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Dear Guru,

I'm going to apply ILR by the end of this year, through Tier1(G). I rent house before 2009 with council tax included. After I get married, I live with my wife who is a fulltime oversea phd student. I started to pay council tax myself on 2009, for several months, but later I was refunded as we are exempted according to my local council's policy. This is the original statement from FAQ on their website:

13. I’m a student from abroad and my partner is living with me. Do we have to pay Council Tax?
You may or may not have to pay Council Tax. You may be able to claim a full exemption from Council Tax. To qualify for this exemption your partner must be prevented from working or claiming benefits in this country. We will want to see your student certificate, visa and both passports.


I'm not entitled to public funds so I'm not counted when caculating council tax. The council officer admitted this and took photo copies of both our documents and granted the exemption. A few weeks later we got the bills, but the exemption reason was "all students". Now I plan to apply for ILR, will this cause problems if I use the bills as cohabitation evidence? I'm also very worried about council tax as usually all workers should pay council tax. I'm pretty scraed by a few relative posts several days ago.

Any suggestion/comment much appricated. Many thanks!

IN WHICH category u r applying ?

10, 14 , t1 etc

hi sushil -ACCA

in first line he has mentioned Tier 1

You applied for refund for which you were not entitled as full exemption is only available if you were prevented from working - which is not the case
You may get away with it and ILR

But my advice is to pay back the refund obtained as well as the tax due

Sushil-ACCA wrote:IN WHICH category u r applying ?

10, 14 , t1 etc

I'm applying through T1G

jami wrote:You applied for refund for which you were not entitled as full exemption is only available if you were prevented from working - which is not the case
You may get away with it and ILR

But my advice is to pay back the refund obtained as well as the tax due

Thank you very much jami. When I disscussed with another officer with the document online, he consulted a senior officer and gave me full examption. I asked a few other people in the same situation, they pay 75%, although not live with the same council.

your partner must be prevented from working or claiming benefits in this country

The logic is "OR", where my situation seems reasonable. We'll start to pay council tax anyway by the end of this month as my wife finished full time study. I didn't use any false document to mislead them into making this decision. HO won't question council's decision, right?

I haven't seen any posts here saying you need a council tax proof for ILR tru tier1, which posts are you talking about?

your partner must be prevented from working or claiming benefits in this country

i would think this exemption is valid when a dependant (who is not working) reads it and not for someone employed.

If you are working, you have to pay council tax. end of.
If you are living on your own you can get 25% discount and the same if you are living with students.

you were working and not paying council tax might be considered as recieving (council) benefits. Better get an advise from a solicitor or an expert of this board.

MPI wrote:I haven't seen any posts here saying you need a council tax proof for ILR tru tier1, which posts are you talking about?

True. I'm not required to provide council tax bills. But some posts say HO will also check the address of the applicant.

I've decided to ask council about this again. If they require me pay back I'll pay them. This is not my fault but I don't know how to explain to HO if they find that I "owe" council tax.

At first I plan to use these documents as cohabitation proof, the only documents with both names, but it looks like a high risk if I provide them.


Thanks for all your replies!