TCTM02110 - Entitlement: Immigration rules

Transitional rules: asylum claims before 3 April 2000

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

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:

• claimed asylum on arrival in the UK from outside the Common Travel Area, and that claim was recorded as being made before 3 April 2000. (The Common Travel Area is the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. “Arrival” does not include re-entry to the UK);
• are nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and claimed asylum between 16 May and 15 August 1997 (inclusive); or
• are nationals of Sierra Leone, and claimed asylum between 1 July and 30 September 1997 (inclusive).

This transitional protection only lasts for as long as the person continues to count as 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.