# benefit tourism.



## bluestreak (Sep 30, 2011)

in the light of the EU challenging the UK's right to reside tests for foreigners receiving benefits, i wondered if the tired old bullshit about benefit tourism (as trotted out by a tory minister in response) had any value to me.

by which i mean, does anyone have a resource that would tell me where in the EU i could go and have the best quality of life living on benefits?  as a UK dolescummer living on under 40 quid a week thanks to the HB ceiling, I feel that maybe I should shop around with my home country and get the best deal.

any links gratefully received, as well as help with coach fare and moving costs x


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## bluestreak (Sep 30, 2011)

too much poor satire on a friday morning


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## past caring (Sep 30, 2011)




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## rover07 (Sep 30, 2011)

Can you claim UK dole while living abroad? Wouldnt you have to make a claim in the country you are living in?

Someone told me they are going to reintroduce the old Enterprise Allowance scheme for new businesses A great scam where you got dole money but didnt have to sign on for a year.


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## captainmission (Sep 30, 2011)

You can export contribution based JSA (and potentially income based JSA) to other EEA countries for upto 3 months. You need to claim in the uk for 4 weeks first then register with the social security office in the second country. You may be able to claim the benefits of the native country if you meet the qualifying conditions.

There's plans to re-introduce enterprise allowance again (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/new-enterprise-allowance/).

People can currently claim working tax credit if they're doing self employed labour of 30 hrs wk (or 16hrs if have kids, disability or over 60hrs). So as an alternative to signing on they could go self employed and get about £45-50 a week tax credits if that work gets them nil/low income. They could also get Housign benefit- although self employed people claiming HB are gonna experience quite a delay in getting payment. This will all be scrapped in 2014 with universal credit as this will make the whole unrealistic assumption that self employed people earn at least naional minimum wage. So one can only assume tories hate self employed people and don't want jobseekers setting up new business


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 30, 2011)

captainmission said:


> People can currently claim working tax credit if they're doing self employed labour of 30 hrs wk (or 16hrs if have kids, disability or over 60hrs). So as an alternative to signing on they could go self employed and get about £45-50 a week tax credits if that work gets them nil/low income. They could also get Housign benefit- although self employed people claiming HB are gonna experience quite a delay in getting payment. This will all be scrapped in 2014 with universal credit as this will make the whole unrealistic assumption that self employed people earn at least naional minimum wage. So one can only assume tories hate self employed people and don't want jobseekers setting up new business



TBH it's more hassle then it's worth trying to claim working tax credits if your self employed with no idea about how much your going to earn.


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## goldenecitrone (Sep 30, 2011)

I'd give Greece a miss.


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## treelover (Sep 30, 2011)

I went on the Enterprise Allowance twice

nice to see you again captain, long absence from the boards..


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## JHE (Sep 30, 2011)

captainmission said:


> You can export contribution based JSA (and potentially income based JSA) to other EEA countries for upto 3 months. You need to claim in the uk for 4 weeks first then register with the social security office in the second country.



I had no idea - and that it potentially very useful info.  Do you have any handy link to an official source on this subject?

It really surprises me.  One reason it surprises me is that in order to get the Job Seeker's Pittance here you have not only to be available for and actively seeking work, but also have to turn up at the Jobcentre once a fortnight to sign and discuss your job-searching.  If I were job-searching in, say, Spain, yes, I'd be available for and actively seeking work, but I would not be able to sign on at the Jobcentre in, say, Nottingham which had been handling my claim for four weeks or more before I went to look for work abroad.


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## captainmission (Sep 30, 2011)

You wouldn't need to sign on after going to live in the EEA country, just register with the local social security office.

