Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
#16
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 169
Re: Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
Anyone with a 'certifcate of entitlement', UK Right of Abode (ROA) or ILR that has partial or fully paid up NI, could get topped up with Pension credit + DLA, added council tax relief, free housing benefit subsidy + free travel pass ... its just over 200 quid a week (single claimant 60 -65) more if over 65 (with AA & CA)
total capital less than 6000 quid, no other income
means test to see if they/you or I qualify ... right?
all can be found on the Age concern, DWP & DirectGov websites
http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/how_we_help.asp
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensions...ning/index.htm
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...el/DG_10036264
She?....She???? Not the last time I looked.
Last edited by nutgrove; Aug 8th 2009 at 2:09 am.
#17
Re: Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
I'm confused now. I understood the subject was about deception. Your post about returning to the UK and claiming Pension Credit, AA etc, didn't appear to be claiming anything not due by hiding anything. ie, no deception involved.
#20
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 169
Re: Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
No confusion here
I shall be asking you lots cos you sound like you are an expert on the UK HRT (not hormone replacement therapy)
Last edited by nutgrove; Aug 8th 2009 at 9:33 am.
#21
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 169
Re: Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
linked & related to this thread
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=527924
seems our retired civil servant is somewhat of an expert
I am going to ask tons more questions of him to get his full benefits expertise for free, providing of course Bristol is up to date
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=527924
seems our retired civil servant is somewhat of an expert
by Bristol posted May 31st 2008, 8:31 pm
"It was part of my job in the benefits system, for several years, to decide such cases.
I have to say that the vast majority of those failing the test were actually Brits returning to the UK. That clearly was NOT the intention of the HRT, so that actually influenced my decisions.
On this basis I found it quite easy to fail someone from a European country who had only just arrived, didn't have a home, no bank account, no job etc and one of the first things they did was to apply for benefits, while I passed Brits who had been away for years, but had maintained some link such as keeping membership of various organisations, had family in the UK, had got themselves on the housing register, maintained or opened a UK bank account and transferred funds, sold the house they had in whichever country they'd left, or their reason for living abroad was a marriage that had ended so there was no longer a reason to be living wherever it was, or their job abroad was their main reason for living/staying in that country but now they had lost the job, so they had no reason to stay anymore......the list of (to my mind) reasonable situations where someone has good reason to return or no reason to stay there is endless. Did they keep a bank account open because they planned to return one day and now that day has arrived.
Intention to live/stay in the UK could also be shown by the actions before leaving the other country. Had their house been on the market for a period, suggesting a planned return? Had they given notice to their employer a significant time before finishing work?"
"It was part of my job in the benefits system, for several years, to decide such cases.
I have to say that the vast majority of those failing the test were actually Brits returning to the UK. That clearly was NOT the intention of the HRT, so that actually influenced my decisions.
On this basis I found it quite easy to fail someone from a European country who had only just arrived, didn't have a home, no bank account, no job etc and one of the first things they did was to apply for benefits, while I passed Brits who had been away for years, but had maintained some link such as keeping membership of various organisations, had family in the UK, had got themselves on the housing register, maintained or opened a UK bank account and transferred funds, sold the house they had in whichever country they'd left, or their reason for living abroad was a marriage that had ended so there was no longer a reason to be living wherever it was, or their job abroad was their main reason for living/staying in that country but now they had lost the job, so they had no reason to stay anymore......the list of (to my mind) reasonable situations where someone has good reason to return or no reason to stay there is endless. Did they keep a bank account open because they planned to return one day and now that day has arrived.
Intention to live/stay in the UK could also be shown by the actions before leaving the other country. Had their house been on the market for a period, suggesting a planned return? Had they given notice to their employer a significant time before finishing work?"
I am going to ask tons more questions of him to get his full benefits expertise for free, providing of course Bristol is up to date
Last edited by nutgrove; Aug 8th 2009 at 9:37 am.
#23
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 169
Re: Habitual Residency Test - Your experiences/thoughts please!!
BTW, when did you retire from the public service & come to Canada?