Money Reduced because I have married??? Is this right seems rather odd!!!!

[Stuart]

I'm somewhat confused as I've just been informed of 2 things. As a disabled person as I was living alone I had a A single person's disability premium.

Now I have married my finances goes down by about £50? I have been told this is because I'm living with my wife now.

The fact that she cannot claim public funds does not stop them recognizing Thus classing us as a couple despite the fact we cant claim that we are a couple and claim the married persons' rate!!! ... Not only that, they are claiming the money back I have been paid already back to January when we wed!!!

On top of that, I have been told that the money I have to pay for My wife's Immigration fees is not necessary despite the fact its a legal requirement (Indefinite leave to remain and Life in the UK test) Which she has to do to remain with me here!!!,,,,, Plus she has to do another English test!!! More Expense that it seems is my choice if I want her to stay??? Has anyone else been told this???? I have no idea how we can do it!!! Any Legal Eagles Out there???

[Terpe]

Stuart, you're going to need to provide more details of the benefits you get and which one(s) have been reduced before anyone can give a meaningful answer.

Just as an example I would guess that whilst living alone you received a 25% discount on your council tax. Now that another person is living with there with you that discount is gone.

I'm not sure which other benefits would be reduced on the basis of having another person in the house or now being married.

In connection with 'immigration fees', what visa does your wife have?
I'm guessing that she arrived here in UK with a spouse visa with 33 months validity from date of issue?
Means that 30 months from UK arrival she will need to apply for Further Leave to Remain for a second period of 30 months.

I'm afraid that there's no escaping the application fee for this which currently stands at £578

Once she has been in UK for 5 years she is eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Currently the application fee is £1051.
In order to be eligible for ILR she'll need to pass the Life in UK Test and also to pass English Language Test at level B1

I recall Life in UK test is around £50
I've no information on costs of English Language test.

Stuart, is your wife working?
She will need to consider securing some employment in order to bring some extra money to the household.

[Stuart]

Once she has been in UK for 5 years she is eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Currently the application fee is £1051.

Interesting we have been told its 2 years!!!!

I'm on Incapacity Allowance, & Income Support. Income support is reduced because I'm no longer living alone. Think its the Disability premium for living alone but not 100% sure.

[Terpe]

Stuart, you may find it useful to check your current position with regards to benefit payments.
Whilst it's true that your wife may not make claims for public funds in her own name, as a British Citizen you are fully entitled to make claims for any benefit to which you are eligible.

I would be interested to know which of your benefits have been reduced due solely to be married and living with your wife.

[Michael Parnham]

IELTS test £135!

[Terpe]

IELTS test £135!

That's a bit steep !!

[Michael Parnham]

That's a bit steep !!

That's correct Peter, Maritess is taking hers again in October. By the way, she is using review book IELTS Target 5. It does not indicate that it's B1. Also, what is the difference between B1 and the test she took in Philippines? Because her pass certificate does not say whether it's A1 or B1.

[Terpe]

That's correct Peter, Maritess is taking hers again in October

Didn't doubt you Michael........just made my eyes water at the cost Hahaha

..By the way, she is using review book IELTS target 5. It does not indicate that it's B1. Also, what is the difference between B1 and the test she took in Philippines? Because her pass certificate does not say whether it's A1 or B1.

Did Maritess take the IELTS test in Philippines?
If so then she would have already passed at level B1 or higher, so she should certainly have no difficulty in achieving the required level B1 again. Especially having spent time here in UK.

There's actually no such test called A1 test, B1 test etc. These are just descriptions of levels of competence described in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) that can be applied to the scores of various tests.

There is no actual pass or fail in IELTS, it's all down to scores.
For IELTS, each candidate takes all elements of the test (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) then gets graded on each element. The grades range from 1 to 9 with 1 being basically no ability at all (except a few odd words) and 9 having fluency and full understanding.

UKBA accept A1 level for settlement type visa but now will require B1 for ILR and Naturalisation (from October 2013 onwards)

IELTS candidates need to achieve a grade score of 4 to satisfy UKBA (4 is actually evaluated as a CEFR Level B1)
Officially IELTS does not have any accepted level A1 score evaluation.

Michael, I would not expect that the certificate of Maritess will state A1, B1 or any other CEFR level descriptor but I would expect the certificate to state the grade/score for each element. Can you confirm that this is the case?

As I said Michael, I would seriously doubt that anyone married to a Brit who has lived here in UK for a couple of years would have any difficulty at all in easily achieving level B1
Don't forget UKBA only require Speaking and Listening elements. No need to be concerned about any other elements or scores.

[Michael Parnham]

Didn't doubt you Michael........just made my eyes water at the cost Hahaha



Did Maritess take the IELTS test in Philippines?
If so then she would have already passed at level B1 or higher, so she should certainly have no difficulty in achieving the required level B1 again. Especially having spent time here in UK.

There's actually no such test called A1 test, B1 test etc. These are just descriptions of levels of competence described in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) that can be applied to the scores of various tests.

