I have a client who has lived in this country since he was seven years old, when his mother moved to Uk when she married a Uk national, she was originally from Belize (a commonwealth country at that time).

The client has worked and claimed benefits for many years including Housing and Council tax benefit. However when client moved here, he was refused HB/CTB on grounds of non status, and told to apply for naturalisation, which he has done, but is taking time, in the meantime his rent arrears are accumulating, threatening his tenancy. I spoken to Immigration and his solicitor who both say he has no status. I am not an expert on immigration so am not sure what this means. He is receiving ICB OK. I should also mention that client has severe mental health problems, diagnosed as psychotic illness, and all this is having a detormental effect on his mental health. I will try for discretionary housing payments, but do not hold out much hope as vritually no funding till April.

Are HB/CTB correct in denying benefit.

Having not found anything on non status issues, I am assuming that HB are referring to right to reside, until they reply to my query to clarify their grounds. This being correct, I have done some further digging and discovered that Belize is still a commonwealth country and therefore covered under HB right to reside rules.

Does anyone have the relevant caselaw relating to commonwealth countries and the right to reside, as I think HB will not budge unless I can quote legislation at them.

This is just a guess. First of all, when did he come to the UK and when did his mother get married? As far as I am aware, before the 1971 Immigration Act all Commonwealth citiezens (British subjects) had an unfettered right to come and live in this country. That changed when the Act came into effect which I think was in October 1971, and substantially the distinction of people with and without the right of abode came into existence. Then the 1981 British Natioanlity Act retained the right of abode for (among others) female Commonwealth citizens who before 1.1.1983 were married to British Citizens. It sounds very likely that this is your client's position: his mother falling into this group, but he not being old enough to have come in pre 1971. Does that add up?

If that is so he himself does not have the right of abode and is a Commonwealth citizen. I am assuming that the reference to "status" is to his immigration status. It would have made life a lot easier if his step-father had adopted him, as then he would be British, though I do not know if this would have been possible.

Unless you can find out what his present immigration staus is, and how it fits into domestic immigration law (eg settled status, right of abode, illegal immigrant) it is impossible to establish if that status gives him a right to reside. Has he ever held a passport and what, if any, endorsements are there on it?

thanks for your reply. As far as i can tell he came to this country in 1983, this based on the client telling me that he came to this country when he was seven and he was born in 1976, as he seems to have no paperwork and his mental health problems make it difficult for him to remember dates.

I shall wait for the reply from HB and consider my course of action. I may post another message once i have the reply and i cann be sure of their grounds for declining HB.