Claiming benefits on Tier 2 Visa

Hi, wondering if anyone has any advice. A friend of mine has moved back over to the UK recently on a Skilled Worker Visa, after a few months of being here she has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and cannot work, she is in the process of transferring her visa to a spousal visa on her husband EU Citizenship (not sure why this wasn’t done originally), anyway the nurses at MacMillan keep telling her to claim benefits etc but she’s worried it’ll cause her issues down the road. What is the deal with no recourse to public funds, and does she have any rights/options to claim any help? as not being able to work is causing huge financial stress as you can imagine. Thanks again.

Nurses won't know about visa conditions and immigration rules. They will tell all patients to claim.

What Nationality is your friend?

When did she marry her EU spouse?

Hi, she is South African and has been married for nearly 20 years, they lived in the UK for many years but went back to SA for a while and returned a year ago only to be diagnosed 2 months ago.

She cannot claim any benefits unfortunately.

What visa exactly has she applied for?

When did they leave and when did they return?

What is the immigration history and status of the EU spouse before and after they returned?

Thanks for the reply, looks like they could be in for some tough times if that’s the case. Unfortunately I don’t know the answers your the other questions, I was just trying to get some info for them off the forum.

JawaGP wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 18, 2023 1:40 pm

Thanks for the reply, looks like they could be in for some tough times if that’s the case. Unfortunately I don’t know the answers your the other questions, I was just trying to get some info for them off the forum.

Even if they could claim welfare benefits, they are still in for tough financial times if they failed to take out critical illness insurance or don't have substantial savings. UK welfare benefits don't replace a wage.

The same with a job loss: UK welfare benefits don't replace a wage and insurance is needed in case of job loss too.

Is there anything they can claim from the country they have been working in before they moved to the UK?

Is there any insurance cover as a job perk, from the company she is now working for?