NedKelly

Does anyone know if you can claim the UK winter fuel allowance as a pensioner in OZ?

Wendy

I don't see why not

NedKelly

I don't see why not either. It could be used to run the air-conditioning whilst those back home freeze.

Wendy

Good idea

kingfisher241049

I wonder if I can claim it from here. Its bloody cold here today!!

mbike

From the PensionService website:

I live abroad. Can I claim?
If you qualified for a Winter Fuel Payment in Great Britain or Northern Ireland before moving to another EEA country or Switzerland, you may still be able to continue receiving payments while living in that country.

If you move to another country outside of the EEA or Switzerland you cannot continue to receive a payment.

Guess not.

Mark

NedKelly

So if I had moved to the warm part of Spain or maybe Greece or Malta I would still get it if I had been getting it in the UK. Makes sense, if you are Polish and have kids in Poland you can turn up in the UK and you can get child benefit and send it back home.

Vash the Stampede

Fair play. Sounds fine to me.

I'd rather see child benefit going to the 600,000 members of the UK's hard-working Polish community than to an extended family of bludging chavs, or the 14-years-old-shagged-my-boyfriend-got pregnant-got-dumped-got-a-council-house-and-benefits club.

slipshot

I'd rather not see it going anywhere other than the person/people it was intended for. How ridiculous you can still claim it when you are not living here. Pathetic.

People should have to live and work here for 2 years before being able to claim benefits in my book. Why not???

NedKelly

It probably violates their human rights by having to work. Mind you when a failed asylum seeker who raped a twelve year old girl gets a £50,000 handout from the UK taxpayers for being locked up for too long why shouldn't the "14-years-old-shagged-my-boyfriend-got-pregnant-got-dumped-got-a-council-house-and-benefits club" bludger.

sj oldfield

You cant turn up in the Uk and be eligible for child benefit. Even if a British migrant returns to the UK they have to wait a year before they are eligible!

NedKelly

Not according to the Daily Mail:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

and it doesn't mention any waiting period in the government handouts:-

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/ch5_notes.pdf

Good old tax saps!

Vash the Stampede

Good old nanny state!

I still don't understand how this can continue to happen. I came here nearly 3 years ago on a UK Ancestry Visa, which carried a highly visible disclaimer stating "No recourse to public funds".

I made my way through hard graft, determination and the assistance of newly-made friends, without claiming a penny from the public (except for the NHS, which has a reciprocal agreement with Australia's Medicare).

So how can other people just waltz in and help themselves? Is it something to do with the EU? Are immigrants from EU members automatically entitled to benefits? What the hell is going on here?