Application for PR after years on JSA

[atpat9]

I am eu national moved to Uk in 2009, I worked for 7 months and then was unemployed for 6 years on Job Seekers. I got a job last year and am working for 1 year now. Can I apply for PR?

[noajthan]

I am eu national moved to Uk in 2009, I worked for 7 months and then was unemployed for 6 years on Job Seekers. I got a job last year and am working for 1 year now. Can I apply for PR?

Do you have rock-solid evidence of exercising treaty rights for a continuous period of 5 years?
Were you a jobseeker? (actively jobseeking, with evidence?)
Did you have CSI?
Do you pay tax/NI in this job?

[atpat9]

Do you have rock-solid evidence of exercising treaty rights for a continuous period of 5 years?
Were you a jobseeker? (actively jobseeking, with evidence?)
Did you have CSI?
Do you pay tax/NI in this job?

Thanks for your response. I have the booklets they gave when on job seekers, also a letter saying I have been on job seekers for that period.
I do pay tax and NI on this job, deducted by employer.
May I know what CSI is?

[atpat9]

Just found out CSI is comprehensive sickness insurance. No I did not have CSI
used NHS at all times including dental which is free when on Job Seekers. Since I was on job seekers, I could not be considered self sufficient person so I doubt that would apply to me.

[noajthan]

Just found out CSI is comprehensive sickness insurance. No I did not have CSI
used NHS at all times including dental which is free when on Job Seekers. Since I was on job seekers, I could not be considered self sufficient person so I doubt that would apply to me.

Correct, you cannot claim to have been selfsufficient due to your reliance on benefits and the lack of CSI.

So the $64,000 question is will HO accept x years of jobseeking; you will need rock-solid evidence of jobseeking rather than simply receipt of JSA.

You will also need to prove that at the time you had 'gpow'. (The fact someone eventually got a job is not always accepted).

Worst case: you should be able to apply for a RC which may help invoke any, yet to be announced, transitional arrangements for Brexit.
(Because if you don't have PR status yet there's going to be no time left to acquire it in the normal way).

[atpat9]

Correct, you cannot claim to have been selfsufficient due to your reliance on benefits and the lack of CSI.

So the $64,000 question is will HO accept x years of jobseeking; you will need rock-solid evidence of jobseeking rather than simply receipt of JSA.

You will also need to prove that at the time you had 'gpow'. (The fact someone eventually got a job is not always accepted).

Worst case: you should be able to apply for a RC which may help invoke any, yet to be announced, transitional arrangements for Brexit.
(Because if you don't have PR status yet there's going to be no time left to acquire it in the normal way).

How do I prove "rock solid evidence?" When on JSA one has to present a list of jobs applied for at every sign on. If one is not looking for a job, one is signed off. Apparently its very discretionary.

Also may I know what gpow is?
I already have a RC blue card which I obtained 2 months after entering the UK. Would that be of any use? At one time I received a letter from HO asking me to send them a copy of my passport to confirm my eligibility to receive JSA. There was no further inquiry after I sent my copies.
Its perplexing you can receive JSA and national insurance credits when you are unemployed but yet not exercising treaty rights. How can they justify paying a living allowance when you are not eligible to live in the country?

[noajthan]

How do I prove "rock solid evidence?" When on JSA one has to present a list of jobs applied for at every sign on. If one is not looking for a job, one is signed off. Apparently its very discretionary.

Also may I know what gpow is?
I already have a RC blue card which I obtained 2 months after entering the UK. Would that be of any use? At one time I received a letter from HO asking me to send them a copy of my passport to confirm my eligibility to receive JSA. There was no further inquiry after I sent my copies.
Its perplexing you can receive JSA and national insurance credits when you are unemployed but yet not exercising treaty rights. How can they justify paying a living allowance when you are not eligible to live in the country?

Just living in the UK (after the initial 3 months grace period for Union citizens) does not confer any rights to reside.
Just being on benefits does not equate to exercising treaty tights as a qualified person.

It is EU law that states the Union citizen must not be an undue burden on the host state's social assistance system.
It is up to each memberstate how the Directive (including such rights/responsibilities) is transposed into domestic law.
That is what all these tests are intended to discover.

Start here to see how a caseworker will assess and weigh up your case to see if you are a qualified person:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

'gpow' = genuine prospect of work.
Its essentially a benefits-related test however HO plays hardball and is now applying it in an immigration context to those on EU migration trajectory.

