Moving back to UK with 2 children
Sep 13th 2015, 6:24 pm
#1
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Joined: Sep 2015
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Moving back to UK with 2 children
I have been living in Mallorca for 9 years, husband is Spanish and we have 2 children 7 and 3. I am wanting to move back ASAP have never settled here and feel I need to do it before children get any older. Husband will need to stay here to start as he has his new business but will be hopefully following us over in the near future. I understand I must do a habitual residency test in order to claim child benefit etc. my main issue is renting property. How will this work with no proof o income references etc? I cannot possibly pay 6 months rent upfront. Money is going to be very tight. I am moving to a different area to where my parents live but will have to stay with them until I can rent somewhere in the area I want, I don't want to put my daughter into a school where my mum lives only to change her again when we move the area we want to be. Also both children have Spanish passports at the moment will I need to get them British passports straight away? Any advice anyone has for me will be appreciated. Really don't know where to begin x
Sep 14th 2015, 11:33 am
#2
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,294
Re: Moving back to UK with 2 children
If you have been exercising treaty rights for 5 years, you automatically have PR in Spain and after 6 years you can claim Spanish citizenship. If the UK comes out of the EU, or there is a split, or free movement ends (as Germany is already hinting it might have to) you might regret not having Spanish citizenship as your children are Spanish citizens and they may choose to live in Spain with your grandchildren.
I don't know if Spain is as strict as the UK on treaty rights, but it might be worth applying for PR in Spain and see what Spain says, and then follow their rules for Spanish citizenship.
Be aware that the UK is very strict on treaty rights now and as an EU citizen your husband will have to be a qualified person to be allowed to reside in the UK past 3 months. Being married to you doesn't change that.
From last April the UK changed the rules for self employed EU citizens to join the same rules the UK made for EU citizen PAYE workers the other year. Both PAYE and SE EU citizens must now earn a minimum each week to be allowed to reside in the UK as EU workers.
Under present UK rules, EU workers (PAYE and self employed) must be in work and earning at least £156 each week. For the SE, that must be the minimum he declares to HMRC to pay tax on. He will need to watch for any changes the UK make to that minimum as they will affect those EU workers already in the UK. Only EU citizen worker qualified persons can now have free NHS from the UK (with a very limited time for jobseekers if they have already paid into the UK) so if he is an EU worker qualified person at all times (under UK rules) then he won't need to buy private insurance to pay the NHS.
This might not be what you want to read.
You can't claim UK benefits for 3 months as you have been outside of the UK for too long. Can you claim benefits from Spain for those 3 months?
Explains that Brits are subject to the HRT too.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-g...Residence-Test
Explains the benefits affected by the HRT.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-g...es-does-the-Ha
From the UK government site for claiming benefits for children.
Child Benefit is
"usually live in the UK and were getting Child Benefit before moving abroad for less than one year"
https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-move-to-uk
Tax Credits is
"have been abroad for less than a year but usually live in the UK and were claiming Child Tax Credits before moving"
https://www.gov.uk/tax-credits-if-mo...ving-to-the-uk
You also need to be aware that the benefit Tax Credit is being reduced in April 2016, even for existing claimants. Most benefits are being frozen for 4 years from April 2016, including Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits, as the UK are reducing their benefits for children to below that of other northern and western EEA countries.
You might do better living with your mother until your husband can join you and work to pay your rent because even when you can claim, there have been benefit changes. Housing Benefit is now only paid at the 30th percentile, which means it most likely won't cover all of your rent. The UK has also brought in a benefit cap for those who don't work and this cap will reduce in April and will affect families renting with 2+ children as their housing benefit will be reduced to keep to their household cap.
If you move to an area where the old income based benefits for working ages have been removed and already replaced by the new benefit Universal Credit, which is being rolled out across the country, you must meet an minimum income floor or be subject to conditions to receive benefits. As your youngest child is age 3 you will be required to look for work, attend the job centre, go on work experience and courses. Universal Credit is replacing the income based benefits Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, Income Support, Housing Benefits, JSA and ESA.
It will make it easier to register them for free NHS as Brits can use their NHS for free. Spanish visitors cannot use the NHS for free and are expected to use their Spanish EHICs to cover any emergency treatment they need while visiting the UK. As children, they cannot exercise treaty rights and only EU Citizen workers can now have free NHS. From April 2015, the NHS now must check the status of those asking for free NHS to see if they must be billed.
I don't know if Spain is as strict as the UK on treaty rights, but it might be worth applying for PR in Spain and see what Spain says, and then follow their rules for Spanish citizenship.
Be aware that the UK is very strict on treaty rights now and as an EU citizen your husband will have to be a qualified person to be allowed to reside in the UK past 3 months. Being married to you doesn't change that.
From last April the UK changed the rules for self employed EU citizens to join the same rules the UK made for EU citizen PAYE workers the other year. Both PAYE and SE EU citizens must now earn a minimum each week to be allowed to reside in the UK as EU workers.
Under present UK rules, EU workers (PAYE and self employed) must be in work and earning at least £156 each week. For the SE, that must be the minimum he declares to HMRC to pay tax on. He will need to watch for any changes the UK make to that minimum as they will affect those EU workers already in the UK. Only EU citizen worker qualified persons can now have free NHS from the UK (with a very limited time for jobseekers if they have already paid into the UK) so if he is an EU worker qualified person at all times (under UK rules) then he won't need to buy private insurance to pay the NHS.
You can't claim UK benefits for 3 months as you have been outside of the UK for too long. Can you claim benefits from Spain for those 3 months?
Explains that Brits are subject to the HRT too.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-g...Residence-Test
Explains the benefits affected by the HRT.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-g...es-does-the-Ha
From the UK government site for claiming benefits for children.
Child Benefit is
"usually live in the UK and were getting Child Benefit before moving abroad for less than one year"
https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-move-to-uk
Tax Credits is
"have been abroad for less than a year but usually live in the UK and were claiming Child Tax Credits before moving"
https://www.gov.uk/tax-credits-if-mo...ving-to-the-uk
You also need to be aware that the benefit Tax Credit is being reduced in April 2016, even for existing claimants. Most benefits are being frozen for 4 years from April 2016, including Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits, as the UK are reducing their benefits for children to below that of other northern and western EEA countries.
You might do better living with your mother until your husband can join you and work to pay your rent because even when you can claim, there have been benefit changes. Housing Benefit is now only paid at the 30th percentile, which means it most likely won't cover all of your rent. The UK has also brought in a benefit cap for those who don't work and this cap will reduce in April and will affect families renting with 2+ children as their housing benefit will be reduced to keep to their household cap.
If you move to an area where the old income based benefits for working ages have been removed and already replaced by the new benefit Universal Credit, which is being rolled out across the country, you must meet an minimum income floor or be subject to conditions to receive benefits. As your youngest child is age 3 you will be required to look for work, attend the job centre, go on work experience and courses. Universal Credit is replacing the income based benefits Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, Income Support, Housing Benefits, JSA and ESA.
It will make it easier to register them for free NHS as Brits can use their NHS for free. Spanish visitors cannot use the NHS for free and are expected to use their Spanish EHICs to cover any emergency treatment they need while visiting the UK. As children, they cannot exercise treaty rights and only EU Citizen workers can now have free NHS. From April 2015, the NHS now must check the status of those asking for free NHS to see if they must be billed.
Last edited by formula; Sep 14th 2015 at 1:17 pm.
