Can anybody tell me where I can find regulations dealing with those asylum seekers (mainly from Zimbabwe)who have recently been granted indefinite leave to remain under the special ruling, can't remember what it's called - to do with having been in the UK for more than three years? It's the ruling to do with not being able to claim backdated benefits, particularly child benefit. It's seperate from the other ruling of June last year that stopped refugees claiming backdated benefits, I think.

I know that there is a specific clause in the letter from the Home Office stating that they have leave to remain, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. Any ideas?

If you are referring to the Legacy exercise (now Casework Resolution)then there are no regulations. They are granted indefinite leave to remain at the discretion of the secretary of state outside of the immigration rules. They are not considered to have been in the UK lawfully prior to the grant of status unlike refugees, who are considered to have been refugees and therefore lawfully present from the date of the asylum claim. Consequently they are not entitled to claim benefits prior to the grant of status.

Thanks for your answer David - I think our replies crossed in the ethernet!

I've just found the answer to this, so I thought I'd share it with you as it is almost impossible to find on the interwebnet.

The programme is called the case resolution programme and involves all asylum seekers who claimed asylum in the UK before March 2004. Those with a succesful outcome are granted indefinite leave to remain "exceptionally, outside the immigration laws" and are NOT refugees, and so cannot claim backdated benefits - although very few refugees can now.

The reason that I had asked in the first place was because there seemed to be some asylum seekers still being given fully backdated child benefit (from the time they claimed asylum) and others weren't. It seems that this is more down to HMRC staff not understanding the ruling rather than some people being entitled to it.

Thanks to staff at the Scottish Refugee Council for their help.