EU National Entitled to Any Government Help When Moving to UK?

henry_44

My ex-wife has been ordered by the court to return to England as she illegally took our children 2 years ago to the EU country where she was born. This issue has been resolved and the court have ordered her to return with the children to England.

She is claiming that she cannot move to this country (as ordered) because she does not have a home or any money. She is living on benefits in her country. My solicitor has advised me to put together a statement of her 'entitlements' to prove that she would not be homeless or without money when she moves to England. If we do not do this then the child welfare department in her country could say our children are at 'risk' moving to the UK and they would not be safe if they are homeless. (I cannot continue with the ongoing residency case until they are back in this country and she can attend the court - so I do not have full residency of the children for them to live with me)

I went to the CAB last week and they said they could not provide any advice until she is in the UK, the local council, job centre, social services etc are all not willing to reveal any entitlements until she is in the country.

My problem is that the 'return order' could be appealed unless I can say she would not be putting our children in danger and she would not be homeless and without money.

My question is: what benefits would a single parent mother of 2 children from an EU country be entitled to on arrival in England? Would they be able to be put in emergency accomodation or homed by the local authority?

Thank-you for your help on this matter and in the past (new user name as this is a sensitive issue)

(I will of course be paying maintenance)

pmlindyloo

I have to first of all point out that I am not an expert but just wanted to post my thoughts and see if anyone else can offer any ideas.

I do not know if this is possible because you haven't said anything about your own circumstances.

As far as I am aware an EU citizen can come to the UK and claim benefits if they are a worker or if they have sufficient money to support themselves.

Neither seems to apply to your ex wife.


One way round this would be to register your ex wife as self employed (eg. as a cleaner). This would give her an NI number.


If she is registered as self employed then I believe that she would be entitled to benefits once she was here and the children were registered in school.

Is it possible for you to house her and the children until she could get a job/start her self employment? Is it possible for you to find her a job at all?

As I said, it is very difficult for you as you have to prove that she will be able to manage financially before she comes here.

If work cannot be set up before she and the children arrive then the only way I can think of is if you are willing to support her until she gets on her feet. Whether this would be sufficient to stop the 'return order' I do not know.

Not sure I have helped.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable may come along to help.

MissMoneypenny

Surley your solicitor should be advising you on all this and what she can claim (if anything) as an EEA national who will not be exercising EU worker free movement rights in the UK.

How will an EU national claim welfare from the UK if they don't want to be here and will therefore not be exercising their EU worker rights to be in the UK?? Will she be working or studying in the UK as required under EU free worker movement?

Surely the court expected you to keep your ex wife and your children in full when they gave this order, instead of you just wanting to pay some maintenace towards their upkeep?

I think you need legal advice from your solicitor about EU law and trying to claim welfare in another EEA country when there is no intention of working in that EEA country.

MissMoneypenny

pmlindyloo wrote: »

One way round this would be to register your ex wife as self employed (eg. as a cleaner). This would give her an NI number.

How can he register an EEA citizen as SE? It has to be done be the EU citizen. Yet she is happy in her own country with her family, being supported by her country and doesn't intend to come to the UK to exercise any EU worker rights.

OP is your intention to force her back to the UK so you can try and take her children from her? Are your children at risk? Your solicitor should be advising you. I hope your ex is getting legal advice in her country too.

henry_44

Thank-you both for your replies.

I am now in a new relationship, so I would be unable to give up my house for her (my new partner has 2 children of her own and it is her house I moved in to)

Financially, I am only able to pay the CSA stated amount of maintenance. I wish I could do more, but I have already spent thousands on trying to get her and my children returned to this country.

I do not believe this government 'owes' her anything as she has already cost this government a huge amount in tracing her and she is the one who commited an illegal act.

After 2 years of hard work, I do not want to have my hopes of seeing my children dashed without trying all the avenues possible - including the internet (someone may have been through the same experience) and I do not seem to have got any sound advice from organisations such as CAB.

My solicitor just says that it is up to me to find out the information and put this in writing for the child welfare or they will win the appeal.

I am completely lost, but thank-you I will look into the suggestions you have made. Thank-you.

henry_44

Miss M - yes the children have been deemed as being 'as risk' due to the ex-wife's mental health condition.

Further information: She has no family contact in her country of birth as she alienated them all with her untrue tales. She lived in England for 15 years until 2 years ago when she took the children unlawfully.

nannytone_2

i do appreciate how devastating it must be to have your children taken to another country , but ......

you ex has no security or sypport in this country.

do you feel happy that she will be alone and vulnerable and looking after your children?

was she stopping you from seeing your children in her country?

just seems a really harsh thing that youre forcing her to do, and surely your kids would be better off with a happy mother

clearingout

how old are your children? what is it your wife does for a living? is she proficient in English? has she worked here before?

your wife is in a difficult situation - if she cannot support herself, she returns here to the UK to effectively hand over her children to you and your partner to play 'happy families' with. Few mothers would allow that. Presumably, if she wasn't working at the point of separation she felt incredibly vulnerable from a financial perspective and probably vulnerable at the prospect of losing her children to you and your partner. Hence her decision to leave.

I am afraid that you will need to pull your proverbial finger out and somehow find the means by which to get a roof over her head and some kind of plan in place to help out financially until such a time as she is able to stand on her own two feet - depending on her education level, previous work experience and command of English that could be quite some time. What you need to avoid is having her in that vulnerable position whereby she feels she could lose everything. Easier said than done.

henry_44

Sadly Nannytone, she has not been a happy mother and her treatment of the children has not been good.

Yes, she left this country during a court case and took the children. She has not made contact with me for 2 years. She has been 'running' from courts and the police in her country and the UK for 2 years. She illegally abducted our children.

All I want is for our children to be safe and happy and I know me and my partner can provide a safe, loving and secure home without the fear they may have experienced in the past 2 years.

clearingout

I think you need to stop thinking of things as 'unlawful' (I appeciate what she has done is indeed 'unlawful' but the mindset isn't helping the situation). Your wife made a decision to move based on..well, we don't know what, but as I said she probably felt incredibly vulnerable and returned to somewhere she felt safe. What you need to do is somehow find a way to work with her for the sake of your children so that they are able to have both of their parents taking an active part in their lives.

what is her 'mental health condition'?

henry_44

Clearingout - thank-you for your comments. Yes she lived and worked in the UK for 15 years - this is when we met. The children are aged 3 and 4.