Wondering if anyone can help...

[Hagane]

Hey guys,
I'm in abit of a bind here, and I haven't seen this topic come up very often, so I figured I'd ask.....Also I apologize if this is in the wrong section..if it is....could a moderator move it to the right section please?

Anyway, my situation is this..
I am a 17 year old male living in Australia, now I was originally born in the UK, so therefore I have UK citizenship, I was able to get dual citizenship in Australia, so I have UK citizenship and Australian citizenship. But anyway, I plan to move back to the UK....say January 2007? Now I'm wondering what things I'd need in place to be able to work and live in the UK again, without the government getting on my back. I already have accomodation set up in the UK already, all I need to do is pay board on a monthly basis, which I'm quite willing to do. Pretty much I just want to know if I'm able to apply for work right away on arrival to the country?

I hope I'm making sense here, It's just I'm lost and I'm not 100% sure what information it is I need....if anyone knows who I have to contact to find out this information, it would be greatly appreciated...or if anyone here knows the solution to this, I would be extremely grateful.

Thank you for your time.

[London coool]

Do you hold a UK passport ? If you do have one your questions do not arise beacuse the IO do not ask questions about your intentions on arrival to holders of GBR/EU/EEA passport holders on the "Blue" immigration control desk.

So just check in and do what you want to do.

[Hagane]

I'm currently trying to renew my old British passport if not i'm going to try reapply for one.

And say if i have a passport.. That'll allow me to work in the country straight away right?
And say If i can't get work straightaway, would I still be eligible for an Unemployment benefit? (I don't know if living in Australia for the last 10 years would affect this or not..)

[London coool]

Yes ! Your anticipated renewed British passport will allow you to work anytime in the UK.. .but you'll need to apply for a National Insurance number first (you'll need to provide proof of addresses,and utility bills before you go for the NI interview)

You may not qualify immediately for Unemployment benefit on arrival as you may have to satisfy a "residency" criteria. You must have been in the UK for around 3 months actively looking for work. So you'll have to show proof that you've been actively seeking work by collecting letters of rejection from employers.

[Hagane]

Right, so what is the National Insurance number needed for? And also would I apply for this once I'm in the UK?

[jjustyy]

The National Insurance number is described in detail here:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/ni_number.asp

Apply for it once you are in the UK and ready to to work.

[Hagane]

Ok, so pretty much, it's just the passport and the National Insurance number I need? And then I can apply for work no problem after that?

[jjustyy]

Yes, once you have those, an address and possibly a bank account (to pay your wage/salary into) you will be able to start your search.

If you are thinking of coming soon, there should be quite a few jobs available for the Christmas period to get you going.

[jjustyy]

Here's two websites you may want to look at Hagane:

DirectGov has lots of information available to the public. This is the employment section:

http://www.directgov.gov.uk/Employment/fs/en

And this page describes the conditions for minimum wage in the UK:

http://www.directgov.gov.uk/Employment/ ... chk=00/jcP

You will see from the last link that until you are 18, employers can give you a minimum of £3.30 an hour ($8.30 Australian), which is very low.

[JAJ]

Yes ! Your anticipated renewed British passport will allow you to work anytime in the UK.. .but you'll need to apply for a National Insurance number first

If you have a British citizen passport this is sufficient proof to an employer that you are allowed to work in the UK. No need to wait for the NI number to be issued.