Universal Credit entitlement criteria

[HappyGoGoLucky]

Good morning everyone.

Sorry I have put this in the wrong thread, but I see more people post on here so you might be able to help me with something

I have applied for universal credits because tax credits cancelled my claim due to overpayment. They said I now have to apply for UC to claim again so I did that. However it says that I have to apply jointly with my husband. I had to create an online application for both of us. My husband does not have recourse to public funds and doing so can affect his right to stay/visa.

I put on the journal that he is fully aware of this and the reason I had to put a joint claim is

a) we are a married couple living together. Putting that I'm single is dishonest

b) we both work so his income should also be counted when assessing the claim

c) he is expecting them to fully reject his claim and just take his income into consideration when processing my claim

Is that OK? We are both honest people and would never think about lying about this sort of thing and ultimately putting his visa in jeopardy.

I am really worried I've messed it up now! But I am really relying on this as we desperately need help with childcare costs :( we both only earn minimum wage so not rich!

Thanks everyone.

If your partner is a person subject to immigration control you must claim Universal Credit as a single person. However your partner’s income and capital is taken into account.

Taken from www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Nationals-of-non-European-Economic-Area-(EEA)-coun/My-partner-is-a-person-subject-to-immigration-cont

Well that's great :/

Thanks. I am going to ring them to cancel the claim and start it again.

I've called them and they said what I've done is correct. You still have to apply as a joint couple whether you or they are entitled to it or not as we are a couple living together.

In this situation you can claim as a single person but your partner's income will still be counted. Try to find a local welfare rights service who can help you.

Under the old benefits, you applied as a couple. The income of the partner without recourse was taken into account, but claim was otherwise assessed on a single adult basis. The overall entitlement was therefore lower.

I haven't come across this scenario in UC yet, as my clients are mostly single people, but I don't think they'd make it any more generous. And because on my new team we have someone who's brilliant at all these recourse/right to reside things, and loves them, so we give them all to him!