I understand that a UK national who has been resident in Ireland (previously employed for six years but made redundant) who is in receipt of Irish Jobseeker's Benefit is entitled to move to another EU member state, such as back to the UK, and have his Jobseeker's Benefit payment "exported" for up to three months. My understanding is as follows:
- A week prior to departure from Ireland the person is required to notify the Irish social welfare authorities and fill out a form. In the case of exportation to the UK, a form U2 is then handed to the person, which is to be given to the local Jobcentre Plus office in the UK.
- Payment of Irish Jobseeker's Benefit, at the Irish rate, is paid weekly directly to the person's bank account, for up to 13 weeks.
- Throughout this time, the person is required to sign-on at the Jobcentre Plus in the UK, as if being paid by the UK authorities, even though no payment from the UK authorities is being made at that time.
- If the person remains unemployed after the 13th week, the person can receive UK Jobseeker's Allowance.
Does anyone have any experience of doing this? If so, can anybody share:
- What happens when you visit the UK Jobcentre Plus for the first time and present the form U2?
- What questions are asked?
- Are you required to sit an interview to be issued with a National Insurance number if you don't already have one?
- What is the signing-on frequency?
- What evidence, if any, is usually sought by the staff of the UK Jobcentre Plus that the person is genuinely seeking work?
- If the person moving to the UK, from Ireland, is migrating in accordance with the EEA regs, is his non-EEA national spouse also entitled to transfer her Jobseeker's Benefit in exactly the same way, thereby receiving equal treatment with EEA nationals?
- What evidence of entitlement to reside in the UK is the non-EEA national spouse requested to furnish in order to receive equal treatment?