Thread: Getting Child Benefit from the UK

My wife maybe in the family way, any idea if it's possible to claim UK child benefit if you're living abroad?

is she british?
if not i would say no
youd have to go and get a ni number and all that
i can tell you the embassy will be fuck all use of this matter as they knew shit about getting ni numbers

hmmm well we both have national insurance numbers but have stopped paying our national insurance stamp so i think that means we can't get anything according to this government webpage.

HM Revenue & Customs: Child Benefit if you’re living or working abroad

however i think if we paid the stamp again before the birth we can, although that may work out being more expensive.

Having been to the Embassy a good few times they don't seem to know much about anything, i asked them to confirm I attended a UK high school but they couldn't, anyway they stamped the piece of paper saying I did which was good enough for the Thais. lol

if she is a brit there is no reason wht you couldnt and child benefit is not related to stamp as its not for you but your kid who is a citizen
now i dont knoow for sure
but i imagine if you registered the kid at a UK address with a uk NI there is no reason that you couldnt get the money the kid is due

child allowance is available regardless of income tax etc as far as i know?
dont see it as the same thing as the child would never have been in a position to pay tax and by the time they are they obviously can no longer claim it

its not spongoing but a right like a passport, an encouragement from gordon to have more tax payers if you like
the mechanics of getting it i have no firm idea

well, If a Pole works in the UK and has paid national insurance then moves back to Poland he/she gets UK child benefits, so I think i should be entitled to something I did pay my stamp for more than 10 years.

I know this doesn't really answer your question DaveyG, but my wife's son (both Thai) gets UK child benefit, although I am working and paying taxes/NI in the UK and he is going to school in the UK.

I was in the same position as you before I applied, asking will they give us anything or not?
I thought that there's no harm in trying, applied for it, waited 5 months and got it.

You can't claim child benefit unless you are living in the UK. This is what it says on the inland revenue website:
Child Benefit - do you qualify?

You normally qualify for Child Benefit if you have children under 16 (or under 20 and in relevant education or training) and you live in the UK.


Child Benefit if you're living or working abroad

If you go abroad to live or work you may still be able to get Child Benefit. If you're only going abroad for less than eight weeks, you can carry on getting Child Benefit without doing anything further.
If you're temporarily in another country

If you expect to be out of the UK for less than 52 weeks this is called a 'temporary absence'. If you're abroad temporarily you'll be able to get Child Benefit:

• for the first eight weeks - it doesn't matter why you're away
• for the first 12 weeks - if you are abroad because you or a member of your family, for example your child, a brother, sister or grandparent is either getting treatment for an illness or a physical or mental disability, or dies

...although the rules are different if you are living in an EEA country.

Ah so i guess we won't qualify unless we have the baby there, i guess I do still technically live there though, I mean i'm not a Thai resident, anyway maybe easier for me to paint myself brown and claim asylum, at least that way i'll get a house or something.

don't forget to apply for child tax alowance and housing benefit while you're at it

...maybe a spot of incapacity benefit and income support too....

I'd suggest JSA too, but you might need to sign on for that every two weeks...

And unemployment benefit too, in case you are "technically" not working.

EDIT: ^ Beat me to it you bastard