Right To Reside In The United Kingdom (Info)

Working Tax Credit (WTC) is available to claimants from states in the European Economic Area ( EEA), including A8 nationals who are exercising their rights as workers in the United Kingdom ( UK), or their right to reside here, under Community Law. Such claimants are, therefore, to be treated as ordinarily resident for the purposes of WTC.

For new claims made on or after 1 May 2004 and during the initial period of derogation from the Treaty of Accession (which is an option not to adopt all of the provisions up to 30 April 2006), entitlement to Child Tax Credit (CTC) will depend on the claimant, regardless of his or her nationality having a ‘right to reside’ in the UK (whether under UK or EC law). This is in addition to the claimant having to meet the existing tests of being present and ordinarily resident in the UK.

A claimant can be treated as having a right to reside in the UK if they are

• A UK or national from the Common Travel Area by virtue of the Immigration Act 1971 (which covers the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)

• An A8 national legally working in the UK. See ‘A8 nationals legally working in the United Kingdom’ below

• A worker or work-seeker from an EEA state (excluding A8 nationals)

• A third country national legally resident in another EEA member state and moving to the UK

A claimant will not be treated as having a right to reside in the UK if they are

• An A8 national who is looking for work, including an A8 worker who loses his or her job before having worked in the UK lawfully and uninterruptedly for 12 months or more and is without another job for a period of more than 30 days

• An A8 national who is economically inactive

• An EEA national (except UK or Irish nationals but including nationals of Cyprus and Malta) who is economically inactive

In these cases, the claimant would only have the right to reside in the UK if he or she has sufficient resources to avoid becoming an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the UK. All the claimant’s personal circumstances would be taken into account when deciding whether he or she is self-sufficient. Such factors could include the likelihood of the claimant obtaining employment and whether or not the claimant had claimed means-tested social security benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Social Development. For example, income support, income based jobseeker’s allowance or housing and council tax benefits

A8 nationals legally working in the United Kingdom

From 1 May 2004, A8 nationals will be able to take up employment in the UK provided they are authorised to do so under a new Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) administered by the Home Office. A8 nationals will, with some exceptions, be obliged to register where they are working and for whom. They will then be issued with a certificate authorising them to work for the employer concerned and confirming their right to work in the UK while they are working for that employer. If they change employers, they will have to submit an application to the Home Office for a new certificate. An A8 national who has worked legally for a period of 12 months without interruption (that is, periods of unemployment must not total more than 30 days in any 12 month period) is entitled to full free movement rights and is no longer required to register his or her employment

The following groups of A8 nationals will be required to register under the WRS

• All A8 nationals who take up new employment in the UK on or after 1 May 2004 including

• Part-time workers

• Students who are working

• Short-term and temporary workers who are employed by the labour provider

• A8 dependants of A8 workers who arrive in the UK on or after 1 May 2004 and who wish to work in the UK.

The following groups of A8 nationals will not be required to register if they

• Are self-employed

• Have been legally working in the UK for 12 months or more in the employment they are in on 1 May 2004

• Have been legally working in the UK and stay in the same job after 1 May 2004

• Were issued leave to enter the UK before 1 May 2004 as a seasonal agricultural worker and took up employment on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) on or after that date

• Are providing services in the UK on behalf of an employer who is not established in the UK

• Are also citizens (dual nationals) of the UK, Switzerland or another member state of the European Economic Area other than the A8 states

• Are the family members of a Swiss or EEA national (other than one of the A8 states) who is working in the UK

• Are the family members of a Swiss or EEA national who is living in the UK as a student or a retired or self-sufficient person

• Have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK

The Home Office Accession (Immigration and Worker Registration) Regulations 2004 set up the WRS and give A8 nationals who are workers the ‘right to reside’ in the UK. In principle A8 workers will therefore have the same right to equal treatment as other EEA workers while they are working in the UK as regards entitlement to social security benefits, tax credits, health care and education. After 12 months of uninterrupted employment, an A8 worker will acquire full rights under the Treaty of Accession and will be free from the requirement to register under the WRS. If they wish, he or she will be able to apply to the Home Office for an EEA residence permit to confirm this.