If you have just come to Great Britain, you may need to know about befits you can claim. You may be new to the country, or you may be returning after a period abroad. The rules for some benefits are different if you have just come to Great Britain, even if you are a United Kingdom (UK) national.

If you are returning after a period abroad and already getting a UK social security benefit,

contact :

Pensions and Overseas Benefits Directorate

Tyneview Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1BA

Tel: 0191 218 7777
Fax: 0191 218 7293

The information here tells you how benefits are affected because you have just entered Great Britain, and what leaflet to get for the general rules for each benefit. You can get the leaflets and more advice from your social security office.

The European Economic Area (EEA) is made up of all European Community (EC) countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK), plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The UK means England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

Great Britain means England, Scotland and Wales

Benefits you may be able to get:

If you have just entered Great Britain, benefits you can get will depend on one or more of the following:

National Insurance (NI) contributions you have paid over your working life
NI contributions you have paid for a particular period of time (usually the last 2 whole tax years before your claim)
Whether you are living in Great Britain now
Whether you usually live in Great Britain
Why you have come or returned to Great Britain
Whether your entry to Great Britain is subject to limitations or conditions.

There are some benefits you can only get if you have paid National Insurance (NI) contributions, and there are some which do not rely on NI contributions. You will normally pay NI contributions in the UK if you earn above a certain amount. They help to pay for some social security benefits.

If you have never lived in the UK before, you will not normally have paid NI contributions. This will usually mean that you cannot get benefits which are based on NI contributions.

But if you have paid the equivalent of NI contributions in another country, this can sometimes help you to qualify for benefits in Great Britain. This only applies to some benefits, and only to countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and countries that have a special agreement with the UK.

The following is a list of leaflets that tell you about this:

Countries in the European Community, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - SA29
Australia - SA5 Barbados - SA43 Bermuda - SA23 Canada - SA20
Cyprus - SA12 Israel - SA14 Jamaica - SA27 Jersey and Guernsey - SA4
Malta - SA11 Mauritius - SA38 New Zealand - SA8 Philippines - SA42
Switzerland - SA6 Turkey - SA22 USA - SA33
Yugoslavia - SA17 applies to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Benefits based on NI contributions:

You can only get benefits in this section if you have paid NI contributions in the UK or the equivalent of NI contributions in certain other countries.

Retirement Pension
Widow’s Payment
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widows Pension

There are no special rules if you have just come to Great Britain.

For information on the general rules for Retirement Pension, get leaflet RM1 Retirement from your social security office.
For information on the general rules for Widow’s Benefit, get leaflet GL14 Widowed? From your local social security office.

Incapacity Benefit
Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Maternity Allowance

You may be treated as having paid the necessary NI contributions to get these benefits if:

You have been working abroad for the same employer for more than 52 weeks and paid contributions for the first 52 weeks, and

The Benefits Agency decide you are ordinarily resident in Great Britain.

To decide if you are ordinarily resident in Great Britain, even when you were abroad, the Benefits Agency will look at things like:

How often you returned to Great Britain
If you kept a home in Great Britain
If your family stayed in Great Britain
How long you had lived In Great Britain before you went abroad.

No one of these will automatically mean that the Benefits Agency will decide you are ordinarily resident in Great Britain.

For information on the general rules for incapacity benefit, get leaflet SD1 Sick or disabled from your social security office.
For information on the general rules for contribution-based jobseeker’s Allowance, get leaflet JSAL5 Jobseeker’s Allowance - Helping you back to work from your Jobcentre.
For information on the general rules for Maternity Allowance, get leaflet BC1 Babies and children from your social security office.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

There are no special rules if you have just come to Great Britain.

For information on the general rules for SSP, get leaflet SD1 Sick or disabled from your social security office
For information on the general rules for SMP, get leaflet BC1 Babies and children from your social security office.

Benefits not based on NI contributions:

You cannot get benefits in this section if there is a limit or condition on your entry to Great Britain.

Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
Invalid Care Allowance

You must usually have lived in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man for 26 weeks in the last 12 months, and be in Great Britain when you make your claim.

You may be treated as having lived in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man for 26 weeks in the last 12 months if you have been a member of HM armed Forces serving abroad, a mariner or airman, or working on the UK sector of the continental shelf - for example on an oil rig.

You may be treated as having lived in great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man if you have been living in an EEA country or a country which has a special agreement with the UK. See earlier - ‘Benefits you may be able to get’

If you do not have to pay income tax in Great Britain, there are special rules and you have to have lived in Great Britain for 156 weeks in the 4 years before you stopped having to pay income tax.

For information on the general rules for these benefits, get leaflet SD1 Sick or disabled from your social security office.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Reduced Earnings Allowance

There are no special rules if you have just come to Great Britain.You may also be able to get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or Reduced Earnings Allowance if one of the following applies:

You were working as a mariner or airman, or working on the continental shelf of the UK, another EC country or Norway. This might be working on an oil rig.The accident or disease occurred after 1 October 1986 and during the first 52 weeks you were employed abroad, and you were paying NI contributions.Your employer was paying NI contributions for you while you were working abroad.You were paying special NI contributions for volunteer development workers.

For information on the general rules for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, get leaflet SD1 Sick or disabled from your social security office.

Disability Working Allowance.
Family Credit

You must normally live in Great Britain, and be in Great Britain when you make your claim.

For information on the general rules for Disability Working Allowance get leaflet SD1 Sick or disabled from your social security office.

For information on the general rules for Family Credit, get leaflet BC1 Babies and children from your social security office.

Child Benefit
Guardians Allowance

You and your child must usually have lived in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man for 26 weeks in the last 12 months, and be in Great Britain when you make your claim.There are different arrangements if you have come to Great Britain from an EEA country or a country which has a special arrangement with the UK. For more information, you may be able to get another leaflet. See earlier- ‘Benefits you may be able to get’.

Guardian’s Allowance also depends on the nationality of the child’s parents and which country they lived in.

For more information on these benefits, get leaflet BC1 Babies and children from your social security office.

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income Support

These depend on whether the Benefits Agency decide that you are habitually resident in the UK, the Republic of Ireland or the Isle of Man.You may be treated as habitually resident if you are an EC national who has recently worked in the UK.

You may be treated as habitually resident if the Home Office give you asylum or exceptional leave to stay in the UK.

The Benefits Agency will decide if you are habitually resident by asking things such as:

Whether you have worked in the UK.How long you have lived abroad.Why you have come to the UK.How you plan to support yourself in the UK.

How long you plan to stay in the UK.

For more information on the general rules for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, get leaflet JSAL5 Jobseeker’s Allowance - Helping you back to work from your Jobcentre.

There is a range of leaflets that give information on the general rules for Income Support. The leaflet for you depends on your circumstances. Contact your social security office for details.

Housing Benefit
Council Tax Benefit

You can only get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit if you have made the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Irish Republic your permanent homeIf you have come into the United Kingdom within five years of your claim for benefit, your local council will ask you for some information.

If you are an asylum seeker or sponsored immigrant, you may not be entitled to Housing benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

For more information on the general rules for Housing Benefit, get leaflet GL16 Help with your rent from your social security office

For information about the general rules for Council Tax Benefit get leaflet GL17 Help with your council tax from your social security office

For your nearest social security office look for Benefits Agency display advert in the business section of the phone book.