Post
by tmonaghan » Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:51 am
It does not make sense for the HO to state that a jobseeker starts their period from the first day they arrive in the UK when the Jobcentre Plus informs you that before you can register as a jobseeker you need to pass the habitual residence test and if you failed the test you would not be permitted to remain registered until you qualify as a jobseeker...
If you're an EEA national and want to claim certain means-tested benefits, you must normally meet the conditions of the habitual residence test. The purpose of the test is to show whether you have the right to live in the UK (known as the right to reside) and whether you intend to settle in the UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, or Ireland (the 'Common Travel Area') for the time being (this is known as habitual residence).
If you're an EEA national who has come to the UK looking for work and you've registered as a jobseeker at Jobcentre Plus, you've a right to reside. However, you will still have to satisfy the rest of the conditions of the HRT and show you intend to settle in the UK and make it your home for the time being. Until you can do this you will not be able to claim many benefits, for example, income-based jobseeker's allowance.
From 1 January 2014 regulations mean that you will not be able to satisfy the conditions of the HRT for the purpose of claiming income-based jobseeker's allowance until you have been living in the 'Common Travel Area' for at least three months.
This means you will have to wait at least three months before you will be allowed to claim this benefit. You will be exempt from the need to wait three months if you have at any time in the three months before you claim paid Class 1 or 2 national insurance contributions while working abroad. You are also exempt from the rule if you have at any time in the past three months been posted abroad as a member of Her Majesty's forces or as a British government employee.
So I am rather confused because how come the HO is expecting the jobseeker period to start from the first day you arrived in the Country if the JobCentre Plus tells you that you can only do so if you can prove that you have been living in the UK for at least three months?
So I think that jobseeker periods should start from the end of the initial right of residence from the moment the Right of residence for up to three months has expired.
Trevor