Regarding gpow see:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/benefit ... 4-changes/

A RC may help but it only shows your status at the time it was issued. (Things could have changed since then).

[noajthan]

To avoid confusion & jumbled responses, I have moved your question to its own thread (this one).

[atpat9]

gpow is genuine prospect of work. got it!!
well ive been working just over a year, after 6 years unemployment. I understand it does not count, but how long does one have to work before being eligible to apply.

[noajthan]

gpow is genuine prospect of work. got it!!
well ive been working just over a year, after 6 years unemployment. I understand it does not count, but how long does one have to work before being eligible to apply.

If your PR clock has only just started up and you have been exercising treaty rights as a worker for past year, you will have approx another 4 years to go in order to acquire PR automatically.
Assuming UK is still in EU by then.

[atpat9]

Thanks fall the help noajthan.!

[ptstream]

This needs more analysis.
If EEA Nationals can claim JSA it means the government considers their residence lawful. Would you see an overstayer of other kind of visas getting benefits?
it's contradictory that it would stop the PR clock.

[Petaltop]

This needs more analysis.
If EEA Nationals can claim JSA it means the government considers their residence lawful. Would you see an overstayer of other kind of visas getting benefits?
it's contradictory that it would stop the PR clock.

They couldn't claim JSA for years as that was stopped. See the link noajthan provided. The UK moved to stop people doing what the OP was doing, so that an EU citizen jobseeker qualified person can just be that for 6 months only.

Even before the 6 months rulke for a jobseeker qualified person, I doubt that 6 years looking for work would be accepted as a qualified person as that is too long.

I should imagine the reason he was still getting benefits from the UK when he had cleary exceeded the time he could claim to be a jobseeker in the UK, was because before 2010, the UK didn't record the nationalily of claimants.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gove ... t-research
We have seen people on here saying they have been in the UK for over a decade and have now had their benefits removed as they are not a qualified person, but clearly the UK couldn't find everyone who starting claiming benefits before they recorded their nationality.

[Noetic]

The UK has by and large been atrocious at enforcing basic common sense checks to ensure people here under EU law are actually here legally eg exercising treaty rights for at least 5 years.

Other EU countries require people to register and report annually to ensure their right to live there is still upheld by being a qualified person etc, the UK has never bothered sadly, so people live here completely unaware that what they're doing is not strictly speaking legal.

[ptstream]

the great majority of EEA nationals genuinely look for work, there was some recession a few years back but now with a better economy I bet very few are on JSA.
And I say this as a British citizen, knowing many 'colleagues' who haven't done a single day of work in years.

[noajthan]

This needs more analysis.
If EEA Nationals can claim JSA it means the government considers their residence lawful. Would you see an overstayer of other kind of visas getting benefits?
it's contradictory that it would stop the PR clock.

Don't try to use logic or commonsense.
EEA citizens on EU migration route cannot be overstayers as they don't have a visa granting leave to remain in UK.

If they are not a qp or settled (or have a Union citizen sponsor) they have no basis to reside in UK (after initial 3 months grace period).

Receipt of JSA does not confer that right. Another case of lack of joined up policies; left-hand EU law versus righthand domestic law.

[Petaltop]

the great majority of EEA nationals genuinely look for work,

They are going to have to now that the UK will no longer give them any benefits, including no housing benefit and no benefits for their children. Now that most areas are on the new benefit, Universal Credit for new claimants, they can't have the jobseekers part of theat benefit either until they have contributred to the UK.

there was some recession a few years back

Thats why free moventment is so good, if they can't find work in their own country, EEA citizens can look for work in another EEU country. If they can't find work there either, they move on to another EEA country to look for work. The UK have enforced that with their 6 months only as a jobseeker qualifed person and removing any claim to UK benefits.

And I say this as a British citizen, knowing many 'colleagues' who haven't done a single day of work in years.

"'colleagues" means someone you work with. Did you mean those who haven't had a job "in years"? I doubt there are many, if any, that have been on jobseekers for years now.

Even for those who are settled in the UK (Brits, ILR, PR) income based jobseekers is limited to 2 years now and has been for a few years. About a year or so ago, to get those off JSA who were on JSA before that 2 year rule started and still claiming JSA years later, they ramped up what they had to do to get their JSA money, work experience, training courses, go to the 'work providers', go the the job centre every day, new sanctions that started at 3 months and could last for 3 years, ended loans and gave them tickets to the foodbanks instead, new ways to detect benefit fraud (working cash in hand), HMRCs Real Time system, etc.