Contents:
Are you an EEA worker or self-employed person?
If you are an EEA national (i.e. from one of the European Economic Area countries) you have the right to 'freedom of movement' which includes the right to live in the UK in order to:
- work in self-employment
- work as an employee
- look for work (as a jobseeker).
Detailed advice is given on the page on EEA workers, unemployed workers, retired workers and jobseekers. However, in the cases of employees and jobseekers different rules apply to people from Bulgaria and Romania.
Your right to access UK social benefits may depend on your record of work in the UK and may be different according to whether you are: currently in work, you have worked but have retired, you have worked but are currently unemployed or sick, or you have never worked here but have come to the UK to look for work. If you have worked in the UK and then lose your job or become unable to work for specific reasons, you may sometimes keep your worker status.
What documents might you be asked for?
To prove that you are an EEA worker you simply need to show proof of your nationality (passport or identity card) and proof of employment such as a wage slip, letter from employer, P45, P60 or contract of employment. You can apply for a residence permit from the UK government if you wish. But it is not proof of worker status.
Self-employed people will need to show proof that they are self-employed. This includes:
- a letter from the HMRC (tax authority) saying that you have registered to pay tax and national insurance as self-employed
- a copy of the application you have made to HMRC to pay tax and national insurance as self-employed
- proof that you are running a business such as receipts, invoices, promotional materials, etc.
What are your rights to housing and benefits?
All EEA nationals
You may have the right to apply for accommodation direct from a housing association regardless of whether you have worked here. However, you will not be entitled to help with your rent (housing benefit) unless you also qualify by one of the routes set out below.
If you have worked in the UK at any time (past or present)
You have the right to an allocation of housing from the council, to get help if you are homeless and to claim housing benefit to help pay your rent, provided you are:
- self-employed
- treated as self-employed while temporarily unable to work
- a worker
- treated as a worker while temporarily out of work (e.g. off sick or looking for work)
- a former worker who has retired from the labour market.
Detailed advice is given on the page on EEA workers, unemployed workers, retired workers and jobseekers. In the last three categories different rules apply if you are from Bulgaria or Romania and you have not yet legally worked in the UK for at least one year.
If you have entered the UK looking for work but have not yet found employment
- in England you do not have the right to an allocation of housing from the council or to get help if you are homeless
- in Wales you do have the right to an allocation of housing from the council and to get help if you are homeless as long as you are habitually resident
- in both England and Wales you are not entitled to housing benefit to help pay your rent except where you are entitled to income-based jobseeker's allowance.
If you do not fit any of the definitions of worker and self-employed here, you may still have rights to housing and benefits
See the page on EEA nationals for more information.
See also:
