AliMcG

Hello there, I hope I can receive some advise here as I am anxious regarding my new and unexpected circumstances.

I left the UK in 2006 to live in Egypt! I worked most of my life from 1987 (19 years) when I left school up until 2006 and paid taxes and NI contributions. Then I got married to an Egyptian and had a baby, my son is 14 months old and have not paid any tax or NI contributions since then!

I'm sure you know of the revolution taken place here which has damaged the Tourism industry very severely. My husband provided for my son and I from his tourism businesses and I never had to work. Now it's Dire here, my husband is no longer financially able to support us all and I am seriously thinking of returning to the UK with my son for health, safety and security reasons until things change.

Does anyone know If I can claim any benefits? Especially Housing benefit as I fear I could be living on the streets. I have no family or friends to help out as I lost touch.

Kind regards

KH2010

I am by no means an expert on this but it is my understanding that you can take up to a 5 year break from NI contributions and can claim benefits provided you are resident of the UK and don't state any intention to move out of the country again in the near future. Which benefits you would be entitled to though I don't know. I suggest checking out the HMRC websiteand maybe calling the Citizens Advice Bureau if they have an internationally accessible number?

Best of luck. It must be very hard living in Egypt right now and don't blame you for thinking about a return to the UK.

littlemadam

I think you have to be resident in the UK/EU for a period of one or two years before you can claim benefits including housing benefit. I suggest you check out the website for the local authority you would be applying to and go to direct.gov as to benefits you can get.

Good luck!

Mummy in the foothills

You can apply for child benefit when you arrive and they may make you wait a few weeks/months before paying you. You can apply for Jobseekers allowance and it's the same (Ds waited 10 or 12 weeks while he was job hunting)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm this may give you more information.
Does your little one have his UK passport?

You say your Dh supports you, so really you aren't a single mom or are you seperated? or is he just sending you and the baby back to UK for safety reasons. If he can send you back with some money so you can support yourself for a while till you get on your feet it would be good.
You only left in 2006, you must surely have kept in touch with some friends. I'm sure they would love to hear from you and know you and yours are safe after all the Egypt reports on tv. Also are you allowed to remove your child from the country without permission of the father? Would he give it?

AliMcG

Hubby was able to support us up until now. With the crisis in Egypt everyone is struggling. Honestly we just about have money to buy Pampers and I feel if I stay here longer then my son will suffer. I love my husband so much and we are both devastated but it's not possible for him to come to UK with us as he does not have his visa and the application is very expensive too with no guarantee. Also I am estranged from my family due to racist reasons and will not get in touch with them. Yes my hubby will give permission for my son to go to uk.

I have been told I could get
Housing benefit
Child Benefit
Income support
Family tax credits

But I really don't think so as I've not paid my stamp for 5 years. What do you think?

alipally

you are a British citizen, with a British passport holding child.
You are entitled, regardless of past contributions, to all of the aforementioned benefits if you are a Single parent receiving no financial support from a partner, and you are RESIDENT in the UK.
Incidentally the council in the area you move to are obliged to find you accomodation (although this may not be great, it will be a roof over your head)

Please be aware that if you say you have merely comeback for a while to get away from the unrest (no matter how reasonable/sensible this may be) you will find making a claim very difficult, and it may be refused on the grounds that you're not a UK RESIDENT

I hope that I'm making myself clear about how you go about claiming,

chocciecake

you can just back pay the amount! its only like £2.50 or something a week, so not really alot per year.

AliMcG

Thank you so much for your advice. I really appreciate it. Do you know this to be fact or just casual knowledge you heard about. I ask this as I am prepared to leave for the UK but with no residence and very little money I don't want to make a silly mistake at the cost of my son and his wellbeing. Leaving my husband will not be easy but I will make this sacrifice if I know I will receive some financial aid and support. The thought of being on the street on my own with a baby fills me with dread.

AliMcG

If I paid back the balance outstanding could I then make a claim straight away? Maybe it's like all insurance policies when you pay back premiums owing you can't claim for your curcumstance at that time?

Lothianlad

I so wish you all the luck in your quest back home here in the UK - with your working record back here plus your UK citizen status I doubt very much that you will encounter many, if any, problems with the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions - formerly the Department of Social Security) once you register with them. Believe me, far less deserving people who come to the UK and do not even hold British nationality, and have never contributed so much as one penny piece to the "system" have managed to obtain social welfare payments, and even free housing and all that goes with it, thanks to the "largesse" of the late and much unlamented Labour Government.

Although the present Coalition Government is introducing a far more strict and restricted social welfare policy in the UK, much of it starting this coming April, with far stiffer conditions of entitlement and lower maximum levels of payment available, I really do not think you would come up against any real dofficulty, especially as you have a young child to care for and who I assume also holds British nationality?

It's a great shame that Egypt has become embroiled in all this turmoil which has now spread to most of the rest of that part of the world. I had a great time with the Assoc of Roman Archaelology when we visited many of the ancient sites there along practically the entire length of the Nile Valley, from Alexandria down via Cairo and Luxor down to Aswan. It was September and still very hot (48C in Aswan!) but the experience was not to be missed. It's such a shame recent events have had such a drsatic effect on the Egyptian tourist industry.

The following year 2009 we toured the ancient sites along the coast of Libya, staying at both Tripoli and Benghazi. Again not to be missed but I'm truly glad we were never caught up in the terible events now taking place in Libya. We got really tired of seeing all the massive posters all along the roads all over the place all showing Gaddafi's portrait.

Sally Redux

As I understand it, paying the NI has nothing to do with it. The assessment is on whether the person is now resident in the UK and what income/savings they have. The whole UK system is based on need at that moment in time, ie 'from each according to his means to each according to his needs'.

dunroving

I think overall, the main purpose of back-paying missed NI years (or paying voluntary NI while overseas) is to add to your UK state pension amount - though with some suggested changes to the UK pension system, even that may be irrelevant anyway (there has been some leaked talk about paying everyone of pensionable age a fixed minimum regardless of NI payments).

Anyway, I don't think it is linked to benefits in this way, and certainly AFAIK doesn't influence how quickly you can claim benefits or what benefits you are eligible for.

Shellyj

You cant claim single persons benefits because you are not single. Regrdless of your husbands income or where he is living you are not entittled to income support, it is for single parents, disabled people of which you are not.

You will get child benefit and child tax credits. You can not get any other element of tax credits unless you are working, hence the name 'working tax credits'

You might get housing beenfit but that depends on your and your husbands income. Dont assume you will get all of your rent paid either, massive changes have just been made and you can only rent property in the lower 30% of the market and can not be too big for your needs or they'll deduct some benefit.

You should get council tax benefit too but again that depends on your husbands & your inome.

Your ,missing 5 yrs wont matter in relation to benefits, the missing yrs only matter when it comes to your pension.
What does matter is the habitual residence test. You should read up on it before going to put a claim in. Everyone, even Britsh born citizens have to 'pass' this test before they can claim benefits. It is not actually a test but an assessment of your situation on which they can decide you have only come to the UK to claim benefits and are not likely to making it you permenant home and refuse your claim.

bromleygirl

Just to add you are considered habitually resident the day that you land back in the UK as long as it is your intention to stay in the UK and make it your home. To justify your claim you should register with a GP as soon as possible which will demonstrate your intention to live in the UK and become habitually resident again.

luvwelly

No one in the UK has to sleep rough there is always an agency out there to help and it's usually a Government one too. That's one of the things that makes me proud to be British actually.
Say you have moved back permanently though...hint ...hint. You are instantly able to get NHS care too as a newly returned citizen.