There is no actual pass or fail in IELTS, it's all down to scores.
For IELTS, each candidate takes all elements of the test (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening) then gets graded on each element. The grades range from 1 to 9 with 1 being basically no ability at all (except a few odd words) and 9 having fluency and full understanding.

UKBA accept A1 level for settlement type visa but now will require B1 for ILR and Naturalisation (from October 2013 onwards)

IELTS candidates need to achieve a grade score of 4 to satisfy UKBA (4 is actually evaluated as a CEFR Level B1)
Officially IELTS does not have any accepted level A1 score evaluation.

Michael, I would not expect that the certificate of Maritess will state A1, B1 or any other CEFR level descriptor but I would expect the certificate to state the grade/score for each element. Can you confirm that this is the case?

As I said Michael, I would seriously doubt that anyone married to a Brit who has lived here in UK for a couple of years would have any difficulty at all in easily achieving level B1
Don't forget UKBA only require Speaking and Listening elements. No need to be concerned about any other elements or scores.

Yes her scores are Listening 5.5, Reading 4.5, Writing 5.5, Speaking 6.0, Overall 5.5, She's busy studying at this moment and worries her pretty little head off!

[joebloggs]

That's a bit steep !!

Apart from it being a good maker

As you know, it's a 4-part exam and with waiting your turn, it can take most of the day so everyone needs a bit of the pie

[imagine]

It is correct that you are not entitled to single persons disability. As for how much the difference in rate is, i don't know, and as Terpe said also you lose your 25% single person's Council Tax reduction. It does seem so unfair when your wife is not being entitled to public funds. You need your wife to get some kind of work to help.

I'm afraid it looks like you will have to tighten your belt, to meet the oncoming fees.

I hope you can find some way of making up the difference by some sort of benefit or other.

Mght be worth visiting Citizens Advice to see if you are missing out on any benefits etc

[marksroomspain]

Hi Stuart if your wife submitted her visa application before 9th July 2012 then she can obtain ILR after 2 years under the old rules, if it was submitted on or after this date then she will be on the 5 year route under the new rules.

Hope that clarifies things on that point, good luck mate.

[Stuart]

OK, we'll just tighten our belts. I know we are not the only ones struggling atm!!!! Let's hope my wife can find a job soon! Thanx for all the advice everyone ....

[joebloggs]

You're not allowed to claim 'more' of a benefit because your wife is living with you

[grahamw48]

No need for her to pay a Chinese team to give her an earpiece and hidden cam while they feed her the answers from a parked up BMW outside...as reported on the TV last night. (Life in the UK test).

100s of successful candidates...each paying a large fee.

[Michael Parnham]

Thankyou Peter & Graham!

[Stuart]

OK CAB said do a benefits entitlement test came back I should be on £130 per week as its the disability premium that's stopped. They do this because my wife is entitled to claim it on Carers Allowance. (due to the fact she is an Immigrant that's not possible) Then things got complicated the Home Office has been asked about Marital Status but they say we are not married until the marriage is recorded on her passport?

This won't be updated until she gets a new one and gains British Status next year, so the decision maker refused to make a judgement.... They were told about our marriage in Jan but the Certificate went to the Home office as part of the change of circumstances for residence permit. So we could not provide it. So they have removed my disability premium because we are married, but still class me as single??? Bottom line is CAB are looking into it now. I'm sure they will be able to make more sense of things!!!

Why is life so complicated!!!

[Stuart]

Well CAB could not help. I'm not looking at claiming more benefits I just don't understand why they're reduced because she has moved in!!! It seems if an able person is in my house. I am no longer disabled. My wife is now working 20 hours a week so I should be better off, but now we have been told that her Immigration fees cant be taken into account as they are a lifestyle choice? (I thought this was a legal compulsory payment). Anyway, result is we now need to pay Council Tax and, as she is a carer, she has to work bank holidays. We get my housing benefit stopped... My EASA has also dropped due to her wages, and my income has dropped to just £84. It's very obvious her £120 per week wages has resulted in a £300 drop. In MY income, and more expenditure!!!! Are you confused... Well not as much as me!:

Erm: Advice please!!!! All you Brainy People out there!!!

[lordna]

Sorry to hear you're having problems just for being married Stuart. Similarly, I remember losing benefit related to my first (deceased) wife's pension when I remarried and from the date of marriage even though my wife couldn't live here in the UK as she hadn't yet got a visa. They also changed my CTC and WTC as I remember AND I was also no longer allowed the 25% discount on my council tax (as i was married) even though she wasn't in the country. My wife did get a job when she arrived (eventually) but financially it's never been easy.

Hope you manage to get it all sorted out.

[Stuart]

My wife did TOEIC before getting here, but now is sitting the IELTS (GENERAL) I don't understand the ins & outs of all the tests - all I know is our Chinese neighbour can't talk a word of English but she seems to be ignored by everyone!!! Most unfair!