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british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

Moderators: Casa, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe, CR001, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix

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mause2003
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british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:48 pm

i m polish emigrant from EU area. I live in Uk 10 years. first 6 years I ve worked full time permanent contract, while I been on contract I had sick note paid by my employer, but was low amount and 4 months I had council tax benefit. after 6 years I started to be single mom, took divorce, changed job from full time to part time, now I m self employed working part time 20 hours per week, I have child benefit, working tax and child tax credit. I want start apply about permanent residence permit because I m 10.5 years here now. and planning to apply about naturalization british citizenship soon. I read some stories on google about public funds, that people who been or they are on benefits are refused from naturalization process. is this true? is there exist any law who says people on benefits are refused? the application cost in huge 1236£, plus exams english B1 and life in uk test, all cost its nearly 2000£. i looking for any information before I start spending money if be on benefits can stop me from get british nationality. I would avoid situation that I will pay 1236£ for application and will lose money because I ll be refused because I had house benefit and now I m single mum with tax credits. waiting for answer. -Caroline

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CR001
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by CR001 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 5:32 pm

No, benefits do not affect a citizenship application, if a person was entitled to claim.

Do you have a document certifying permanent residence? You cannot apply for citizenship without this document.
Char (CR001 not Casa)
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Please DO NOT send me a PM for immigration advice. I reserve the right to ignore the PM and not respond.

noajthan
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by noajthan » Wed Jun 29, 2016 5:38 pm

mause2003 wrote:i m polish emigrant from EU area. I live in Uk 10 years. first 6 years I ve worked full time permanent contract, while I been on contract I had sick note paid by my employer, but was low amount and 4 months I had council tax benefit. after 6 years I started to be single mom, took divorce, changed job from full time to part time, now I m self employed working part time 20 hours per week, I have child benefit, working tax and child tax credit. I want start apply about permanent residence permit because I m 10.5 years here now. and planning to apply about naturalization british citizenship soon.

...
As you are from an A8 country did you register fully and properly for WRS?

If you worked 5-6 years from arriving in UK its likely you acquired PR back then (if you registered for WRS).

If so, you don't need to worry about benefits since then as you don't need to exercise treaty rights anymore once you have settled status.

Did you ever get around to applying for DCPR to confirm your PR status?
All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. E&OE.

mause2003
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 6:45 pm

thank you for answer. i have wrs and I have blue book residence what I get after my first year in Uk, so blue residence book has 9 years now. at the moment I applying about anothe book permanent residence, i have 2 august b1 test, and 20 august life in uk test. so my documentation be completed. is it true if I m 10.5 years my residence permamnet been around after 6 years in uk, so around 4 years ago but I never apply to have it on paper, just now. so I will be able to apply about citizeship straight away after I will get prement residence card? I dont have to wait 12 months after receive card, because I here 10.5 years?

mause2003
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 6:49 pm

I worked full time from august 2006 till september 2013 on contrat in cheese factory. so 7 years full time permanent job. after divorce part time SE as cleaner beacuse child so i get benefits. I have all wrs, residence blue book issued 9 years ago, now need another one permament book

noajthan
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by noajthan » Wed Jun 29, 2016 6:53 pm

mause2003 wrote:thank you for answer. i have wrs and I have blue book residence what I get after my first year in Uk, so blue residence book has 9 years now. at the moment I applying about anothe book permanent residence, i have 2 august b1 test, and 20 august life in uk test. so my documentation be completed. is it true if I m 10.5 years my residence permamnet been around after 6 years in uk, so around 4 years ago but I never apply to have it on paper, just now. so I will be able to apply about citizeship straight away after I will get prement residence card? I dont have to wait 12 months after receive card, because I here 10.5 years?
Sounds all in order. You probably acquired PR after your first 5 years in UK, sometime in 2011.

You need to apply for DCPR now; apply on the basis of your early years in UK (2006-2011) and the benefits will not matter at all.
Good supporting evidence is required - read the PR guidance.

Yes, no need to wait an additional year (with your DCPR) before shooting for the privilege of citizenship.
All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. E&OE.

mause2003
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Wed Jun 29, 2016 7:10 pm

i hope be on benefits from 2013 till 2016 will not affect my citiznship application. I would like to get citizenship because brexit coming.

noajthan
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by noajthan » Wed Jun 29, 2016 7:12 pm

mause2003 wrote:i hope be on benefits from 2013 till 2016 will not affect my citiznship application. I would like to get citizenship because brexit coming.
You do not have to exercise treaty rights once you have PR (settled status). Based on your stated facts it looks like you acquired PR by 2011(2012).

So your activity (and any benefits you have enjoyed) since 2013 is immaterial.
All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. E&OE.

mause2003
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Thu Jun 30, 2016 6:47 pm

i forgot when my son born in 2009 I was on maternity leave and get child benefit 80 per month and child tax credit 20 per week, it will affect my PR application? i was on full time permanet job that time. and after maternity leave I backed to full time job

noajthan
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by noajthan » Thu Jun 30, 2016 8:21 pm

mause2003 wrote:i forgot when my son born in 2009 I was on maternity leave and get child benefit 80 per month and child tax credit 20 per week, it will affect my PR application? i was on full time permanet job that time. and after maternity leave I backed to full time job
Means-tested benefits based on worker status should be acceptable. Also CB.
All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. E&OE.

mause2003
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Re: british citizenship. naturalization while on benefits

