European workers and self-employed people

This page is for new arrivals. If you are a housing adviser please click here for information more relevant to you.

This page covers the whole of the UK

Who does this page apply to?

The law about the rights of EEA nationals to live, work and claim access to housing, benefits and other services changed on 1 January 2021 when the Brexit transition period ended. The rights described on this page now only apply to you if:

• you are a citizen of an EEA member state other than Ireland, and
• you made an on-time application to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), and either:
• you have been granted EU pre-settled status, or
• you are waiting for a decision about your EUSS application.

If all of these apply and you have one of the rights to reside on this page, it describes your rights to housing and benefits until you get EU settled status or your EUSS application is decided.

Are you a European (EEA) self-employed person?

You have the right to reside as a self-employed person if:

• you are an EEA national and either:
  • you are currently engaged in self-employed business in the UK which is ‘effective and genuine’, or
  • you were previously engaged in self-employed business in the UK but retain your self-employed status while temporarily out of work.

The fact that you need to claim universal credit to top up your income does not automatically imply that your self-employment is not ‘effective and genuine’. But you may not be considered as self-employed if you rely too heavily on benefits (e.g. if they are substantially more than your earnings) and you have failed to develop your business.

Are you a European (EEA) worker or a frontier worker?

You have the right to reside as a worker if:

• you are an EEA national and either:
  • you are currently in engaged in employment in the UK that is ‘genuine and effective’ and is not ‘marginal or ancillary’, or
  • you were previously engaged in employment that would qualify you as a worker but retain your worker status whilst being temporarily out of work.

You can retain your worker status whilst being temporarily out of work due sickness/incapacity, maternity, involuntary unemployment or being in vocational training.

Frontier workers

You are a frontier worker if you are working in the UK as an employee or self-employed person, but you are not ‘primarily resident’ in the UK. You are not 'primarily resident' in the UK if on any given day:

• you have been resident in the UK for less than 180 days in the previous 12 months, or
• you have, unless there are exceptional circumstances for not doing so, returned to your country of residence at least:
• once in the six-month period immediately before that day, or
• twice in the 12-month period immediately before that day.

A frontier worker has the same rights as an EEA worker and can retain their EEA worker status in a similar way (e.g. sickness, unemployment) but the regulations that govern this are separate from those that apply to ordinary workers and self-employed persons.

Worker status and what counts as 'genuine' work?

Once you start work in the UK as a paid employee you acquire 'worker' status. If you work full-time (other than on a temporary contract) you could establish your worker status in as little as two weeks. If you work part-time, it may take longer and will depend on the facts in your case (e.g. how many hours you work, the rate of pay, regular or irregular pattern, etc.). To qualify as a worker, the work that you do:

• must be 'genuine and effective': there must be a real job. Even if there is no contract, there must be an employer and wages or the equivalent in goods or services must be paid. Family or friendly arrangements with no contract or regular hours, or those that do not pay a minimum wage may be regarded as not genuine or effective, and
• must not be 'marginal or ancillary'. Where hours and earnings are very low, the work may be 'marginal'.

If you are claiming universal credit or housing benefit the decision maker may decide that your work is marginal if your earnings are too low to pay national insurance (£242 per week, £1,048 per month from July 2022). But you should not be denied worker status just because your earnings are low enough to qualify for universal credit/housing benefit and the national insurance threshold is guidance, not law. Several factors should be considered before deciding that the work that you do is marginal or not effective or genuine. These include:

• the period of employment
• the number of hours worked
• the level of earnings
• whether the work is regular or erratic.

These factors must be considered as a whole and the absence or presence of one cannot be considered as being conclusive. Part-time work with earnings below the national insurance threshold is not always marginal. Low hours might be considered sufficient if balanced against the length of time you have been employed, for example working three hours for five days a week over a period of four months or more.

Are you a retained worker/self-employed person?