Details on DWP website here - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/benefits/jobseekers-allowance/jobseekers-allowance-in-eea/


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## wemakeyousoundb (Sep 30, 2011)

captainmission said:


> People can currently claim working tax credit if they're doing self employed labour of 30 hrs wk (or 16hrs if have kids, disability or over 60hrs). So as an alternative to signing on they could go self employed and get about £45-50 a week tax credits if that work gets them nil/low income. They could also get Housign benefit-* although self employed people claiming HB are gonna experience quite a delay in getting payment.* This will all be scrapped in 2014 with universal credit as this will make the whole unrealistic assumption that self employed people earn at least naional minimum wage. So one can only assume tories hate self employed people and don't want jobseekers setting up new business


bold part is understatement of the dayas far as I'm concerned


Global Stoner said:


> TBH it's more hassle then it's worth trying to claim working tax credits if your self employed with no idea about how much your going to earn.


never even tried


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## Treacle Toes (Sep 30, 2011)

I personally think like this:

Many, many immigrants, for many, many generations, have been too proud and/or always worked and paid taxes to claim benefits. So, if some are here now, claiming benefits, they are only taking what many, many others have worked hard for but not taken/don't want.


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## 2hats (Oct 1, 2011)

http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-benefit-tourism-scare-sent-packing


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## Orang Utan (Oct 1, 2011)

goldenecitrone said:


> I'd give Greece a miss.


I was thinking of going in with a few friends and buying a bit of Greece. Just an island or two. Enough for a micronation. Let's do it!


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## _angel_ (Oct 1, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> TBH it's more hassle then it's worth trying to claim working tax credits if your self employed with no idea about how much your going to earn.


We didn't find it that hard. it's tax returns and things like housing benefit that are the pains.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 1, 2011)

rover07 said:


> Can you claim UK dole while living abroad? Wouldnt you have to make a claim in the country you are living in?



It used to be the case, that you had the right to claim UK dole for 3 months while searching for a job in another EU country. To claim full benefits IME (Germany and Netherlands) you normally have to be a resident of the country and make contributions for a certain amount of time (in Germany it was 5 years). This may have changed as its been a long time since I claimed, but I doubt it's changed for the better.


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## Dr Dolittle (Oct 1, 2011)

This idea of being able to have a foreign dole holiday is just a fantasy, as Captain Mission's DWP link shows, if you read it. Unless you go away for less than two weeks, between one signing and the next. It says if you want to look for work abroad, you MIGHT be able to get contribution-based JSA. And it doesn't say you wouldn't have to sign on - you probably would, they just don't bother giving you all the details, perhaps because they don't want to encourage people to try dole holidays. Signing on abroad while on income-based JSA? Dream on, sunshine.


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 1, 2011)

JHE said:


> I had no idea - and that it potentially very useful info. Do you have any handy link to an official source on this subject?
> 
> It really surprises me. One reason it surprises me is that in order to get the Job Seeker's Pittance here you have not only to be available for and actively seeking work, but also have to turn up at the Jobcentre once a fortnight to sign and discuss your job-searching. If I were job-searching in, say, Spain, yes, I'd be available for and actively seeking work, but I would not be able to sign on at the Jobcentre in, say, Nottingham which had been handling my claim for four weeks or more before I went to look for work abroad.



Don't know what the bureacracy for claiming in Spain is like, but if it's anything as complex as claiming in Germany, it'd probably take you a month out of the three to visit all the necessary agencies.

And render you bald.


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## stuff_it (Oct 1, 2011)

Fuchs66 said:


> It used to be the case, that you had the right to claim UK dole for 3 months while searching for a job in another EU country. To claim full benefits IME (Germany and Netherlands) you normally have to be a resident of the country and make contributions for a certain amount of time (in Germany it was 5 years). This may have changed as its been a long time since I claimed, but I doubt it's changed for the better.


Years ago you could get a job say picking flowers in the Netherlands, and get 2/3 of your wage for much of the rest of the year (it's a bit vague - years ago- perhaps 6 months if you worked for three?). No idea if this still stands but I got the impression that the Dutch benefits system is actually quite encouraging for people to take work by making it really a benefit to them to work at least a couple of times a year for a reasonable amount of time...


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