{"id":143,"date":"2013-01-07T15:46:25","date_gmt":"2013-01-07T15:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/2013\/01\/07\/eu-nationals-and-access-to-the-british-welfare-state-2\/"},"modified":"2013-01-07T15:46:25","modified_gmt":"2013-01-07T15:46:25","slug":"eu-nationals-and-access-to-the-british-welfare-state-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.migrationwatchuk.org\/news\/2013\/01\/07\/eu-nationals-and-access-to-the-british-welfare-state-2\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Nationals and access to the British Welfare State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Once an EU National has been granted \u201chabitual residence\u201d the
\nentire UK benefit system becomes available.  Habitual
\nresidence is, in practice, very easy to obtain even for the unemployed. In
\nsome circumstances it can, in effect, be obtained from day one.<\/p>\n

Detail<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 All EU nationals have an initial right to reside in
\nthe UK for three months. Thereafter, EU nationals can extend their
\nright of residence if they are:<\/p>\n

\uf0b7   a jobseeker<\/p>\n

\uf0b7   a worker<\/p>\n

\uf0b7   a student<\/p>\n

\uf0b7   self-employed
\nperson<\/p>\n

\uf0b7   self-sufficient
\nperson<\/p>\n

3 To gain full access to the welfare state the EU national has to be considered habitually resident[1]<\/a>. Factors considered may
\ninclude the applicant\u2019s intention to be resident in the UK. This can be can be
\ndemonstrated by registering with a GP, putting your name on the electoral roll,
\nregistering your children with the Local Authority for school, having
\naccommodation available, having your family with you or joining relatives
\nalready here. Cases are decided individually based on the applicant\u2019s
\ncircumstances\u2013 there are no firm criteria which indicate habitual
\nresidence.<\/p>\n

4 The time an applicant has been resident in the UK is also a
\nfactor. However some EU nationals, such as those who have worked in another EEA
\nstate, can be accepted as habitually resident immediately on arrival; for
\nothers the period of actual residence required is between one and three months[2]<\/a>. <\/p>\n

5 EU nationals habitually resident as workers can access all the work
\nrelated benefits in the same manner as a British national; these include
\nworking tax credit, child tax credit, contribution-based Job Seekers Allowance
\n(JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance. They can also claim housing benefit
\nand council tax benefit and be considered
\nfor social housing[3]<\/a>. The local authority has
\nto treat any application for social housing in the same way as it would treat
\nan application from a British resident.<\/p>\n

6 EU nationals unemployed and habitually resident as job-seekers can
\nclaim all the benefits an unemployed British resident can claim. This includes
\nincome-based JSA, child benefit, housing benefit and council tax
\nbenefit. There is no time limit to being a job-seeker and the
\nbenefits can be claimed for as long as someone is considered to be seeking
\nemployment.<\/p>\n

7 This access to the welfare state will be fully extended to Romanian
\nand Bulgarian nationals when transitional arrangements come to an end
\non 31 December 2013. Currently the easiest way for nationals of these
\ncountries to access the welfare state is to gain habitual residence as a
\nself-employed person. Once habitual residence has been granted it is retained –
\nregardless of whether the person remains self-employed or not.<\/p>\n

8  There is no information on the amounts paid to foreign
\nnationals as the UK\u2019s benefit system does not currently record the
\nnationality of claimants since nationality itself is not a condition of
\nentitlement.   The government intend to record nationality when
\nthe Universal Credit system is introduced, beginning in October 2013.<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/strong><\/p>\n

9 It would be greatly preferable if benefits were conditional on an EU
\nnational acquiring \u201cpermanent residence\u201d; this requires five years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n

[1]<\/a>
\nStudents and people considered
\nself-sufficient do not have access to the full range of benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a>
\nHouse of Commons Library Note, SN\/SP\/416 www.parliament.uk\/briefing-papers\/SN00416<\/strong>.pdf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.migrantsrights.org.uk\/files\/publications\/FAQ-rights-benefits-A8-May-2011.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary 1 Once an EU National has been granted \u201chabitual residence\u201d the entire UK benefit system becomes available.  Habitual residence is, in practice, very easy to obtain even for the unemployed. In some circumstances it can, in effect, be obtained from day one. Detail 2 All EU nationals have an initial right to reside in the UK for three months. Thereafter, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,13,7,4,11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-employment","category-european-union","category-health","category-housing","category-welfare-benefits"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEU Nationals and access to the British Welfare State - Migration Watch UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.migrationwatchuk.org\/news\/2013\/01\/07\/eu-nationals-and-access-to-the-british-welfare-state-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU Nationals and access to the British Welfare State - Migration Watch UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary 1 Once an EU National has been granted \u201chabitual residence\u201d the entire UK benefit system becomes available.  Habitual residence is, in practice, very easy to obtain even for the unemployed. In some circumstances it can, in effect, be obtained from day one. 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