ILR Visa-claming benefits

[sayyid]

I am a British Citizen. I want to apply for ILR for my wife. She is a full-time student. Will council tax benefit (because she is a student) affect the ILR application?

[dnicky]

No.

[John]

Will council tax benefit (because she is a student) affect the ILR application?

If you are merely thinking about the 25% discount, because there is only one "counting adult" in the place, that is not Council Tax Benefit! It is something entirely different.

[sayyid]

Thanks for the help

Therefore, should I not tick the council tax benefit box on the application form

[John]

Again, if you are merely concerned about the 25% discount, because your wife is a full-time student, no you should not tick the Council Tax Benefit box on the form.

Council Tax Benefit is something entirely different, and is given to low income householders, who would have specifically filled in a claim form, declaring their income, in order to get such benefit. But the 25% discount, because there is only one "counting adult" in the place, is given irrespective of the income coming into the household.

[sayyid]

Thanks a lot John,

One more question if you dont mind.

My wife has all the ESOL qualifications (in fact she has GCSE standard qualifcation), does she still need to do life in Britain for ILR?

[John]

Yes she does, unless she is under 18 or at least 65!

Please appreciate that it is not just a question of having sufficient language ability, but also having studied about the Citizenship aspect. So unless outside the 18-65 age range, the Life in the UK Citizenship test pass is needed.

[sayyid]

Thanks for the reply John.

I asked because in the application form it asks to tick one box, either the ESOL or the Life in Britain, which made it confusing when I was pretty much sure she needed both.

Thanks for the help