TCTM02060 | Entitlement: Residence rules: Transitional protection
From HM Revenue & Customs · Tax Credits Technical Manual
Tax Credits (Residence) Regulations 2003, Reg. 7
For the purposes of CTC only, people who 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 are exempt from the requirement to be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for a period of three years after they are first awarded CTC if:
they had not already been awarded CTC before 6 April 2004; and
they were exempt from the residence test for income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance because they were either a refugee or a person with exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom.