Can I receive benefits coming from a European country back to the uk?

Question

Hello!

I am british and moving back to the UK after having lived in Spain for 7 years. I am moving to wales, where i will be renting a place, with my spanish partner and my 3 year old daughter. I hope to be working straight away self employed but if things should go wrong then I wondered if I would be entitled to any type of benefit in the UK all though I have never worked there. (I have worked in Spain though which is in the EU). My family over here have been worrying me and telling me I'm a bit crazy to just go back with the hopes that I will make it without knowing fully whether I could get benefits if I needed them. So if somebody could enlighten me a little on this subject that would be great! Thank you!

Answer 1

If you have not contributed via national insurance and tax, you will not be eligible for benefits. My friend's sister spent many years working on cruise ships and when she returned to the UK she did not qualify for any type of benefit. She also had great difficulty when she tried to rent a house from the council. She eventually had to go for one of those private rentals.She has also found out that when she reaches pension age, as she has made no contributions for over ten years, she will only get a reduced pension. Perhaps the rules have changed, your best bet would be to contact the social security department and make enquiries, but I wouldn't hold out much hope, sorry...

Answer 2

You can, but you need to have all your paperwork sorted. You might need to have documents translated.  

Answer 3

I think you may have to phone the Social Security offices about this one as the laws have changed so much over the last few years.

If you have never worked here that means you have not paid income tax or national insurance which used to mean you were not eligible for any kind of benefit.

The Social Security rules are a bit of a nightmare so it would be best to phone and get the proper information.  

Answer 4

yes you can