Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Homeless, pregnant and not 'British Citizen'

185 replies

valencia88 · 14/08/2018 17:30

Hello,

I have been here for 9 years, working most of the time, but apparently thet cant find evidence to support this so I can not apply for any help or income support but JSA Contribution for 6 months.

I have been kicked out of my flatshare, cause babies arent allowed, I'm due in 3 months - what rights do I have?

I have already been down this road of collecting a hundred millions different documents p45, p60s to show how much tax I have paid over the years, but to no avail.

I am NOT with the dad who is a British Citizen. I am staying in a woman's living room I met through church and I need to leave her and her house alone but cannot get a job as no one wants to employ a pregnant woman.

I have a swedish passport so I have the right to live here but nothing else. What happens when my daughter comes, will I still be homeless? The council is saying they cannot provide me with housing unless I have an "INCOME" and contribution ESA/JSA does not count.

I honestly have NO idea what to do.

OP posts:
swingofthings · 14/08/2018 19:02

The gov should have a record of your ni contribution tbey shouldn't to rely on you producing a p60. However the question is whether you have worked CONTINUOUSLY for 5 years in this country and by continuously it might as much as without a break of more than a week. You do need help with someone clarifying the rules for you.

As for your baby, if the father is British, agrees to put his name on the birth certificate and then agree to send his own birth certificate I think you'll be able to get a British passport for your child but sadly that won't give me YOU any rights to claim benefits.

I do wish you good luck. It's very sad that you don't have any family to turn to in these very difficult times.

usernamealreadytaken · 14/08/2018 19:11

@valencia88 if you have a NINO you can contact HMRC and get proof of your contribution history. If you still have a valid Swedish passport then surely you are still a Swedish citizen? I know a Swedish woman who has lived here for over 20 years and still uses a Swedish passport, and has just arranged a Swedish passport for her son who was born here to a British father.

usernamealreadytaken · 14/08/2018 19:13

If you have been here nearly a decade but only working for five, how did you live and support yourself when not working? Whether the father will be involved or not, he is legally and morally responsible for financially contributing to you and your baby's upkeep.

SillySallySingsSongs · 14/08/2018 19:16

As a matter of fact, I am not a citizen in Sweden anymore. After 2 years of absence you don’t even exist in the system.

How does that work if you have a Sweedish passport!? Confused

Clairetree1 · 14/08/2018 19:19

As you are 3 months away from your due date I'd also consider going to your local MPs surgery (open question time) and asking them for help. They normally have a team of people who help with cases like yours

she is not a constituent though

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:19

I’m not just talking about child support, I’m talking roof over our heads? I get that I can’t get help here, the UK has made me pay tax and NI for years but will do nothing for me
In return. But the child will be British, are they going to let a British baby be homeless? What happens there?

The 10 years that has passed since I moved here I have been working the most of, rest of them I have travelled Asia, South America in long periods of time, have had good jobs and saved a lot of cash to go and live a little which I am now going to have to pay for?

OP posts:
GladAllOver · 14/08/2018 19:21

I know you say the father won't be in the picture, but that isn't just a choice for him or you to make. He has a legal responsibility for his child, and if he is British that gives the child more rights.
Your child will not be British and entitled to a passport just because it is born here.

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:21

I don’t know how it works, but I can’t wven go to the hospital there cause they won’t find my Personal Code as we have over there cause it’s inactive as I do not live and exist there.

OP posts:
SillySallySingsSongs · 14/08/2018 19:22

In return. But the child will be British

As pp has said if the father meets the criteria, which you haven't confirmed.

Go to CAB and see what they say.

Kraggle · 14/08/2018 19:23

housing website try looking on here for some advice.

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:23

He abandoned me 2 months ago, went off with another woman who he works with. He is not living in London where I am. With or without child support, I still won’t be able to live on the street. And I sure as hell cant get a job with a baby in my arms 24/7.

Sweden is a much much better country in 10000 ways, but it’s not my home. This is where I have made my friend base, this is my home.

OP posts:
PutItAwayDear · 14/08/2018 19:24

So you haven't been in the UK consistently for 10 years if you've been travelling the world Confused

I would honestly return to Sweden to have your baby. The UK is sadly unlikely to provide what you need as you're not a citizen and it sounds like you don't have a record of working for enough time etc.

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:24

He is born here and has a British passport, why wouldn’t he match the criteria’s? 🤨

OP posts:
GladAllOver · 14/08/2018 19:25

I don't know how the system works in Sweden, but if your birth was recorded and you have a passport, they must recognise you as a citizen.

DoneDisappeared · 14/08/2018 19:25

Find a CAB that can offer immigration advice. The council won't have duty to care for your child until it's here. Shelter and CAB are really your best bet. There is guidance on both sites you can look at until you can talk to a person. Good luck!

BeeFarseer · 14/08/2018 19:26

You need to get proper advice from the Swedish embassy rather than just guessing at how it works. You're still a Swedish citizen and entitled to their assistance, no matter whether your personnummer is inactive. That's their job to sort out if you decide to go back.

Clairetree1 · 14/08/2018 19:26

Does anybody actually know the answer to if they can deny me any help e.g benefits and housing help because I haven’t got a british passport even though my child will?

how will your child have a British passport? being born here doesn't automatically mean you have citizenship.

You just need your national insurance number, that is all you need to show how much tax you have paid.

But as you are asking for actual knowledge, I can tell you this, no idea what you are legally entitled to, but that is largely irrelevant if you can't get it, anyway.

I work with rough sleepers, and being a parent is not any protection against ending up on the street, and your child may be taken into care. This happens. except I have known parents hide their children and keep them on the streets with them.

I am not trying to scare you, but you really do need to go back to Sweden.

If you refuse to to that, then the best I can suggest is woman's aid. You also need to be sure which council is responsible for you. If you have moved a lot or not paid council tax, then persuading any council to take responsibility for you is going to be a problem.

Go back to Sweden.

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:28

Done Dissappear

Where does it say the council even have duty to care for the child once it’s born? This is what I’m trying to get to understand, and has been the red thread though this whole post!!!🙏🏽

OP posts:
Clairetree1 · 14/08/2018 19:30

I have travelled Asia, South America in long periods of time

so, you are unlikely to be entitled to benefits here

Clairetree1 · 14/08/2018 19:30

I pmed you

Sweetsongbird1 · 14/08/2018 19:30

Do you have a national insurance number ?

Clairetree1 · 14/08/2018 19:31

which council are you saying has responsibility for you? why are they saying they don't? Is it because you have moved around and travelled too much?

JustAnotherNameChangeObviously · 14/08/2018 19:32

Your child will be British because your child's father is British, but like another poster says, for your child to get a British passport, your child's father will have to be named on the birth certificate and you'll have to provide his birth certificate too, to prove he was born in the UK.

Original poster
valencia88 · 14/08/2018 19:33

Of course I have a national insurance number, I have been working here since 2009 and paid NI and tax as I have said in previous posts. I have a gateway id but a new phone number, sent them an email and waiting for response to see if I can get access to my account and if that will help at all.

OP posts:
twobarnsmammisonthebus · 14/08/2018 19:34

Are you sure that you’re correct about losing your citizenship and personnummer? I thought that was if you were born outside of Sweden? Ring Migrationsverket and check! Also, according to what I’ve read, you won’t lose your citizenship if doing so would make you stateless. I do hear what you say about not wanting to return to Sweden, but do check your status in case it becomes necessary for you.

Swipe left for the next trending thread