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EU “plans to take UK to court” over limiting access to benefits (24 March 2014)

Date: 24/03/2014
Duncan Lewis, Immigration Solicitors, EU “plans to take UK to court” over limiting access to benefits

The European Commission is planning to take the British government to court over plans to limit access to welfare benefits for EU migrants in the UK.

David Cameron has introduced a raft of measures to limit what is referred to as “benefit tourism” to the UK, after border restrictions were lifted on Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January.

These include making new migrants wait for three months before being able to claim out-of-work benefits in the UK - and limiting these to just six months unless the claimant has a genuine prospect of employment in Britain.

The government also plans to limit access to welfare benefits to working migrants who must have worked a 24-hour week and earned £150 per week before claiming out-of-work benefits. The limit has been set at the level for earning the national minimum wage in Britain.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the EC is taking action against the UK because it considers that Britain’s “right to reside” test for new migrants is discriminatory, as British citizens do not have to fulfil it. It is reported that the EC lawsuit will be lodged against the UK in the near future.

The UK government is currently trying to challenge EU regulations, including the right of freedom of movement within the EU for workers and those seeking work who do not have a job .

Last week, the Prime Minister outlined a seven-point plan for EU membership as part of his proposals to review Britain’s membership of the EU, to ensure that Britain would not be bound by an “ever closer” union between EU member states.

Immigrants to the UK have variously been accused of taking jobs from British nationals and pushing down wages in Britain.

However, many migrants to the UK take jobs which British nationals are reluctant to do, including low-pay employment such as cleaning, fruit picking and packing.

Migrants also live in some of the poorest housing stock in the UK.

Earlier in 2014, business leaders called for more migrant workers to come to Britain to help boost the economic recovery. British business leaders say that the strong work ethic of migrants to Britain has helped in the recovery. Recent research also showed that British workers have not been pushed out of the jobs market by migrants in Britain, except during the credit crunch when bosses were seeking to employ workers for low wages to help sustain their businesses.

The lifting of border restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania prompted a backlash in some media, which claimed that British workers would again lose out to cheap workers from those countries.

However, the anticipated deluge of workers from Romania and Bulgaria failed to materialise.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of immigration solicitors and can advise migrants to the UK on right to work, housing benefit, marriage in the UK, citizenship and student visas.

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors can also advise on asylum and asylum applications - as well as detention and removal from the UK for migrants from outside the EU.

For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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