Universal Credit Rejected for EEA National and Some Queries

MinnieMinno

I'm writing on behalf of a close friend and I'd be grateful for any suggestions or advice because her application for Universal Credit has been rejected and she is naturally shocked and upset about her predicament. It's rather complicated so please forgive the long post below.

Briefly, she is a German national, aged 62, who has been living continuously in the UK since 1986. She has a pretty full employment record record showing more than 5 years continuous employment up until 2000, when she married a British national.

From 2000 to 2006, she and her husband were full-time carers for his disabled, wheelchair-bound mother. Her husband received carers' allowance and income support in which she was included but she received no benefits in her own name.

From 2006 to 2018, her husband received income support, then state pension and pension credit in which she was included.

In 2013, her husband suffered a severe fall and was diagnosed with the onset of dementia, and then with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. He needed more and more help and she rapidly became his full-time carer. However, she did not apply for carers' allowance until May 2017 because until that time they were managing on his income.

In October of this year, his condition had deteriorated to such an extent that he moved into residential care in a dementia centre. All his pension and allowances were then taken to pay for his care.

At this point, my friend went to the job centre and applied for Universal Credit. This has been rejected and here is part of their rejection statement:-

'On the evidence available, it has not been possible to show that you have been a qualified person or a family member of a qualified person (e.g. a registered jobseeker, a worker, self employed person or self-sufficient with sickness insurance) for a continuous period of 5 years or have satisfied all of the conditions to gain a permanent right to reside at your date of claim.'

So she finds herself left without any income at all. Obviously, she doesn't want to consider leaving her husband and returning to Germany and it's difficult for a 62 year-old to find employment in rural Wales.

One point is that since 2009, she and her husband have been living as caretakers for a chapel, its grounds and the village hall. They have been paying a reduced rent for the house they live in on the basis of these caretaking duties. The value of this is about £150 per month. Do your think it would be possible for her to get backdated self-employed status from HMRC on this basis? If so, could she make backdated voluntary Class 2 NI payments and would that change her status regarding Universal Credit?

Any ideas or suggestions about this would be much appreciated.

TELLIT01

Has she tried contacting anybody at UC to find out if there is any more information she can provide in an attempt to prove entitlement? I know when I worked on ESA that Habitual Residence Test would be failed if there was the slightest gap in the evidence provided.

MinnieMinno

Thank you for your reply. Yes, she has now filled in all the gaps and received a Mandatory Reconsideration Notice, which reiterates that she is not eligible for UC. They state that she is eligible for Jobseekers' Allowance for 91 days BUT when she tried to sign up for that at the JobCentre or on the 'phone, she was told that JSA was no longer available without UC....

tacpot12

Does your friend know if they will be entitled to the State Pension in the UK when they reach state pension age? UC will stop at that point so if she is going to be back to having no income, perhaps returning to German might be her only option.

I would say she needs specialist immigration advice to check whether she will be allowed to remain the UK.

You could also take a look at this page: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/coming-from-abroad-and-claiming-benefits-the-habitual-residence-test/if-you-fail-the-habitual-residence-test/what-to-do-if-you-fail-the-habitual-residence-test/

MinnieMinno

Yes, it may be that immigration advice is needed. Unfortunately, there is very little available in Mid-Wales. I'll get her to check through the CAB's link that you have given.

MinnieMinno

I'm glad to report that the DWP has reversed its decision in this case and my friend will now receive Universal Credit. Payment will be backdated to November, when she originally put in the application.

In general, the DWP seems rather confused about criteria for the Permanent Right to Reside in the UK and I would urge anyone experiencing problems to work with the CAB and their MP. Both have been very helpful in this case.