sdknet78

Hello,

my wife is a British citizen and we 2 kids British as well, and I am US citizen, she with the kids living in UK and I am living abroad. she is thinking to claim the child tax credit at the same time I am planning to apply for a spouse visa, she has been told it should not be a problem if she is only claiming child tax credit and child benefit and will not affect my spouse visa application when I apply. In fact I will apply under savings amount of 62500 GBP I am just waiting until I gather the amount ready and will wait 6 or 7 months and then i will apply.

so i just need some advice to know if my wife the british citizen claiming the child tax credit and child benefit wont affect my application.

formula

She MUST declare all your savings and assets in her claim for Tax Credits. UKVI share information with other UK departments, but your capital/savings/assets won't affect her claim by too much as there is no cap for claiming Tax Credits.

However, that anomaly of Tax Credits being the only income based benefits with no savings cap, is being corrected under the welfare reforms. If your wife is in an area where Tax Credits has already been replaced by the new One Income Based Benefit, Universal Credit, then your savings will be too much for her to claim.

As you live outside the EEA, then she claims Child Tax Credits as a single person, but she must immediately change her claim to both your names when you arrive. That won't affect your status in the UK, but it will be benefit fraud if she doesn't change her single claim to a joint claim and at the very least, she will have to pay all the money back if she doesn't do that.

So no, it won't affect your application to enter the UK as you are using savings to meet the financial requirement. But, as said, she must declare all your savings with her claim and change her Tax Credit claim to a joint claim as soon as you arrive. Remember that UKVI and HMRC (who handle the benefit Tax Credits) share information.

The Child Benefit claim must remain in her name until you have ILR. However, if you earn in excess of 50k(ish) then that will affect her claim as Child Benefit is an income based benefit.

sdknet78

Really Thanks for your reply , and hopefully you could help me on the following points
1) I could not understand your paragraph " However, that anomaly of Tax Credits being the only income based benefits with no savings cap, is being corrected under the welfare reforms. If your wife is in an area where Tax Credits has already been replaced by the new One Income Based Benefit, Universal Credit, then your savings will be too much for her to claim."
By the way she is living in LONDON.

2) my concern is when they going to see that my wife receiving child tax credit at the same time when they assess my spouse visa application they want to see that we can support ourselves without a public fund,,
is my concern right ?

3)My saving of ( 62500) will be relaying on a Land in my country which I am going to sell and deposit the money in bank , so how we should declare that with tax credit for the time being( now ) and after I sell it and the money will be on my account.

formula

It doesn't matter where she lives as Tax Credits are the same in cheap areas or expensive areas of the country.

Tax Credits is an income based benefit. Income based benefits are meant to be for those who are poor i.e. don't have much savings, don't have another property or capital etc, but that got missed on Tax Credits when that benefit was invented in 2002(?). Which means that people are claiming that income based benefit even if they have lots of savings, shares, property that they don't live in, land, a thriving business with a creative accountant ect

Part of the welfare reform that started in 2008 and is taking ages to be rolled out across the country, means the UK are getting rid of several income based benefits and lumping them under a new 1 income based benefit called Universal Credit. Universal Credit will all be dealt with by the DWP (no more Tax Credits benefits dealt with by HMRC) and have that savings, capital ect cap (in additition to some very strict requirments, time limit for claiming ect).


Which means that many of those on the income based benefit Tax Credits, will not qualify for anything when Tax Credits are replaced by Universal Credit in their benefit area i.e. "that anomaly of Tax Credits being the only income based benefits with no savings cap, is being corrected under the welfare reforms". Some claimants may get transitional protection, but not many.

You are applying under savings for your spouse visa and as said, savings don't matter for Tax Credits (only Universal Credit). As long as she declares your savings (which are hers too as you are married and she needs them to show UKVI she can sponsor you) she will be ok. BUT, your savings will very likey affect any claim she has for other income based benefits such as Housing Benefit and she must advice them of this land and then then savings.

