Child benefit

[Shooperoo]

Could anyone tell me if I qualify to apply for child benefit for my partner,s children as they live with me now. They were born in Britain but my partner has no recourse to public funds still fighting for her stay after being in the uk for 12 years.

Where are you living?

Presumably they aren't your DC so you don't have parental responsibility and your p is a non EEA citizen.

Child benefit is not public funds in the legal definition of public funds, anyone legally in the UK can claim it with parental responsibility which could only be granted to you by a court.

If they are your partner, well then if you are GBR, the way to regularize stay in the UK is to apply for settlement. You will need yourself to prove you are in a legal relationship and that your personal income is 22.4k gross for 1 child, add 2.4k for additional children. If you are an EEA/EU/Swiss national, you need to prove you're in a legal relationship. If you are GBR, you can leave the UK for 6 months and spend that time legalizing your stay in another EU country for 3 months - study, work, investment - then the GBR can return under EEA regs 2006 where there is no financial minimum in income to prove, it is called "Surinder Singh".

What I recommend is not to use any legal advisors but to do it yourself, it really is not difficult if you follow the rules of finances and legal relationship. Of course if your partner has a criminal record with sentencing of 2 years +, you can forget basically plans, as the UK will not entertain foreign criminals settling in the UK (theoretically) unless you can successfully claim article 8 HRA as that foreign national can only establish a family life in the UK - the most hated and abused piece of legislation against UK interests but it's still there so take advantage, it will be the first act repealed if and when the UK leaves the EU.