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Advice when there do not appear to be ‘right to reside’ grounds for an ESA claim
I would be grateful if anyone could give advice regarding a customer who does not readily seem to fit into any of the categories whereby she could acquire the right to reside and claim benefits.
My customer is an Angolan woman who has a Portuguese passport. She had claimed JSA but then became ill with a number of chronic (and worsening) health problems and would now struggle to even meet her job seeking requirements, let alone work. She has been refused ESA under the right to reside rules. She has been here since 2010 but has very little command of the English language and this led to problems with employment agencies when she was looking for work. The customer concerned has not worked here, has no partner here, and is not a carer for anyone. She does not seem to be a ‘qualified person’ within the meaning of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 and would not seem to be able to acquire the ‘right to reside’ via another person. From my experience of right to reside cases it would seem to me also quite remote that she could somehow acquire ‘worker’ status and claim on that basis either. She currently has an appeal against an ESA decision with the DWP Wick office. I have explained the rules to her and how she would be much more likely to get paid if she were a jobseeker but she became quite distressed at this prospect and she has my sympathy in this regard. We have tried claiming DLA as this is, I understand, not dependant upon having the ‘right to reside’ but this too has failed. The customer concerned is now barely getting by at all by way of food parcels and her situation is deteriorating.
I would be grateful for advice in either of the following areas:
1) Are there any other legal remedies regarding acquiring the right to reside? I have read up on some of the CPAG articles (including the one on interim payments) but I had my doubts about these helping as I myself am at a loss as to see what the appealable point is in this case.
2) What other sources of help are there? What obligations (if any) do local authority social services or NHS authorities have towards an ill person with no funds and, if there are any obligations to help, what is the quickest way to bring this about? Are there any relevant charities that could help? Finally, it is never talked about (as we don’t like to give up) but, if it seemed that the only way she could get paid as a person who is unfit for work would be in her own country, how would she get assistance to return home? Would this be via the Portuguese Consulate or the Home Office?
Thanks for reading my concerns.