Homeless, pregnant and not 'British Citizen'

[valencia88]

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.

It's totally incorrect that you lose your citizenship after 2 year's absence from Sweden! In Sweden you get your personalised ID-number which proves your citizenship for life.

It's true that whilst you're a resident in a different country you don't have free access to services and benefits in Sweden, but you you just have to go back and 're-register' there to get access to these again.
As pp have said, you can get access to all of your tax and NI contributions on the gov.uk website

Agree with Neon! you certainly won’t have lost your PN, and as long as you were born in Sweden it doesn’t seem like you can lose your citizenship.

I can’t believe everyone is telling you to move back to Sweden, are they all qualified immigration advisers?! I doubt it

OP, if you satisfy the conditions for permanent residency, you just need to prove that you do. As your first application was rejected it’s essential that you get specialist immigration advice. Most local Citizens Advice offices can give basic advice but not all can advise at the level you need. I suggest you contact Waltham Forest Citizens Advice as they offer a free initial consultation (if you want more help you would have to pay unless you live locally).

We provide a free immigration service if you live in Waltham Forest. If you live outside the borough, we offer an initial consultation followed by competitive fees for application and full casework support from our fully qualified immigration and asylum specialists. Contact our fee paying immigration service: 020 8509 6432 or [email protected]
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/local/waltham-forest/

Alternatively, you could find your local Citizens Advice and ask them about immigration advice - if they can’t offer it themselves, they should be able to direct you to a local solicitor or other organisation that can.

If you meet the conditions for permanent residency and can prove it, you will be entitled to everything a British Citizen is entitled to. That is, you can apply for social housing (which you should be reasonably high priority for if you are pregnant and homeless or at risk of homelessness) as well as JSA or income support and housing benefit, plus child benefit and child tax credits after the baby is born.

As PPs have said, the father is legally obligated to pay child maintenance and you should ensure he does. If he is a British citizen your child will be eligible for British citizenship and you can get them a British passport, but you will need some information from the father.

Full disclosure: I work for Citizens Advice and if you were a client I would usually check everything and share links confirming the info, but I’m going off the top of my head! Definitely go to Citizens Advice though (and I’m not just saying that because I work there). They can advise on immigration and benefits as well as housing, whereas shelter are specialists on housing only. (They are good though and I direct people to shelter if they just need housing advice.)

I know you're saying you want move back to Sweden but I think you would be much better off.
I'm living here and a non-EU friend of mine was dumped by her Swedish partner when she had a newborn. Socialen sorted her accommodation, paid her rent, gave her allowances for her and the baby but she met them every month and could show if she needed to have gone over the allowance to get more money. Obviously she got barnbidrag as well.
It takes 8 weeks at the moment to reactivate your personnummer but maybe you could get it expedited on the grounds of your pregnancy.
I would not rule out looking into Sweden as an option.

My post above is obviously based on you not being able to proof permanent residency in the U.K.

Social care would have a responsibility towards your dc but that doesn't mean that they have a responsibility to you, Options would include foster care, contacting birth father and birth fathers wider family to see if they could look after the baby. What happens would also depend on housing and budget pressures in your area, London has significant problems and other areas do as well. If you rely on social care to look after your dc you will lose control of basic decision making about your dc so think carefully before choosing to do this. Talk to your embassy.

DH has been outside of Denmark for more than 10 years. He is still in their system. They wouldn't let him pay for the doctor visit when he was visiting family.

Returning to Sweden isn't the end of the world. You will get much more support as a single parent and the assistance with childcare is far better compared to the Uk. I say this as someone who would return to Denmark over the Uk with young children/having babies. Sweden isn't that different in terms of support offered.

Go to your local council and say you’re pregnant and homeless. See how they can help. Hrft so not sure if this was already advised.

This is ridiculous. I am a Mexican citizen and a British citizen (both passports). I have not lived in Mexico for 30 years and in the UK for 10. I have lived in Spain most of my life but I am not Spanish and I am mexican and british despite living most of my life in spain. You dont lose your nationality just for not living there.

You are a Swedish citizen.

