Terms & Conditions

[Anonymous]

Mr & Mrs ***** aged 76 and 81 came to England on 6 December 2003 to live with one of their daughters, who they say is a British citizen. They left the daughter’s house in 2005 and moved to live with another daughter (who they also say is a British citizen).

From June 2006 they have rented their own property with financial assistance from their daughter (not sure which one) but as the daughter is now unable to help them they are looking for HB/CTB.

They have no NINos and have been granted a ‘settlement visa’. They own a property in Romania which they say is part of a blockhouse and cannot be sold. Their joint income is approx £400 pension from Romania and they have managed to aquire a ‘Term Deposit’ account so there is a little capital.

So, the $64million question – are they eligible for Benefits?

[David]

I’m not aware ot the precise terms of the settlement visa, but I don’t think they can be.

As economically inactive EEA nationals, they are expected to be self sufficient and therefore cannot claim HB. Also, there is the question of whether they are habitually resident

[Anonymous]

Ooh, I’ve just been looking at this. Check out paras 51 & 52 of A9/06. Nationals of Romania and Bulgaria (call ’em the “new” A2 if you like) who are not economically active have the right to reside for the first three months, but this is a non-qualifing right for income related benefits purposes.

After this, they have the right to reside as long as they are self sufficent and not a burden on the UK social assistance scheme. Para 25 goes into “self sufficency” and “unreasonable burden”. If these barriers are passed (which I suppose is technically possible) then you can go on to consider Habitual Residence.

Cheers,

Darren

[Author]

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