no recourse to public funds

[DivaDee]

i am the holder of a uk passport, and my family and i immigrated here from south africa in aug last year. my hubby and two sons have settlement visas, where the above "no recourse to public funds" was stamped. all was well, we came over with a little nest egg, and both got jobs. we were financially stable, had to pay upfront for rental for 6 months as no credit history etc. 2 weeks ago my hubby lost his job as the company he worked for since oct last year closed. can i claim any benefits to assist us financially as i am now the only one working. i have a uk passport.

[sara3]

if you're entitled to any benefits it will be for yourself only and not your partner or children.

depending on how many hours you work, you may be entitled to working tax credits, and possibly Income Support if your hours are very low and your capital is below the threshold. more here..

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefit s/index.htm

[bednobs]

when calculating any benefits you will be treated as if your parrtner and children didnt exist, so any family related benefits are out. As a "single person", you could as stated above claim means tested benefits but you would have to have a reasonably low wage to do this

[evedawn]

no - as far as i am aware the family will not be entitled to benefits of any kind. You may wish to ring up a firm of SA solicitors in London called "Breytenbachs"...(they always advertise in the freebie SA papers that come out weekly inlondon . they may be able to offer advice but I expect that they will tell you that no recourse to public funds means just that.

[evedawn]

i just wonder whyyour kids have settlement visa's? As the children of a UK citizent hey oughta be entitled to british citizenship even though not born here? unless your UK citizenship rights are as a result of an ancestral claim (ie: you were not born here but your parents or grandparents were?)

[themas]

I believe the regulations regarding Working and Child Tax Credits are different from those for other benefits. There are definitely immigration regulations for these tax credits which can give people who are in some categories of "Immigration Control" access to them provided the spouse or partner has a UK passport or is someone who is not subject to Immigration Control.

Whether this will help in your case I can't say, but you need to look into it. You could start by ringing the Tax Credit Helpline (0845 300 3900) and explaining the circumstances. However, unfortunately sometimes the advice given is not as comprehensive as it might be so it could be better to go to your local CAB or other welfare benefit advice centre.

[Mumof2]

This link has a little bit of info about your eligibility to claim 'public funds'

http://www.cpag.org.uk/cro/wrb/wrb186/public-f unds.htm