Sweden cannot make you stateless

I am really sorry to hear of your situation valencia and I hope you manage to get the help you need (and deserve!). I am a EU citizen too and I have encountered similar issues. You need to get proof of your work history first: can you contact your previous employers and get a copy of you P60s? If you can prove that you have worked 5 years without long interruptions you are considered a resident. If you can't get enough P45s and P60s to cover 5 years, try contacting the department for Work or HMRC and ask them for a letter confirming how much you have paid in tax and NIC since you have lived here. Your child is actually entitled to a British passport if you have been working here for over 5 years, so I would advise you to collect as much evidence as possible now and apply for a residence card for you (£65, it is a long application but they usually deal with them quite fast). Hopefully you can manage to get it before your baby arrives, and it will help you get access to prove your status. Also with regards to the council, I have seen them lie to people many times telling them they were not entitled to anything when in fact they were. Definitely get advice from CAB, as a pregnant woman you should be a priority. Best of luck to you and your baby!

Link for OP and anyone else who is interested (might be worth a read before giving misinformed advice!)

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/coming-from-abroad-and-claiming-benefits-the-habitual-residence-test/eea-nationals-and-the-habitual-residence-test/eea-nationals-other-ways-to-get-rights/you-are-an-eea-national-with-a-permanent-right-to-reside-in-the-uk/

There’s a link here to a page on Shelters website that deals with EU citizens housing rights in the UK:

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eu_and_eea_nationals_housing/housing_options_for_eu_and_eea_nationals

@AnotherEmma problem is OP hasn't got any proof and she's lived and travelled in Asia for a long time.
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best bet is to reconcile with the father, so that she can apply for the British passport

Sorry, but living in some skank B&B or hostel with your baby and UC whilst waiting to be housed, probably in some crap private let because places like London have no council housing left, is a crap alternative to Sweden, which will provide much better support to a single mum and child than the UK, especially as we will have a welfare system in crisis next March if Brexit goes tits up and our currency goes down the swanny. And she doesn't want to involve the dad, who knows, maybe he's abusive and she doesn't want him in the picture.

I can't believe anyone would want to stay here compared to their system.

Have you got Permanent Residency Status?

Without this you wont get citizenship - The full support that comes with that.

For PR status you need 5 years continuous proof of residency where you provide proof of income or for any periods you are not working you have to have ravens insurance converting that period for health care and proof of self sufficiency.

If you do not have citizenship your baby is not British by birth but if the father is a British Citizen then they will get citizenship from him by birth.

If you havnt started the PR / Citizenship process and plan to live here post Brexit I would really consider starting it as soon as possible (if your eligible) - do not trust this government to secure your future in the UK no matter how much NI / Tax you've paid.

Sweden can’t make you stateless. Go back. You say you don’t have a home there but you don’t have one here either and you have found yourself without recourse to public funds.

P.S. If the father is not in a relationship with you and is not on the birth certificate he will have no parental responsibility, legally. So don’t rely on his nationality.

This sounds so worrying OP. I hope you get the answers you want and soon. I totally understand that this is your home and your friends and support system is here. Hopefully you can access some good advice.

Not read all the posts but if the mother is not married to the father then the child takes the mother’s nationality. I think seeking advice from the midwife may be a good option. Hopefully they will be able to point you in the right direction xx

Chiquita Actually you can lose your citizenship for Denmark and Sweden has very similar rules. We have 3DC who are citizens of Denmark, Canada and America.

When our DC turn 21 they will be assessed for nationality by Denmark. They need to pass a Danish language test, show they have spent time in Denmark (lawyer advised us on 52 weeks over a 12-15 year period) and submit an application. This is why many scandi expats renew their kids passports when they are 18-20. You can have a valid passport.

As has repeatedly been said you need legal advice that no one here can give you.

Also please don't use disabilist language it's highly offensive.

Spastic is a very offensive term. The only reason I posted re your Swedish options is because it seemed as though you thought you couldn’t move back there. I was trying to help you understand that you most likely could if you wanted to.

You said the father is not involved. If you are not married then you cannot put him on the birth certificate unless he is present when you register the birth.