Ilr On Benefits; UK

[tigerjohn]

hello, i have recently been put in what i think is a bad situation so would like any advice please, my wife and 2 kids are eligible to apply for their ilr at the end of this month, but i was laid off from work in may and have had no option but to apply for housing benefits, i was already on child tax credits because i wasnt earning big money, my wife works 20hrs per wk so i cannot get jobseekers due to her work, so i i claim child tax and housing benefit how will that affect their ilr, advice please i dont want to apply and waste the money on a refusal???

[7by7]

If you were in employment and paying class 1 NIC for the relevant period then you will be entitled to contribution based JSA. As your wife is only working 20 hours per week she is presumably not earning very much, so you may get some income based JSA as well or instead. Ask at your local Jobcentre.

The rule is that you can claim any and all public funds to which you are entitled but cannot claim any extra due to your wife and her children living with you, with some exceptions such as tax credits and child benefit. As long as you can support yourselves on this and your wife's earnings then she should not have a problem with the financial side of an ILR application.

They need to apply for something, either ILR or FLR, before their current leave expires or they will be in the UK illegally; and the financial requirements for FLR are the same as for ILR.

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[tigerjohn]

thanks 7by7 i understand about contribution based but my qualifying year i spent in thailand so not eligible, the only thing i was worried about really was the housing benefit but the way i was looking at it was they would have paid it even if i lived on my own (i assume) and the child tax and child benefit is my claim alone, my wife is on the housing benefit but only because they take her income into the equation, so you think i will be ok?

[7by7]

I think so, but the only way to be sure is to apply.

[bangkockney]

Child tax credits must be applied for jointly.

It won't impact your wife's ILR application.