Persons from abroad

The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support rules for persons from abroad are very complex and we would strongly recommend that you contact us for advice.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support are only available to people who are -

• Habitually resident in the Common Travel Area.  The Common Travel Area (CTA) includes the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and
• Who are lawfully present in the UK, and
• Who are either nationals of a country within the Common Travel Area or have the right to reside in the UK with recourse to public funds.

To be eligible for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support you must satisfy, or be exempt from, the following tests -

Immigration status test 

Under the Immigration Status test we have to establish the terms of your entry or stay in the UK.  If you do not satisfy the test then you are known as a 'person subject to immigration control' and are not entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.

Habitual residence test 

If you do not pass this test you will not receive any Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support. Each case is considered on its own merits, usually a series of questions will be asked to help establish whether you are habitually resident in the UK. These are not fixed in law but are intended to discover the duration, continuity and durability of your residence in the UK.

The Habitual Residence Test (HRT) was introduced from 1 August 1994 as a test of habitual residence in the CTA. The test is applied to people who have arrived or returned to live in the UK.

Right to reside test

The right to reside test checks to ensure that anyone applying for benefit has the legal authority to reside in the UK. This test normally affects non EEA nationals.

Visit the Gov.uk website for more information regarding British citizenship and moving to the UK.

Specialist information and advice is also available from the UK Border Agency website.

Please find your Country and follow the guidelines, if you meet the criteria, we may be able to help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support

Nationals of the European Economic Area including Switzerland and ECSMA /CESC states but not Romania & Bulgaria.

For the Following Countries

(Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden)

(Switzerland)

(Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey (ECSMA /CESC states) who have been granted limited leave to remain in the UK.)

We may be able to help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support if;

• You or your partner are working
• You or your partner are actively seeking work, either by claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support or currently just out of work and looking for instant work, (where we can pay on short period reviews)
• You are not required to provide a Workers Registration Document.
• You are economically active. For example if you are student you will not be entitled to receive Housing Benefit.
• Once you have been in the country for 5 years, legally you are habitually resident. You are then treated in the same way as if you are a UK Citizen.

If you satisfy any of the above criteria then we may be able to help. We will need to know if you own a property abroad, and if so whether it is up for sale or do you intend to return there.

A2 - Nationals

(Romania & Bulgaria) 

We maybe able to help with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support if;

• Skilled Workers who meet the criteria for getting a work permit or Lower Skilled Workers doing approved seasonal agricultural work or working in the food processing sector need an accession work card or a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme Card.
• In order to apply for Benefits you must have a valid Passport or ID card and a blue accession work card or a purple registration card depending on your workers skill level, after one year you will no longer require the accession work card and will receive the same rules as an A16 country national.
• Highly Skilled Workers and those working legally in the UK on 31st December 2006 are exempt from the scheme. And receive the same rights as an A16 Country.
• You are economically active. For example if you are student you will not be entitled to receive Housing Benefit.
• Those people working under the Saws scheme will receive Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme Card, however as you can only work for 6 months and then not work for 3 months under this scheme you will not be able to complete the full 12 months in order to change your status. So to claim benefits you will always be required to supply a valid Passport or ID card, a purple accession card for the sector based scheme or a SAWS card which states the dates of employment and name of the farm employing the A2 national, but you must be in work as you are required to be self sufficient in your 3 month break from work.

If you satisfy any of the above criteria then we may be able to help. We will need to know if you own a property abroad, and if so whether it is up for sale or do you intend to return there.

Non - EEA Nationals

We maybe able to help with Housing a Benefit and Council Tax Support if;

• You have a Family Permit, Residence Card or Permanent Residence Card, advising your availability to public funds. If you have "No recourse to public funds", you will probably not be entitled to benefit. There are exceptions through virtue of marriage, but you may lose this right if the marriage status was to change.
• You are an asylum seeker who has indefinite leave to Remain.
• You have leave to remain as family members of EEA nationals or allowed to stay for compassionate reasons.

If you satisfy any of the above criteria then we may be able to help. We will need to know if you own a property abroad, and if so whether it is up for sale or do you intend to return there.

More detailed information about the rules relating to People from Abroad and Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, including the changes from April 2006, can be found in the Department for Work and Pensions Resource Centre.

Self - Sufficient

If you are required to be self sufficient then you must support yourself financially and will not be able to claim benefits.