pollybegoode

Hi,

I'm a British citizen living in the US with my US husband and daughter. We are planning to move back to England in 2018.
I wondered if I can get some advice on benefits. I've been told about the 16 hours of free childcare offered to 2 year olds. Would we be eligible for this when we arrive form the US?

Thank you!

spouse of scouse

Hi, all the info is here https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs

HKG3

If your daughter is British, you should apply for your daughter's British passport using the link below if she does not have one just now.

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

pollybegoode

Thanks for your responses.

I've applied for my daughters overseas passport but what I'm wondering is whether we would be eligible to apply for the free 16 hours of childcare for 2 year olds?

Would having my daughter have her UK passport mean that we are eligible?

Thanks!

verystormy

Most benefits require you to prove habitual residence. This generally means that you have to prove you have been living in the UK for three months.

spouse of scouse

From the link I posted:

Your 2-year-old can get free early education and childcare if you live in England and get one of the following benefits:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit
tax credits and you have an annual income of under £16,190 before tax
the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act
the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

A child can also get free early education and childcare if any of the following apply:

they’re looked after by a local council
they have a current statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education, health and care (EHC) plan
they get Disability Living Allowance
they’ve left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or adoption order

Unless your child qualifies under one of the bolded criteria it's unlikely you would be eligible for 2 year old child care. Your husband will need to apply for a spouse visa, and in order to meet the financial requirements of this visa you, as your husband's sponsor, will need to demonstrate that you have a job in the UK earning above the cut-off amount for benefits, or that you have sufficient cash savings which would also make you ineligible for benefits.

quiltman

you do realise YOU have to sponsor your husband for a spouse visa? This means you have to be earning £18600 a year, or have £62,500 in instant access savings? Here's the info re the financial requirements Appendix_FM_Annex_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf
I have assumed you will have obtained your daughters UK passport by then so do not need to include her in the financial requirements.

Victor Meldrew

As explored in great detail on a number of other threads, this 2012 ruling regards UK citizens with non-EU spouses is extremely unfair and I am amazed (or maybe not) that it has not been amended to take into account individuals' circumstances.

To have a situation whereby your husband is in a job earning eg £60,000 a year, and you unemployed, but still not meet the financial requirement is utterly ridiculous.

I am also wondering whether, once we leave the EU they introduce something similar for EU spouses.

quiltman

I would agree if the spouses job was guaranteed to continue in the UK , at a rate above the financial requirement. Alternatively if the spouse was offered a job in the UK then combine both incomes as you can for FLR and ILR. however, these are the current rules and so sponsors have to work with them. Other countries have similar barriers to spousal immigration but at least , in the US for instance, you can have a financial sponsor who is not your other half. I saw something some time ago that the government were thinking of applying the same financial rules to EU spouses after Brexit, but it will depend on what deal they come up with......

pollybegoode

Thank you for this. I guessed this was the case, but wanted to confirm as I've been out of the Uk for nearly 10 years so I'm out of the loop!

spouse of scouse

You're very welcome. Lots to get your head around when moving back home, especially with little ones.