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7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Old Jun 9th 2013, 11:36 am
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Default 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Before i start, i dont want to live off of benefits but i have been left no choice!!
I'm 19 years old and 10 months ago I moved to Jordan to live with my Husband, because both my parents had passed away and had no one left in the UK.

I finished my education first and got excellent GCSES and Alevels. I was hoping that i will stay there for a bit and come back to the UK, find a job which meets the spouse visa financial requirements of £18,600 a year. But i couldnt.

I am 7 months pregnant now and when i went straight to sign onto Job seekers allowance so that i can find a job to get me by. I've signed on twice and the people at the job centre were extremely nice and said that i had a really good chance of finding a job and even one that paid £10.00 a hour (full time) to reach the spouse financial rerequirements i have previously done a lot of voluntary work in the UK to make it look good on my CV.

Yesterday i got a letter from the job centre saying that im not entitled to jsa because i have been outside the uk for a period of time (10 months).

Legally i can apply for income support when im 29 weeks pregnant, which i will be on saturday. But will they not say the exact same thing to me about being outside the uk for a period of time?

Ive read alot on the habitual residence test and i understand that you have to be 26 weeks of the last 52 weeks present here in the uk, and i have only been here for 12 of them (even though ive lived in the UK before that all my life - 18 years)

When i go to apply for income support i will be 29 weeks pregnant, homeless and no money to feed myself or the baby thats could pop out any day!! Are they going to say no as well?
Surely they have to give me something to get by on ununtil find a job or something?
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Old Jun 9th 2013, 3:19 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Someone more expert than I will doubtless chime in. But as I understand it there are two forms of JSA. One is based on contributions (irrespective of need) and the other is based on need (irrespective of contributions). It sounds like you have been denied the contributions based part.
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Old Jun 9th 2013, 3:23 pm
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Post Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

I strongly suggest that you contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to see if they can advise you regarding benefits.

As far as I'm aware, you will be eligible for Income Support whereas Jobseeker's Allowance (which many years ago was called Unemployment Benefit) has always been dependent on Class 1 National Insurance contributions, which obviously you haven't been paying in recently.

Is your husband working in Jordan? Is he (or his family) helping you financially? How long have you been married? Will he be coming over to the UK when the baby is about to be born?
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Old Jun 9th 2013, 3:37 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Englishmum
I strongly suggest that you contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to see if they can advise you regarding benefits.

As far as I'm aware, you will be eligible for Income Support whereas Jobseeker's Allowance (which many years ago was called Unemployment Benefit) has always been dependent on Class 1 National Insurance contributions, which obviously you haven't been paying in recently.

Is your husband working in Jordan? Is he (or his family) helping you financially? How long have you been married? Will he be coming over to the UK when the baby is about to be born?
Thank you so much for replying, my husband is going to try and come down for the birth for a few weeks on a general visit visa but thats not 100% sure yet. He works in jordan but there is no way he can support me financially due to the state of the economy over there. Weve been together since i was 15 (young love) then got married on the 23rd of march 2012.
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Old Jun 9th 2013, 4:01 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

....... how would you get a job with a new baby?

You say you have no-one left in the UK, and your husband cannot send you money to support you in the UK.

You are unlikely to get a job with a new child to look after, you don't have money to pay for child care and any work which you might obtain is certainly not one which is going to qualify for a spouse visa for your husband.

It sounds as though it would be more practical if you returned to Jordan so at least you would be with your husband and his family and have a roof over your head.
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Old Jun 9th 2013, 10:38 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by SanDiegogirl
...... It sounds as though it would be more practical if you returned to Jordan so at least you would be with your husband and his family and have a roof over your head.
For goodness sake, she's seven months and in the UK. She can't be going overseas for at least another three or four months, now can she?
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 4:39 am
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

You have no relatives or friends you could rely on? I know it's a blow to someone's self esteem but it's better than being homeless, right? I know you said there's no one left in the UK but perhaps you are overlooking someone, an aunt, cousin- anyone?

Why couldn't you stay in Jordan?
I must say I agree with what SanDiegogirl said- is there no way you could get back to Jordan?

If you are in the UK now where are you staying? Or are you currently still in Jordan?

If you really will be homeless surely there's some sort of shelter or system in place that will help you out.
Best of luck to you!
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 5:07 am
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by holly_1948
For goodness sake, she's seven months and in the UK. She can't be going overseas for at least another three or four months, now can she?
Sure she could - airlines will fly you up to 36 weeks (or 32 with multiple births) with a doctors letter. Sounds like the sensible idea to me - go where you have a roof over your head and a support network.

