Hi

I have been posed a question by one of my colleagues A Japanese national marries a British national and they have a child. The Japanese national has been given right to reside following 12 months of marriage and 12 months of working and paying PAYE and NI before that date. Should anything happen to the mother (British national), would the father be able to claim child benefit etc. Also would the Japanese national be able to claim state pension on reaching 65? And other benefits such as Incapacity Benefit, is he eligible to claim them.

Sorry if this is an obvious question, but this is not my forte!

I think you are saying that the Japanese national has indefinite leave to remain. If so, benefit entitlement is effectively the same as for a British citizen in most cases. The only real exception is where the ILR was granted pursuant to a maintenance undertaking, which would not apply to a spouse.