Claiming UK benefits - self-employed (UK) and living in EEA.

[mrsdexi]

Hi,

Once again very specific question.

My client is a Polish national who arrived to the UK in 2004. He is self-employed since that time (Internet based business). He receives Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.

He is thinking about moving to Poland to live but his business will remain in the UK and he will pay NICs. He is going to have business address in the UK and he employes people from the UK. He has to travel on regular basis between those two countries.

The question is: will he still be entitled to family benefits?

Thanks for your help and advice

[SSEF]

Hi,

Once again very specific question.

My client is a Polish national who arrived to the UK in 2004. He is self-employed since that time (Internet based business). He receives Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.

He is thinking about moving to Poland to live but his business will remain in the UK and he will pay NICs. He is going to have business address in the UK and he employes people from the UK. He has to travel on regular basis between those two countries.

The question is: will he still be entitled to family benefits?

Thanks for your help and advice

By all means tell him to take his chances, but be very mindful that there are bilateral agreements between Poland and the UK because of this kind of behaviour, he will no longer be a resident in the UK when he moves back to Poland permanently and will registered as living and working and paying ZUS and will be lawfully a resident in Poland not the UK. One has to be resident in the country where one receives benefits from (apart from JSA which has a 3 month run on if one is registered unemployed and entitled to this before one leaves the UK). So in effect he will be committing fraud which can be punishable by a prison sentence!

I hope the above is clear?