Last edited by quoll; Jun 10th 2013 at 7:05 am.
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 5:19 am
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

I have no idea about the visa system in Jordan, but can we assume she can just hop on a plane back there? I know she can't do that if her husband was in the US. I agree, going back there does sound the best route if possible, but surely there is some kind of system in place in the UK that would keep her from being homeless?
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 7:01 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Beccarose
... If you really will be homeless surely there's some sort of shelter or system in place that will help you out.
The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 placed a duty on local housing authorities to secure permanent accommodation for unintentionally homeless people in priority need.
Any homeless person who is pregnant is in priority need according to law.

So the question becomes, is she intentionally homeless or unintentionally homeless?
Here is what the law says
Under Section 191 (1) of the Housing Act 1996, a person becomes homeless intentionally if they deliberately do, or fail to do, anything which causes them to cease to occupy accommodation which was available and reasonable for them to occupy.
So the question then becomes, did the accommodation in Jordan become unavailable or cease to be reasonable for a pregnant woman to occupy in the midst of a civil war spilling over from Syria?

And, perhaps more importantly, upon whom does the burden of investigation or proof lie?

And if not presently homeless is she intentionally or unintentionally being evicted?

And no, a destitute woman who is 7 months can't be flying to Jordan, even if the airlines were to allow it.
I speak as someone who has been to that part of the world, albeit almost 40 years ago. So no, a 7 months pregnant Englishwoman (Scots? Welsh?) cannot be travelling alone to the middle East. Crazy idea.

Last edited by holly_1948; Jun 10th 2013 at 7:06 pm.
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 9:46 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by amany.abdelghany21
I was hoping that i will stay there for a bit and come back to the UK, find a job which meets the spouse visa financial requirements of £18,600 a year.....

Legally i can apply for income support when im 29 weeks pregnant, which i will be on saturday. But will they not say the exact same thing to me about being outside the uk for a period of time?
Yes, an Income Support decision will also include having to 'pass' HRT as with JSA.

If going back to Jordan is not feasible you need to focus on getting DWP to accept you are habitually resident immediately.

A major factor in your favour is you haven't been out of the UK that long and you say your intention was always to come back after a bit. In other words you were temporarily absent from the UK rather than ordinarily resident abroad.

But what were you coming back to? Here's the problem. You say you'll be homeless at the weekend. Where are you now? What changes at the weekend that makes you homeless then and not now?

Are you able to show you were making arrangements to return to the UK? Did you buy a one way ticket or a return? How far in advance did you do that? What about your personal belongings - where are they?

Was there any jobsearch conducted before you returned. Where were you planning on living?

When did you actually get back to the UK and how quickly did you apply for JSA. I suspect you may have done this "too soon" if you see what I mean.
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 11:20 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

She immediately needs to get in contact with a social worker. Screw the Citizens advice bureau, they are a total joke.

The workers at any job center should know or contact your local council. You wil be housed and taken care off. I know this first hand with my own sister.

She also cannot fly, she has no damn money her husband has no money, thorough agree with holly_1948.

If we knew where you where, i could help you find a suitable person.
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Old Jun 10th 2013, 11:43 pm
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 placed a duty on local housing authorities to secure permanent accommodation for unintentionally homeless people in priority need.

Before we all start blaming the OP's situation on the Social Services, the JSA system and the local housing associations and saying that they have a duty to the OP, shall we take another look at the 'facts' of this case?

OP gets married to Jordanian and moves to Jordan some 10 months ago. Jordanian husband cannot support her, so OP moves back to the UK. She had no job to return to in the UK and has not found a job to date. She also states that she has no family in the UK. She appears to have moved back about 3 months ago. Somewhere in this 10 month period she became pregnant - she is now 7 months pregnant, so she was 4 months pregnant when she returned.

With no job, no resources and pregnant there are not many landlords who are going to take her on; and let's face it not many employers would do so either.

What did this young lady expect would happen? She can hardly be shouting 'unfair' because she is not receiving the payouts and benefits she was expecting. Why leave husband when pregnant to, apparently, come back to nothing?

Having read what I have written I'm not sure this is a bona fide story anyway.
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Old Jun 11th 2013, 2:46 am
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by SanDiegogirl
Why leave husband when pregnant to, apparently, come back to nothing?

Having read what I have written I'm not sure this is a bona fide story anyway.
There's 'holes' in the OP story I agree.
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Old Jun 11th 2013, 11:35 am
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Default Re: 7 months pregnant, denined benefits!!!!!!

Originally Posted by SanDiegogirl
What did this young lady expect would happen? She can hardly be shouting 'unfair' because she is not receiving the payouts and benefits she was expecting. Why leave husband when pregnant to, apparently, come back to nothing?
Personally as a parent I would expect my full lifetime UK contributions, and those of my spouse to ensure that my daughter, who had lived in the UK for 18 years, got taken care of, even after both I and my wife passed away. Surely that's not unreasonable? A few assumptions I know but let's look at it from her parent's point of view too.
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