ADVISER: Migrant rights to housing benefit when receiving JSA

Hector contacted Housing Rights Service for help back in July. Hector is Spanish but had lived in Northern Ireland since the summer of 2013.  He’d had to return to Spain for two weeks during the summer to care for his uncle who’d just had a serious operation.  When he returned to NI, he found that his claim for housing benefit was refused, because of the recent changes to benefit entitlement for EEA nationals.  Our adviser was able to get Hector’s claim reinstated by properly investigating his circumstances. 

Hector’s work history in Northern Ireland

Hector arrived in NI from Spain in June 2013.  He found casual work quickly after arriving in Belfast and worked full time until October 2013, when he was made redundant.  He started claiming Jobseekers in October 2013 and began part time work in February when he got some work as a Spanish teacher.   His teaching job was only for two hours a week, so Hector continued to claim JSA and housing benefit.

Hector’s uncle was scheduled to have a serious operation at the start of June 2014.  He asked Hector to stay with him for a short period of time to help him recover from his surgery.  Hector told us that staff at the Social Security Agency and his local Housing Executive office said that he could reinstate his claim when he returned to NI.

Hector stayed on the sofa in his uncle’s home for three weeks, caring for him and making sure that he was taking his medication and following the doctor’s post-surgery care instructions.  After 21 days in Spain, he returned to NI and made a new claim for housing benefit.  The claim was rejected.  The Housing Executive refused the claim because they felt that Hector, as an EEA national who was not in employment, was not a qualified person.

EEA nationals claiming housing benefit

Since April 2014, it has been increasingly difficult for unemployed migrants to claim housing benefit.  People from abroad who are receiving Jobseekers Allowance will now only receive housing benefit if they can prove that they have a right to reside, other than their right to reside as a jobseeker.

Hector’s right to reside

As Hector had lived and worked in the UK before claiming Jobseekers Allowance, we needed to prove that he still had a right to reside as a former worker and was, therefore, entitled to claim housing benefit.

We submitted a revision request, arguing that

• Hector could have been entitled to a temporary absence payment of housing benefit for up to 4 weeks so he should not have had to cancel his claim when he went to Spain temporarily and did this based on advice from benefits staff.
• Hector should have been treated as a qualified person because he was a former worker.  Regulation 6 of The Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, as amended states that a person who is no longer working should continue to be treated as a worker if that person is

“in duly recorded involuntary unemployment after having been employed in the UK for less than one year, provided that he

(i) has registered as a jobseeker with the relevant employment office; and

(ii)satisfies conditions A, B and, where relevant C

The conditions that Hector had to satisfy to retain his status were that he

• had entered the UK to seek employment or is currently in the UK seeking employment after having a right to reside as a worker and
• could provide evidence to show that he was seeking employment and had a genuine chance of finding work as a result of these efforts. 

Hector was able to give us evidence to prove his former employment and proof that he had recently submitted several applications for jobs that he was qualified to do.   The Housing Executive accepted our argument that Hector was a qualified person on the basis of being a former worker and therefore eligible for HB.

Hector was awarded a backdated payment of housing benefit covering the period from 7^th June, when he left to assist his uncle in Spain, until 3^rd August, when he returned to full time employment.

Understanding the rights of migrants

The recent changes to benefit entitlement for people from abroad have made advising people on their rights a little more complex. 

We recently published a useful Professional Resource explaining the housing rights of migrants living in Northern Ireland.  This publication costs just £5 if your organisation is a member of Housing Rights Service.