Permanent Residence for a Pensioner

[Katrina2014]

Hi, I think of applying for a Permanent Residence for my father, but I am not sure whether he is eligible. He is EEA national and has lived in the UK for 6 years now. He has passed his habitual residency test as my father (reg. 7(1)(B)) and has derived family rights from me to claim State Pension Credit which he has been receiving for 5 years along with the Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Unfortunately, I've left the UK 3 years ago and I suppose have lost my PR (which I had at that time), so my father cannot apply as a family member of an EEA national qualified person. But can he apply as 'qualified person' himself? Can a person receiving Pension Credit and Housing and Council Tax benefit be considered as self-sufficient or definitely not? Sorry if my question is too obvious (I mean if the answer is 'obviously not':), but I'd rather clarify it for sure rather than loose a chance for my father..

[noajthan]

Hi, I think of applying for a Permanent Residence for my father, but I am not sure whether he is eligible. He is EEA national and has lived in the UK for 6 years now. He has passed his habitual residency test as my father (reg. 7(1)(B)) and has derived family rights from me to claim State Pension Credit which he has been receiving for 5 years along with the Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Unfortunately, I've left the UK 3 years ago and I suppose have lost my PR (which I had at that time), so my father cannot apply as a family member of an EEA national qualified person. But can he apply as 'qualified person' himself? Can a person receiving Pension Credit and Housing and Council Tax benefit be considered as self-sufficient or definitely not? Sorry if my question is too obvious (I mean if the answer is 'obviously not':), but I'd rather clarify it for sure rather than loose a chance for my father..

If father has lived in UK for at least 3 years before stopping work and he had worked for at least 12 months before stopping due to incapacity or retirement then he can apply for confirmation of PR.

See Regulation 5:
http://www.eearegulations.co.uk/Latest/ByPage/part1_5

So has father been a worker (or self-employed) in UK?
Did he retire?
Or did he stop due to ill health?

[Obie]

If your father was never an Employer in the UK, then he cannot benefit from the rights under regulation 5 In his own rights.

If you leave the UK , his rights will elapse.

[Petaltop]

If father has lived in UK for at least 3 years before stopping work and he had worked for at least 12 months before stopping due to incapacity or retirement then he can apply for confirmation of PR.

See Regulation 5:
http://www.eearegulations.co.uk/Latest/ByPage/part1_5

So has father been a worker (or self-employed) in UK?
Did he retire?
Or did he stop due to ill health?

Sounds like he was in the UK as family member of his EU citizen child, but his child left the UK 3 years after he arrived and left him in the UK. Plus he has been in the UK for 6 years and on UK benefits for at least 5 years. If he was working, he would not have been claiming Pension Credit. No mention of incapacity benefits.

He has passed his habitual residency test as my father
has derived family rights from me to claim State Pension Credit which he has been receiving for 5 years along with the Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Unfortunately, I've left the UK 3 years ago

Surely he lost his right to reside when his EU citizen child left the UK? And therefore should not have been claiming any benefits from the UK when his right to reside in the UK had ended?

[Petaltop]

If your father was never an Employer in the UK, then he cannot benefit from the rights under regulation 5 In his own rights.

If you leave the UK , his rights will elapse.

Beaten to it by Obie.

[noajthan]

Surely he lost his right to reside when his EU citizen child left the UK? And therefore should not have been claiming any benefits from the UK when his right to reside in the UK had ended?

Indeed. It's not looking good. Perhaps OP will fill in the loose ends.

[Petaltop]

Surely he lost his right to reside when his EU citizen child left the UK? And therefore should not have been claiming any benefits from the UK when his right to reside in the UK had ended?

Indeed. It's not looking good. Perhaps OP will fill in the loose ends.

The benefit letters all state that they must inform them of any changes that affect their benefits. If it is 3 years of overpayments it will run into at least tens of thousands to be repaid plus a fine and at that high amount, likely to be a court case too for fraud.

Much better to tell them before they tell you, as they are more likely to believe it was a genuine error then, although that won't stop them wanting all their money back.

[Katrina2014]

Thank you very much for your replies! My father hasn't been working in the UK before retiring, he has only been working in the EEA country before retiring (well, has been doing some self-employment work, but it was very little and we don't have any proof of that).
And about his right to be here, I don't think he is violating it, despite I'd left the UK, because he is also EEA citizen.. or I am wrong? We reported the council that I'd left the country, but I think not the Pension Service.., so I should have let them know as well?
So, as far as I understand, in any case in this situation I should apply for the Permanent Residence for my father?

[noajthan]

Thank you very much for your replies! My father hasn't been working in the UK before retiring, he has only been working in the EEA country before retiring (well, has been doing some self-employment work, but it was very little and we don't have any proof of that).
And about his right to be here, I don't think he is violating it, despite I'd left the UK, because he is also EEA citizen.. or I am wrong? We reported the council that I'd left the country, but I think not the Pension Service.., so I should have let them know as well?
So, as far as I understand, in any case in this situation I should apply for the Permanent Residence for my father?

If father was in UK as your dependent then he lost that right when you left; so his position is unclear.
(Its not enough that he's simply an EEA citizen).

Unfortunately he doesn't seem to have acquired PR on the basis of ceasing activity (under Regulation 5) as he wasn't working in UK before he retired.

Father can be in UK in his own right if he is self-sufficient person (living on own means) and has CSI (health insurance) in place.
If he doesn't have such health cover suggest he gets some to help regularise his position.