My client has arrived in the UK from Sweden with a Swedish passport. She intends to stay in the UK with her son (UK citizen) as she is elderly and needs her family's support. She has not made any kind of declaration or application to stay long term in the UK and filed through customs control with the other tourists and business travellers.

She has no income from Sweden and has no remaining connections with sweden.

Is she entitled to Pension Credit?

Thanks for your help

She can only claim Pension Credit, like any other means tested benefit, if she is habitually resident.

She can only be habitually resident if she has a right to reside in the UK.

Even though she is an EU national, she only has a right to reside in the UK if she is a worker, or a former worker who has been economically active in the member state in which she wishes ro reside and has ceased to be so becsue of illness or reaching retirment age.

All other EU nationals (with certain special rules for work seekers and the Baumbast principle) have to be self sufficient.

Is she entitled to any exportable pension from Sweden? Worth exploring. She is perfectly entitled to come into the UK, but as I read the legislation (State Pension Credit regs reg 2), I cannot see she is entitled to claim means-tested benefits here.

Worth looking at the commentary in Mesher on Reg 21 of the IS regs, though it is already somewhat out of date.

Brigid

I would be looking at whether you can get her a right to reside under the family member rules. Can you get her a right to reside on the back of the son? While he is a UK national, is he working now and has he ever worked in another EEA state? If the answer to these is yes, is she dependent (financially, emotionally or in any other way) on him? If not is there any other family member she can derive rights from?