it up!

Mr Majic

Blokee ? So does that make you a Blokess ? (which for an apparently a Perpetual Student,you should have known is not in the English Dictionary)

Clue: You cant apply for Working Tax Credits unless one or other partner is working (in your case your Blokee) ,which would need to be checked out with the Border Agency,to see if there is a contravention of the (Blokees Visa)

Edited December 9, 2010 by MAJIC

[Thongkorn]

,I have lived in England all my life. I have never been out of work, Never claimed any Dole or any other Subsistence from the government. I have payed my taxes for all my working life 41 years., I own my House through hard work , I married a Thai lady, I applied for a settlement visa which i did for myself, She /we got it first time. In it, it states "No Recourse to public funds",So I have paid for her a visa, I pay for her Education because she is not entitled to any public funds, I pay more council tax because she lives with me in our home. She cannot claim Dole money or job seekers allowance because she hasn't any tax credits, but she works and pays tax, Wish i could claim some thing , OK let the slagging off begin

[Richard W]

Blokee ? So does that make you a Blokess ? (which for an apparently a Perpetual Student,you should have known is not in the English Dictionary)

The OP was an English teacher in Thailand. 'Nuff said.

Clue: You cant apply for Working Tax Credits unless one or other partner is working (in your case your Blokee) ,which would need to be checked out with the Border Agency,to see if there is a contravention of the (Blokees Visa)

Clue 2: He's in the UK on a settlement visa, so his working will merely confirm that the truth was told about his employability in his visa application.

[skeets]

Jeez,

sounds like some of you need to go back to thailand and see if they have a smile to spare.

1, I was refering to my husband as my bloke, or in this case bloke ee like you might say wifey, I was being humerous, It's not because i can not spell.

2, I too have always worked and always payed NI and taxes, even when living in Thailand. I have never claimed benefits in my life and neither has anyone in my family so dont start thinking I'm someone out of the Jeremy Kyle show just because I said the word 'benefits' because it is not true.

3, Student finance is a loan, made up of a tuition fee loan and a maintenence fee loan, it is not free money.

4, I often came back to England in my Thai school holidays (I worked in a Thai school I was not a student) and worked, again paying NI and taxes.

5 My husband is working, quite often 6 days a week but it is a minimum wage job.

6 I also am working, usually 2 days a week but now its the school holidays I am working everyday.

7 Actually if i really wanted to i could claim housing benefit, and working tax credits and child tax credits and child benefit. I know this because 2 sperate people at the HM Revenue and Customs office have told me so.

Thanks again to all the nice cheerful helpful people.

[kennkate]

Skeets Claim all you can, Thay don't make it easy so if you are entiteld go for it.

I worked all my life, And served 9 years in HM forces

The treatment I have recived from the Pension service as been awfull. All is well now but it did take 2 years and all along the way I was 100% honest with them

It was very frustrating and they did try to fob me off most of the time saying I had not recived my forms.

Go for it and keep at them they are trained to say NO

[skeets]

Hi Kennkate,

The thing is I didnt really want to claim, I wanted to take out a loan from student finance, that way I would have been paying it back, but turns out i can't borrow money but I can have it for free! doesnt make any sence to me but i don't make the rules. We have decided to stay with my folks but claim for the working tax credit, as the husband works upto 6 days a week but still earns under a certain amount.

I think it's disgusting how x servicemen are treated after all that they have done for our country.

Good luck for the future.

Skeets

[yeesipha]

Skeets as you are britsh citizen? You are entitled to claim any benefits that you qualify for.go ahead and claim for everything you are entitled to. Go take a look at a site called immigration boards.com they have a dedicated section in there that deals with benifit claims,take a look at the sticky at the top of their page ,will put your mind at rest. Agree with you some people on this site are w123456s,and need to understand that its the UK government that make the benefit system and laws,not them.go ahead and claim,if you don't somebody else will.

[CharlieB]

,I have lived in England all my life. I have never been out of work, Never claimed any Dole or any other Subsistence from the government. I have payed my taxes for all my working life 41 years., I own my House through hard work , I married a Thai lady, I applied for a settlement visa which i did for myself, She /we got it first time. In it, it states "No Recourse to public funds",So I have paid for her a visa, I pay for her Education because she is not entitled to any public funds, I pay more council tax because she lives with me in our home. She cannot claim Dole money or job seekers allowance because she hasn't any tax credits, but she works and pays tax, Wish i could claim some thing , OK let the slagging off begin

No slaggin off, but why did you feel it necessary to post this. Next time, maybe just have another beer instead. You're not the only person that works and pays for things you know, but we don't all feel it necessary to vent steam in every direction.

[Thongkorn]

,I have lived in England all my life. I have never been out of work, Never claimed any Dole or any other Subsistence from the government. I have payed my taxes for all my working life 41 years., I own my House through hard work , I married a Thai lady, I applied for a settlement visa which i did for myself, She /we got it first time. In it, it states "No Recourse to public funds",So I have paid for her a visa, I pay for her Education because she is not entitled to any public funds, I pay more council tax because she lives with me in our home. She cannot claim Dole money or job seekers allowance because she hasn't any tax credits, but she works and pays tax, Wish i could claim some thing , OK let the slagging off begin

No slaggin off, but why did you feel it necessary to post this. Next time, maybe just have another beer instead. You're not the only person that works and pays for things you know, but we don't all feel it necessary to vent steam in every direction.

First i do not drink , I just said MY piece nobody Else's, And i was not venting steam , i was making a point , that Like a lot of other people who live in England work hard claim nothing and pay every thing, it seems to me the workers get nothing in return.

[7by7]

Thonkorn, this topic is about what the OP can and cannot rightfully claim and what new immigrants, particularly those with spouse visas, can rightfully claim.

No more off topic rants.

BTW, your wife doesn't need tax credits to claim benefits, tax credits are a benefit! As claims for tax credits have to be made jointly you and she can claim them together even if her visa is endorsed "no recourse to public funds."; provided you meet the other requirements, of course; see tax credits. I suspect that you are confusing tax credits with NI contributions.