stormy_

Have been trying to get myself set up in Scotland (near Glasgow) after 22 years in Oz. But finding it hard to get employment, not really much on offer at the minute, i work in the construction side of things and the opportunities seem very, very small.

Thing is though, i signed on to get JSA in mid-Nov and signed a lease on a flat in December for 6 months and have now just gotten a letter today rejecting my HRT. So i'm in a bit of a situation where i've been borrowing money off family for the last few weeks to get by. Only got myself to blame really.

But i quit a stable job in Oz to fulfill a dream of traveling for a while, but i wanted a change and to be closer to all the extended family i have here, but the grief the JobCentre has been giving me is making me wonder if it has been worth it?

Gabgoeshome

Sorry ,what is HRT in this context ?

Can you look in to other fields of work ,anything ? to tide you over ?

dunroving

None of these, I'm guessing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HRT

sallysimmons

You can't possibly know yet what is the right or wrong thing to do - you have to give it time and get settled. If you left now, you'd also be wondering whether that was the right decision. Work through your difficulties, get out the other side, get re-acclimatized and then decide what to do with the rest of your life.

ETA: HRT is habitual residence test but I don't understand how you failed that. Did you tell them you might not stay?

stormy_

I mentioned that i'd be staying for 2 years or so. So i guess perhaps yes would be the answer there. But i probably should have mentioned that if everything worked out ok then i'd stay longer. The plan was to study a course and learn something.

Other reasons given were;

You have lived in Australia for 22 years
You did not arrange employment in the UK before arrival
You still have close family in Australia (Just my dad, mum and brother, mum is moving here this year anyway)
You only brought a small amount of money to support yourself with
You have only been in the UK for 9 days before making a claim for income based benefits.
You do not belong to a professional organisation in the UK

Mummy in the foothills

What a load of rubbish Ds (age 22) filed for job seekers after being in UK for 4 days. they stated paying him after a few weeks, 10 or 12 maybe. He also signed up with a bunch of agencies and did temp work, mostly as a kitchen porter.

1, he only ever lived in UK one year as a child
2 arraigning employment from abroad is near on impossible as employers want you in the country.
3. Ds still has his parents and two siblings in the US (so what)
4 he arrived with $2,000
5 he wasn't a member of any organizations anywhere.

If you are a UK citizen and have proof I really don't think they can deny you, 6 months is a long time to there for them not to start giving you some help.
Easterdawn filed too after being in Scotland a short while and they messed her about, maybe ask her what she did, I think she had to go to the local govenment rep or something or other Lok her up on here.

stormy_

Re-assuring that there is hope yet! I probably should add that i'm 29 now, (dreaded 30 on Saturday) and was born here in Scotland! Heading down to the Citizens Advice Bureau in Hamilton tomorrow and find out what they say.

dunroving

Yes, CAB should be able to help you sort a lot of things out. Good luck, sounds like your JSA application hit the desk of Mr Jobsworth.

citizenmarie

Just wanted to put this out there, but sometimes when things are not flowing perhaps it's time to go back to where we came from -- in your case Oz -- and try again another time. And just see this NOT as some sort of mistake, but just off-timing right now. And an experiment...

I'm just saying this as an option against struggling for 2 years, just because you've said you would make this move.

For some people everything seems to fall into place. When they don't fall into place and you have a lot of barriers, it might be worth re-evaluating. You know, go with the flow... I don't know if you have the option of returning to Oz and saving up some cash flow?

Gabgoeshome

LOL ...LOL

Well you would hope ?

I do know the UK Government like to get more involved...

Beedubya

Doesn't sound right at all, though saying you are not going to live there permanently would make some clerk think you are claiming pocket money for your holiday.......and it does sound dodgy TBH.

I got to the UK in April 2009, got a job and flat 5 weeks later and worked until November (seasonal work) then got JSA for 2 weeks in between my new job starting in December and I had been in Australia by then for 29 years...

I would look at other areas in the UK for work before looking at going back to Australia...........at least see if there is something on your own doorstep before you traipse back to the other side of the world......

sallysimmons

From the little bit I read when I googled it, it seems that indicating you won't be staying permanently is a red flag and causes instant rejection.

I agree CAB will know what to do, but I bet just saying you mean to stay will fix the problem. Honestly isn't always the best policy!

cally49

I would go back and ask to speak to someone more senior about your case and explain the situation.
Someone i know went from NZ to the UK on the working visa and was asked if they wanted to apply for JSA when they went in looking for work and they were only there for 2 yrs and were NZ citizens so i would say keep diggin and dont accept the first no you get...You lose nothing by asking to speak to someone higher up!
Good luck with it all dont give up.....Cally