TCTM02109 - Entitlement: Immigration rules

Transitional rules: people who claimed asylum before 5 February 1996

The Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, Reg. 5(a), (b) and (c)(i)

People subject to immigration control can still claim CTC if they were entitled to support for their children through income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance for the period immediately before they were first awarded CTC provided they:

• had claimed asylum before 5 February 1996 and they were entitled to income support immediately before that date or, on 5 February 1996, they were a member of the family of such a person; and
• have not ceased to be an asylum seeker. (A person ceases to be an asylum seeker for these purposes when the Home Office makes a decision on their claim. They cannot continue to benefit from this transitional exception after such a decision, even if they are pursuing an appeal against that decision.)

It doesn’t matter if a person has experienced a break in their entitlement to income support between 5 February 1996 and the date they start to receive CTC. But they must be receiving support for their children through income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance for the period immediately before they were first awarded CTC.