Going back - what befefits are available?
 

I have been asked to try and find some information for a friend ...

The husband is having to go back to UK leaving familiy in Spain. The bank owns the Spanish house and they have no other assets anywhere (and neither work). He has a teaching pension which he will use to keep paying the Spanish mortgage if he can.

He has asked me what benefits he will be able to claim in UK (housing benefit, unemployment etc. etc.). I vaguely recall somewhere that he might be able to claim something but not for 6 months.

Does anyone know the facts or can I be pointed in the right direction to find out please.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

As far as I know from other threads on here he just has to prove that he has returned to the UK permanently and can then claim the same as any UK citizen.
DWP site is probably the place to start, there is a page on returning to the UK.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

Firstly, I don't know the facts exactly, especially as benefit rules have recently changed.
However, there are far to many contributing factors to take into account on here which would make it hard to put in a nutshell.
The first thing that comes to mind is whether this is just a temporary thing, as there is now a Habitual Residency test (HRT) for claiming benefits when coming from abroad.
Also, as they have an occupational pension already this will be classed as income regardless of it paying the mortgage here.
There are many welfare rights sites you could look at including the Job centre plus and DWP sites but I have to say on the whole, IMO, it is doubtful.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

Subject to means testing I believe you are eligible, as JDR says, to apply for benefits immediately you return .... this 6 months thing is not true. I remember DWO in Spain posting something a while back

Whether you are eligible to receive it due to your circumstances is another thing

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

From the DWP site;

You may need to have been living in the UK for 1 to 3 months before you can demonstrate that you are habitually resident there. Eligibility for means-tested benefits is decided by your local authority.

So it's not 6 months but may be up to 3.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

The operative word is MAY. If you demonstrate, I believe, that you have cut ties with Spain by selling house, ending rental agreement etc etc, or you have a rental agreement or bought a house in the UK they should be OK. I have to admit I dont know where to look, but DWP in Spain actually said this on one of the threads.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

You can apply for a jobseekers allowance and get health cover from day one, you just need a UK address.

Re: Going back - what befefits are available?
 

If he's already receiving a pension, it might be tough to try and get other benefits, since he's on his own. Generally men without families are pretty much at the bottom of the list so far as getting housing goes. Plus once he explains that he's already paying a mortgage I'd expect the level of sympathy to go down a lot.
The family as a whole might have better luck getting benefits if the wife & kids went back to the UK and he stayed in Spain.

I'd suggest he gets in touch with the local british consulate - they aren't generally much help in anything, but they may have some advice in this case.