Once you have established your worker or self-employed status by working in the UK you continue to be treated as a worker/self-employed person if:

• you are temporarily unable to work due to sickness or an accident at work – this may be for some years provided there is a realistic prospect you will be able to work in the foreseeable future. You do not need to show you have ‘limited capability for work’ only that you could not do the work you were doing. If your incapacity is permanent different rules apply – see retired workers, or
• you are temporarily unable to work due to pregnancy or recent childbirth:
  • as a worker, if you are still under contract even if your leave is unpaid, or
  • as a worker, usually 11 weeks before the week you are expected to give birth and for up to 52 weeks after birth, or
  • as a self-employed person if you stop work for maternity leave provided you intend to resume your business
• you are engaged in vocational training after becoming unemployed or your business failed or if you gave up work and started vocational training related to your previous employment/business, or
• you are registered as unemployed after losing your work involuntarily. But if you have worked in the UK for less than a year you may lose your worker/self-employed status after six months.

Unemployment: retained EEA worker/self-employed status

The law treats EEA nationals in registered unemployment differently depending on whether you have retained your worker/self-employed status or are an ‘EEA jobseeker’. In either case it is important that you register for work promptly (even if you think you may find employment soon) so that you can acquire the right of permanent residence as soon as possible.

You retain your worker or self-employed status whilst you are registered unemployed and actively looking for work:

• without time limit if you lose your work after previously having worked in the UK for at least one year (which need not have been continuous), or
• for up to six months if you lose your work after previously having worked in the UK for less than one year. If you continue to register for work after six months your status will change to an EEA jobseeker (for up to a further 91 days).

You are registered unemployed if you are registered at the Jobcentre Plus to claim jobseeker’s allowance, universal credit or national insurance credits and meeting the work-related requirements to receive them (actively looking for work etc.).

Unemployment: EEA jobseeker status

You are an EEA jobseeker (rather than a retained worker/self-employed person) whilst you are registered unemployed and actively looking for work if:

• you entered the UK looking for work (for example, if you acquired EU pre-settled status and then left to live abroad for a year before returning), or
• you lost your work and have been registered unemployed for over six months after previously having worked in the UK for less than a year in total.

Your jobseeker status lasts for a maximum of 91 days after which it is lost and cannot be resumed unless you have been absent from the UK for at least 12 consecutive months.

Even though you will not receive universal credit or jobseeker’s allowance, it is still worth staying registered as unemployed. Jobseeker status can help you gain permanent residence and create a record of your residence for your EU settled status application, both of which would give you full access to housing and benefits.

Are you a retired worker?

You are a retired worker/retired self-employed person who has acquired a right of permanent residence if:

• you have retired after working in the UK (including self-employment) for at least 12 months prior to reaching state pension age and you have lived in the UK for a continuous period of more than three years, or
• you take early retirement as an employee after working in the UK for at least 12 months and you have lived in the UK for a continuous period of more than three years, or
• you retired from work in the UK (including self-employment) after reaching state pension age and your spouse or civil partner is a UK national, or
• you took early retirement as an employee in the UK and your spouse or civil partner is a UK national, or
• you ceased working in the UK (including self-employment) as a result of permanent incapacity; and either
• your incapacity is the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease which entitles you to a pension payable by a UK institution (including a pension paid by a private company), or
• you have lived and worked in the UK for a continuous period of more than two years, or
• your spouse or a civil partner is a UK national.

In calculating the length of your employment, any period in which you were not working but retain your worker status due to registered unemployment, sickness, a work-related accident or some other reason 'not of your own making' is treated as a period of employment.

What are your rights to housing and benefits?

If this page applies to you, are entitled to housing, homeless assistance, universal credit, state pension credit and housing benefit without any further conditions if:

• you are a self-employed person
• you are a worker
• you are a person who has retained their worker or self-employed status, or
• you are a person who has acquired the right of permanent residence as a retired worker or self-employed person.

If your only right to reside is as an EEA jobseeker:

• you are not eligible for universal credit, state pension credit or housing benefit, and
• except in Scotland, you are not eligible for housing or homelessness assistance from the local authority/Housing Executive.

In addition to any rights you have due to your status as a worker etc., you also have the following rights (including if your only right to reside is as a jobseeker):

• you can apply for accommodation from a private landlord but in England you must provide your landlord with documents that show you have the 'right to rent'
• in England, Scotland and Wales, you can apply direct to a housing association if they operate their own waiting list rules, and
• in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you can get free advice from your local council/Housing Executive to help you find accommodation if you are homeless or are threatened with homelessness in the next 56 days (in Northern Ireland, 28 days).