Pension Credit and non-EEA dependents

[shammyat]

Hi, I am looking for some advice please regarding eligibility for pension credit for my non-EU parents.

As an EU national I have worked and paid "a fair share" of income tax and NI in this country since 2008. I was granted PR a couple of months ago under EEA regulations. My parents joined me in the UK and were granted RC. Because it's getting harder to make ends meet nowadays my parents applied for pension credit. Their request has been rejected on the grounds they don't have "the right to reside". The letter states the caseworker has based his decision on regulation 2(1),(2),(3) of the state pension act 2002.

It's really funny how these people interpret the law with one eye. The same regulation states in the next paragraph(4):

A person is not to be treated as not in Great Britain if he is– (or in other words, no need for this habitual residence test)

(a) a worker for the purposes of Council Directive No. 2004/38/EC; (which would apply for me)
(b) a self-employed person for the purposes of that Directive;
(c) a person who retains a status referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) pursuant to Article 7(3) of that Directive;
(d) a person who is a family member of a person referred to in sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) within the meaning of Article 2 of that Directive; (my parents fall in this category, I think)

When the pension application was made, I submitted a copy of my passport, my UK permanent residence, work contract, payslip and civil extract to prove relationship. However, the man who made the decision still insists there is no evidence from the Home Office to support I am a "qualified person"to live in this country either !!

I am going to write back to the EU team at the pension service detailing the facts again quoting the regulations above but would appreciate any advice in case I have missed or misinterpreted something.