She declares the land and the valuation and then when it is sold, the profit. Do it in writing and keep copies to avoid any problems later if they deny she told them.

When she receives her Tax Credit award letter it is her responsibility to check that all your land and savings, are mentioned on that award letter. If the benefits agency missed it off that award letter then she must inform them otherwise she might be paying back all the benefit money when UKVI inform HMRC and other benefit agencies of all the savings.

It may be that they don't take your land and savings into account as you don't live in the EEA, but she will need that in writing from HMRC. I'm not sure of UKVIs view on your savings being jointly owned in law. If HMRC do use the value of your land/the sale of the land to calculate Tax Credits, it will be reduce her claim using the interest on the savings and not the actual amount.

sdknet78

I really appreciate your detailed response ,

when my wife will apply for single claim child tax credit , does she need to declare my job salary also ?, even if I am working and live overseas non EEA, and also my salary in foriegn currency and it is very difficult to exchange and transfer to UK.

formula

She is best to declare everything and let Tax Credits work out what she can and can't have. Never mess with HMRC. Just make sure she gets everything in writing to avoid any problems, or record the time she phones Tax Credits.

You can try Benefits & Tax Credits - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums for a very accurate response as to what your wife must declare to HMRC as a poster on there (blondebubbles) works for Tax Credits and is up to date on the rules. They won't know about immigration rules though for your visa but will know about overseas incomes and land/savings for tax credits claims. Tax Credits is very complicated and blondebubbles is the best person to help you and if give her your figures, she will be able to work out the amount your wife will be given. I've never claimed them so what I have put is what I have read.

sdknet78

Thanks a lot

alfista1

I'm not risking anything. Haven't claimed anything since I arrived. Easier to fill out the form also.
Once we have the visa then I may reconsider.

formula

You couldn't claim any benefits for 3 months anyway when you moved to the UK as you had been living abroad for years.


Now that your son has returned back with his mother when her visitor visa ended, you can't claim anything for him as he isn't living in the UK.

You can't claim any benefits for yourself as you earn too much, which is why the spouse visa financial requirement was set at 18.6.

When your wife returns on a spouse visa with your son, you will be able to claim income based benefits for your son if your income is less than 26k (for tax credits benefits).

alfista1

Yes that is what I am thinking of.

formula

But don't bank on anything from the welfare state. The UK has had to bring in an annual welfare cap to control the welfare bill and that started this month. Whichever party forms the next government will have to make welfare cuts to keep to the annual limit or change who can claim. And then keep making those cuts each tax year to keep to the annual welfare cap. The same for the government after that.

Thats why I don't understand why some people hope the 18.6 requirement is lowered as they could just be swapping poverty in the country they are living in with poverty in another country if they don't get their head down and work for years when they get to the UK. 18.6k is already below poverty level for a family and the more claiming from the welfare state, the deeper the cuts will be.

There hasn't been a guaranted roof over a Brits head or food in their belly for about 8/9 years now, ever since the welfare bill exceeded the income tax the government take. Even the foodbanks are referral only based on a set formula; with a limit of of 2/3 times a month and the crisis government loans have been stopped and that money given to the foodbanks. Yet still people arrive expecting to be fed, housed and are shocked when they find they don't have enough to live on.

Cap on Welfare Spending

Total welfare spending, excluding the State Retirement Pension and some unemployment benefits including Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit for Jobseekers, will be capped for 2015/16 at £119.5bn.

If more spending is required on one area of welfare, cuts will have to be made elsewhere in the welfare budget, to stay within the overall cap.
http://www.turn2us.org.uk/informatio...timetable.aspx

State retirement pension is now only for those who have made their own contribution to the UK for at least 10 years, but even then they would only gt 10/35ths of a state pension. No more piggybacking a UK state pension off a partners contributions. Jobseekers is already limited to 2 years (or just 3 months for those using the EEA route to the UK).

Work hard, save and take out insurance for times of sickness or loss of job.