Migrants Resource Centre Mario Marin Immigration Casework Supervisor
Legal Advice Team MRC offers a range of immigration-related advice services. We offer free service to those entitled to legal aid and free assessment of merit and eligibility every Thursdays from 10 to 12 am.
Immigration and Nationality Advice Service INAS is a value-for-money fee paying service set up by MRC in response to funding cuts for immigration advice. The service enables MRC to continue providing immigration advice to the most vulnerable, including those who are no longer eligible for free immigration advice at affordable rate. Advice is available in community languages.
Who are EEA nationals Nationals of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and Croatia de newest member A8 countries are underlined A2 countries are shadow
Non-EEA family members Non EEA-family members have rights that derive from the EEA national s rights. If the EEA national is exercising residence rights or has permanent residence, the non-eea family member has a right to be here. This is an automatic right. It does not matter if the person has already obtained documentation. Non-EEA family members acquire permanent residence after five years. If the EEA national has acquired permanent residence under Art 17 Dir 2004/38 (early PR) the family members also immediately acquire PR.
Retaining a right to reside Death or departure Death/departure of EEA national shall not affect right of residence of family members that are EEA nationals but before acquiring PR they must exercise a right to reside under Art 7 for a continuous period of 5 years Death of EEA national does not affect right of residence of TCN family members provided that they had been residing in the UK as family members for at least one year before the EEA national s death Retaining a right to reside: Divorce or termination of civil partn Derivative rights of residence: Teixeira parents/primary carers ; Chen parents/primary carers; Zambrano parents/primary carers
EEA nationals Access to Housing EEA nationals are not automatically eligible for council or housing association housing. To be eligible for housing, EEA nationals must have a right to reside in the UK: A right to reside can be gained by EEA nationals for example, if they are working, self-sufficient, or have a permanent right of residence in the UK (after five years lawful residence ),
Other EEA nationals who are studying or self-sufficient may be eligible to some assistance, in some circumstances, but will have to pass the habitual residence test. (HRT: Residence must be for an appreciable period of time and there must be an intention to settle in the UK.) Family members are usually eligible..
Permanent residence: 5 year route Article 16 Directive 2004/38 and Regulation 15 (1)(a)-(b) EEA Regs 2006 Requires 5 years continuous legal residence Continuous residence will not be affected by absences of up to 6 months in any year, or loner absences for compulsory military service, or one absence of up to 12 consecutive months for important reasons such as pregnancy, childbirth, study or vocational training (Art 16(3) Dir 2004/38; r.3 EEA Regs 2006).
Clock stops running at start of absence, and starts on return Being a qualified person or the family member includes being a jobseeker (rr. 6(1)(a) & 14 EEA Regs 2006) Once acquired, PR is only lost only through 2 continuous years absence from the UK (Art 16(4); r15(2) EEA Regs 2006) Acquired automatically: no need for residence documentation (Art 25 Dir 2004/38)
Early Permanent Residence can be acquire in certain circumstances ie. Workers/self-employed persons who, at the time they stop working have reached state pension age/workers who have ceased paid work to take early retirement, provided that they have worked for the previous 12 months and have been continuously resident in the UK for more than 3 years Workers or self-employed persons who have resided continuously in the host Member State for more than two years and stop working there as a result of permanent incapacity to work.
Eligible foreign nationals would have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other applicants in accordance with the local authority's allocation scheme. Access to Housing non-eea Nationals Most foreign nationals who have recently come to England are not eligible for social housing. It is worth noting that there is no general entitlement to social housing for anyone in England. The rules on eligibility for housing assistance in relation to persons from abroad are extremely complex and open for interpretation by local authorities. (Allocations) Foreign nationals are eligible for an allocation of social housing if: they have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK with recourse to public funds (for example, people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection). Or those granted Indefinite leave to Remain. ie, those granted ILR after five years conditional leave.
EEA nationals access to Benefits Entitlement to the main means-tested benefits is dependent on an EEA national having a right to reside under EU law. (income support, income related employment and support allowance (iresa), income based jobseekers allowance, pension credit, housing benefit, universal credit (UC), Ch B and child tax credit) Claimants must have been living in the UK or Common Travel Area (Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man) for 3 months before they may be entitled to income based JSA. EEA nationals jobseekers are not able to get Housing Benefit (HB) since April 2014.
Non-EEA nationals access to benefits Asylum seekers ie persons waiting for a decision on an asylum application are not entitled to mainstream non-contributory social security benefits including income-based Jobseeker s Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit. Instead, they may be eligible for accommodation and/or financial support ( asylum support ) from the Home Office. Refugees ie asylum seekers whose application for asylum has been successful are able to claim social security benefits and tax credits on the same basis as UK nationals.
Non-EEA national access to benefits People admitted from outside the EEA have limited leave to remain and are subject to the condition that they have no recourse to public funds during their stay in the UK. A person with limited leave to remain who claims public funds, in breach of their leave conditions, can find themselves liable to removal, refusal of further leave and/or prosecution. There are some limited exceptions to the above rules: sponsored immigrants may be able to claim means-tested benefits if they have been resident for at least five years (or before then, if their sponsor has died).
NON EEA NATIONALS ACCESS TO BENEFITS Even if a non-eea national is not prevented from claiming benefits because of their immigration status, they may still be prevented from claiming certain benefits within a certain period of arrival in the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) if they are deemed not to be habitually resident. The Habitual Residence Test is applied to people (unless they are in an exempted category) who have recently arrived in the country and who make a claim for certain benefits, or seek housing assistance from a local authority. It applies to returning UK nationals as well as to those coming to the UK for the first time.
I Who have access to legal aid. Access to civil legal aid has fallen by over 50% and some categories of law are almost entirely inaccessible for state funding. Family cases where there is proof of domestic violence, forced marriage or child abduction, however there has been a 60% fall Immigration cases that do not involve asylum or detention
Access to legal aid Housing and debt matters unless they constitute an immediate risk to the home Welfare benefit cases; except appeals to the Upper Tribunal or High Court Almost all clinical negligence cases Employment cases that do not involve human trafficking or a contravention of the Equality Act 2010 Mental health cases remain in scope
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