Post by mause2003 » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:22 pm

hi again. I double chceck my details and I send application for permament residence. but when fillied a forms I have few issues. becuase i would apply about citizenship but I was on benefits. can somebody give me an advice. I starting process prepare for naturalization but I dont want lose money if I can be not entitle to get. so from begin:
0ctober 2006 WRS card,
october 2007 resident temporary book,
from october 2006-august 2013 full time contract but at that time from september 2012-july 2013(10months) i had house and council tax benefit, i was also on SSP paid by my employer, reduced hours job, plus i was single mum so received from may 2012 till present working tax and child tax credit.
from september 2013 i working part time 16-20h per week as self employed cleaner and have tax credits.
can this affect my application for british citizenship?on what period HO will calculate? looks like first 5 years I was clear without benefits, another 5 years, I was Sick, single mum, part time job? i would like tto check it before I start spending money to do british citizenship what is huge cost. ton part about public funds there are few things what confusing me. like they checking what is more benefits or money from job? but after they saying if somebody working 16h its fine. but 16h job with minimum wage is less money that working and child tax credit? so???? i also been 10 months on HB when I was sick and received from my employer 80f sick pay only.can somebody read it for me and give me an advice before i start spending money for citizenship,
I found on google some rules:

Public funds
15.1 EEA nationals exercising treaty rights as workers have rights to claim public funds
(benefits) in the UK for longer than six months without necessarily affecting their claims.
This depends on how they are exercising their treaty rights and their particular
circumstances; for example, EEA nationals who are working legally are entitled to top up
funds such as working tax credits.
15.2 However, this right is restricted when it comes to establishing whether or not an EEA
national is permanently resident in the UK. If it is shown that the EEA national is over
reliant on public funds and for long periods, this would adversely affect whether that
individual has acquire ‘settled’ or ‘permanent’ residence as defined by European law.
15.3 For the purpose of this policy, public funds mean:
 Income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance.
 Housing and homeless assistance.
 Housing and council tax benefit.
 Working family’s tax credit and other forms of tax credits (see exception in
paragraph 16.4).
 Child benefit (see exception in paragraph 16.4).
15.4 Applications should be refused where there is overwhelming evidence that the
parent(s) is dependent on public funds. For example, a person would not be considered as
exercising Treaty rights if they were working only a few hours per week and reliant almost
totally on public funds. However, public funds received for six months or less, before the
child’s birth, cannot count against a claim.
15.5 Where a person is in full-time employment and claiming child benefit or a working
family/child tax credit or other forms of tax credits (pension/disability), this would not count
against a claim.
15.6 Where there are doubts about the level of reliance of an EEA national on public
funds, request evidence (letter from DWP and/or tax returns and National Insurance
contributions) to show that they have not been on the benefit system.
15.7 Where an EEA national has worked in the United Kingdom but temporarily ceases to
work due to illness, accident/injury, maternity leave or redundancy/short term contract, the
following should be considered:
 if the person claims to be temporarily unemployed as a result of an accident or
injury, he/she must provide medical evidence to support his/her case.
 if a person claims to be involuntarily unemployed (redundancy/short term contract),
he/she must provide evidence in the form of interview or job centre letters that
he/she is genuinely seeking work. If the person has been out of work for over six
months and appears to have made little or no attempts (no job interviews or
contacts with the Job Centre) of returning to work, the application should be
refused.
15.8 As a general guide, it would not be expected for an EEA national to remain
temporarily unemployed or claiming top up funds for more than six months. This is,
however, just a guide and does not mean that being on benefits for longer than six months
would count against a claim. EEA nationals claiming benefits for more than this period can
still be regarded as settled if they were working (exercising treaty rights) throughout the
qualifying period and not overwhelming dependent on public funds.
15.9 The important point to bear in mind when considering whether or not someone is
overwhelming dependent on the benefit is to look at the balance between the incomes that
individual gets from work and that from benefits. If the vast majority of income is from
benefits, then it is unlikely that they will have acquired permanent residence under EU law
by relying on that period of residence to meet the 5 year qualifying period.
15.10 Another point to take into consideration when assessing whether or not someone is
overwhelming dependent on the benefit systems is whether their employment is “genuine
and effective” rather than “on such a small scale as to be purely marginal or ancillary”. It’s
difficult to give firm guidelines on what is “genuine and effective” but you would take into
account the frequency of the work, how much they are paid (in comparison with the level
of benefits received), and the nature of the employment relationship.
15.11 If an EEA national is exercising their free movement rights as a worker or selfemployed
person, then they are entitled to claim benefits on the same footing as a British
citizen in the same position. So if an EEA national is working but on a low income, they
may be eligible for tax credits, housing benefit and council tax benefit (if they meet the
relevant criteria for those benefits) without their right of residence being affected.
15.12 Someone who works, say, one day a month via a temping agency and who lives off
benefits the rest of the time is unlikely to be in genuine and effective employment.
Similarly, someone who helps out a friend who runs a shop once a while in exchange for a
few pounds probably won’t qualify. On the other hand, someone who regularly works for
16 hours a week and receives national minimum wage will most likely satisfy the test.
15.13 Where it is difficult to establish from the evidence submitted whether or not the
parent(s) have been overwhelmingly dependent on public funds, refer applicant to UKV&I
to obtain a status letter.
15.14 It is important to note that where an EEA national is on income support or job
seekers allowance, it is likely that they were also on other (housing & council tax) benefits.
However, this would not necessarily count against a claim if the EEA national can provide
evidence to show that they were either working or actively seeking work throughout the
qualifying period.

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