CCM18040 - Child Benefit and Tax Credits: Residence
Child Benefit and CTC
Generally for both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit:
- the claimant must be present and ordinarily resident in the UK
- there are no special rules for seafarers and offshore workers
- crown servants posted abroad are treated as being in the UK and their partners and children can be as well
- people who make a Child Benefit and/or a Child Tax Credit claim on or after 1 May 2004 and do not have the right to reside in the UK are treated as not being in the UK
- temporary absences can be ignored:
- they must not be expected to last more than 52 weeks at the beginning
- the first eight weeks are always ignored
- the first twelve weeks if its in connection with their or a relative’s ill health or the death of a relative.
Ordinarily resident means that they must normally reside in the UK (apart from temporary or occasional absences), and that their residence here must have been adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes as part of the regular order of their life for the time being.
Child Benefit only
For Child Benefit the child or qualifying young person must also
be in the UK in the week for which Child Benefit is payable.
Temporary absences of less than 12 weeks are ignored as are
absences linked to the child’s or qualifying young
person’s education or because of illness.
There is separate Social Security legislation for Great
Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland (NI). But where two or more
people would be entitled to Child Benefit for the same child or
qualifying young person in the same week under both GB and NI
legislation only one of them is entitled. Where the child or
qualifying young person is in GB, the GB legislation is used. Where
the child or qualifying young person is in NI the NI legislation is
used.
