Eu Changes May 2011

8/7/2019 Eu Changes May 2011

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European workers in the UK

1John Fairest CJSS 07947826469 supportingBeAttitude


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Nearly all European Economic Area (EEA) and Swissnationals are free to enter and live in the United Kingdom

without the need to apply for permission



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The EEA countries areyAustria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,Norway,Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,Sweden, United Kingdom



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What proof an employer will need

y If you are from an EEA country, you will need to show aprospective employer one of the following:

yyour passport

yyour national identity card

y If you are from Bulgaria or Romania and need

permission to work from the UK Border Agency youwill need to show your work document.



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Assessions countriesOn 1 May 2004, ten (10) new countries joined the EU.

They are called the Accession countries.

One can say that for the purposes of benefit entitlement(see below), the 2004 Accession countries are made upof two distinct groups



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The A2nationalsy Malta and Cyprus



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The A8 nationalsy Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,

Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.



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The Habitual Residence Testy In the late 1980s the British government concerned about

the perceived magnetic effect of the welfare benefit systemin United Kingdom (UK), under the heading of Benefit

Tourism, sought to affect a preventative measure to reducethe claims for benefits for people coming to UK fromaboard.

y In 1994, the concern gave rise to a new legislation whichwas thought to be the preventative measure.

y The new legislation is called Habitual Residence Test(HRT).

y TheHRT applies to both British and non-Britishpeople alike.



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HRTy In order to pass the test HRT, claimants have to

establish that they:

yAre voluntarily in UKyAre resident in UK

y Have a settled intention to remain in UK

y Have been in UK for an appreciable period of time.



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Right to Reside testy Because the UK government understood that the HRT

was not going to be effective enough to prevent claims

for benefit, it amended its legislations and introducedthe Right to Reside test, implementing it from 1 May2004.

yAs the result, all the means tested benefits

regulations were amended to give effect to the changein the legislation.



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What does the Right to Reside

actually mean?y Unlike theHabitual Residence test that affects British and non - British nationals alike, the

Right to Residemainly affects the EU and the EEA nationals.y The right to reside is simply a requirement that a person can show they have a right (conferred by law)

to reside in the UK.y Not everyone has a right to live in the UK. The 1971 Immigration Act provides that only people with a

right of abode (British citizens) have the right to live in and move freely in and out of the country.Everyone else requires permission. Therefore, if a person needs permission to either enter theUK or to remain in the UK and they do not have it, they are here illegally.

y Membership of the European Union requires that some European citizens also have rights to enterand remain in the UK without permission. Section 7 of the 1988 Immigration Act provides that aperson does not require leave to enter or remain if he is entitled to byvirtue of an enforceableCommunity right or of any provisionmade under section 2(2) of the European Communities

Act 1972.y No EEA citizen needs permission to enter the UK - Regulation 11 of the Immigration (EEA)

Regulations 2006. However there is no equivalent provision allowing all EEA citizens a right to remain

in the UK. If they cannot find an enforceable Community right to benefit from they requirepermission to remain in the UK. In the absence of that permission they are not here legally.y This means that they effectively do not have a right to remain in the UK, even though it is highly

unlikely they will ever be deported. So, if they have no right to remain, they do not have a right toreside. If they do not have a right to reside, they cannot claim certain benefits



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What does the Right to Reside

actually mean?yAs themajority of enforceable Community rights

are attached to the economically active, the right

to reside test is then an efficient and effective wayto prevent themany economically inactive peoplefrom accessing benefits.



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Which benefits are affected?y Both the right to reside and the habitual residence

test:

ypension credit

y income support

y income-based jobseeker's allowance

y housing benefit

y council tax benefit



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Who is exempt?

Up to May 1st 2011y 1- EU workers (not the A8 or Romanian & Bulgarian

nationals see 2 below):

y W

orkers are exempt from both tests and can claim all thein-work benefits (e.g. housing benefit; council taxbenefit, child benefit, child tax credit, working tax creditetc), assuming that they satisfy the entitlement conditions.

y For the definition of who is a worker or how many hours of

work are required, or what questions the Department ofWork and Pension (DWP) may ask to establish worker-status, it is best to seek advice, as the definitions mostlycome from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decisions.



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Exceptions continuedy A8 nationals must register their work with their employers

and the HomeOffice. Theymust register again if theystart a new employment. There is only one registration

fee payable at the start of the first employment. They mustcontinue the registered work for 12 uninterrupted months(minus a 30 day grace).

y The Romanian and Bulgarian nationals must be"authorised workers" for 12 months.

y Whilst at work (and considered as being a worker),they can claim all the in-work benefits. If they stopwork within the 12 months period, all the in-workbenefit will stop



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The Accession Treaty May1st

DWP referenceThe Accession Treaty permitted Member States to placetemporary restrictions on the access A8 nationals couldhave to their labour markets. In the UK those restrictions

also meant that A8 nationals did not have exactly the sameresidence rights as other EU nationals and consequentlythat they could not generally acquire entitlement to incomerelated benefits. Under the terms of the Treaty, thoserestrictions on A8 nationals have to be lifted from 1 May

2011, after being in operation for seven years. From 1 May2011, therefore, A8 nationals will have the same access tothe UK labour market and benefit system as nationals ofother, longer established EEA member states.



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A2 Nationals 1st May updateyA2 nationals, people from Bulgaria and Romania, will

still be subject to transitional arrangements under the

Accession Treaty after 30 April 2011. A2 nationals areeligible for in-work Housing Benefit and Council TaxBenefit whilst they are working, providing they areauthorised under the Worker Authorisation Scheme.If they stop working, they may be eligible for income-based JSA, but only if they have been working andauthorised under the Scheme for at least 12 months,and are seeking work.



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English LanguageThere is currently nothing in place to testunderstanding of the English language for anyone,

including UK nationals before they are allowed toreceive benefits as this is not a condition of benefit


Documents

Eu Changes May 2011