Yeah, I'm sure the authorities will be just as robust in enforcing the child benefit rules as they are in securing our borders to illegal migrants and deporting those apprehended.
Meanwhile the problem of migrants living/working here but being able to claim CB for kids not even living in the UK remains for now. What's a fairly modest sum in the UK for a couple of children has been a seriously nice earner for anyone whose family is living in Europe's poorer nations. Rule changes are in the pipeline to restrict the amounts paid to local rates but the Polish are apparently considering raising their rates which will mean the UK might still have to pay more:
Quote:
A Polish plan to introduce a new £87-a-month child benefit payment could mean Britain will have to pay more under the terms of David Cameron’s EU renegotiation, experts have warned.
The new Polish scheme, which is designed to encourage more Poles to remain in the country and have larger families, could take some of the gloss off one of the key wins in Mr Cameron’s EU renegotiation package.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...n-eu-deal.html
Interestingly the Poles seem to think child benefit will have the effect of persuading people to have more children...
http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/290
Solely for comparison purposes, according to the tables in the above link, the UK rate of CB for 2 kids alone is worth more than the entire household income of a single adult on minimum wage in Bulgaria and Romania, after tax and including benefits.
It'll be interesting to see if the 'loophole' is now closed for good.