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.

Ok I get you, thank you - I know there is always going to be an option to move countries, but is it really an option just because of beuracracy and backwards politics?

He will be at the registry for the birth, I know that he needs to be present, that has never been the issue. The issue is that I am not with him and therefore a single parent.

Then ring HMRC, the National Insurance office, CAB, and Shelter.
I think that’s all you can do.
And involve the baby’s dad.

You and the dad need to sort something out pronto and you need records of employment, which you’ll get through HMRC.

If the father doesn’t live in London and he is with someone else, will he definitely come with you to register the birth? You can’t do that without him, and I’m not sure that it would automatically make your daughter British as you’re not married to the father.

You have very little rights here without having PR.

As others have stated no one here can tell you for definite. You need specialised immigration advice for your personal situation.

And don’t be so disablist.

He will be at the registry for the birth, I know that he needs to be present, that has never been the issue

He can refuse to be there. You aren't married.

You need legal advice!

I really do need legal advice and immigration law experts, never thought I would ever be in this situation here. Thank you though, it’s hard to navigate through something you have never set your foot in before, complete unknown territory.

Whether or not you agree with the benefits system is irrelevant; if you are not entitled to financial help , you need to consider other options . So many people have tried to help you and your response us to be rude.

But op, it's a case of stability in Sweden or uncertainty here in the UK.

Contact the organisations that PP have recommended. They may be able to point you in the right direction.

The council have no duty towards you at the moment, only once the baby is born will they get involved.
Even then, they may decide that they have no obligation to you; only to the child. There's a very real risk they will end up in care.

If they do choose to house you then you may be in for a wait.
A hostel/B&B may be all they can offer to you and you'll need to pay rent on those alone.

I have a sister with kids and a husband, I am
Not their responsibility.

But you think you and your child should be the state's responsibility rather than your child's father and yourself who are the parents here? He should be the first port of call for housing and financial assistance rather than the council because if you think you're going to walk into a flat or house in London just because you are pregnant and homeless you are in for a shock. They will do anything not to house you and when they do, it's their terms, take it or leave it, so it may be bye bye London if they tell you that's the only place they can offer you.

What you can do is now is liase with the father first of all to figure out how he can support his child.

And then get onto how you can prove you've been resident here as suggested.

Or consider moving back to Sweden because here it's going to be UC and some skanky hostel or B&B, possibly for months, with then an offer of a private let to take or leave.

It’s very scary to be 40, pregnant, single, not a citizen or resident, and potentially homeless. You have all of my sympathy.

I wish you all the best and hope that the advice you receive will at least ease some of the stress. Know that you will certainly receive sound advice from CAB and I’d make booking an appointment with them my top priority tomorrow morning.

OP the key issue here is that the UK doesn't regard you as a citizen, law abiding or otherwise. It may be that with good legal advice and support you can get them to reconsider this.
You need to be really clear about the support that your ex will give you, you are going to depend on him stepping up and involving himself.
It isn't unusual for countries to offer limited or no support to people who are not citizens.
Your disablist language isn't okay.

I understand your reluctance to return to Sweden where you would be alone. I understand your want to stay in the UK where you have lived for most of your adult life, and have friends.

But this situation is not about you. It's about what option gives your daughter the best stability and security in her early years.

You will not be entitled to any financial assistance by what information you have given. There are too many periods of "living and working outside the UK" . Your child will not automatically be a British citizen. The council and the government have no responsibility for you or your unborn child.

They can and will leave you homeless, even after he birth of your daughter.

Now is he time not to think of you, not to think of what's best for you, but to make he tough decision to do what's best for that baby.

There is no help or support available to you in the UK. In Sweden there will be, you are their responsibility, your passport and nationality is proof of this. So it's time to pull up your big girl knickers and go to the embassy before you end up with a newborn and destitute on the streets of the UK exposed to unimaginable horrors.

This isn't about you and what you want anymore sadly.

I know I sound harsh but that's the cold truth if this situation sadly. Take it or leave it.

WhatWouldCoachBombayDo

WTF?! You cannot possibly know all that without more information from the OP. You don’t know that she is not entitled to anything. It depends on whether she can meet the criteria and prove it. She hasn’t given us details of her absences from the UK. If you bothered to read the link I shared, if there has been a 5 year period of continuous residence with no trips abroad lasting more than 6 months, she may well meet the criteria. She hasn’t given enough information for anyone to be able to confirm either way.

OP, talk to a QUALIFIED IMMIGRATION ADVISER, and ignore the irresponsible know-it-alls on this thread.

What I don’t understand is how come that there is no record of your NI contributions and taxes if you have worked all these years. The department of work and pensions have records of all NI contributions your employees have paid in so that should not be an issue. In fact but I stand to be corrected in terms of JSS you will only need the two last years which is fairly recent.
As for the rights of EU nationals who knows what is around the corner. It doesn’t look like anyone knows right now.

Universal credit is only £73 a week, you may also receive housing benefit. Out of that you will need to pay council tax, other bills, food. Child benefit is approx £20 a week. You should apply for child maintenance from the father. You will also be expected to look for work once the child is of a certain age. Perhaps, you should compare this to what is offered in Sweden. If you are provided with accommodation it could be 100s of miles from where you live now. I'm sorry that you are in this situation and I hope that it gets better.

“Universal credit is only £73 a week, you may also receive housing benefit. Out of that you will need to pay council tax, other bills, food.”

Actually if OP is in a universal credit area then child tax credits and housing benefit would be included in her UC claim, so she would get a lot more than £73.10/week and she would not need to claim housing benefit separately. She could claim council tax reduction though and would need to do that separately.

If she is not in a universal credit area then she would claim income support, child tax credits and housing benefit all separately.

I don’t know anything about the Swedish system but I imagine it’s far more generous. However that’s not the only consideration when deciding where to live and bring up a child.

The op says she is settled here and wants to stay, I wish people would actually listen and respect that. Of course if she can’t stay she will have to move back to Sweden but people are telling her to move without even encouraging her to seek help here first

Are you all Daily Mail reading Leave voters or what?! (Only half joking! )

Brexit hasn’t happened yet, EEA Citizens do still have rights here. No need to predict distaster for them all until we know for sure what is happening!

I'm pretty horrified you were made homeless because of your pregnancy. Shelter can hopefully give you some advice. I don't know why your council are refusing to house you (may be difficult as there's such demand).

I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your job?

There will be a record of your NI contributions hopefully!

The generous maternity pay and heavily subsidised childcare of Sweden would be appealing to me in this situation, to be honest.

Also wishing you all the best. It sounds like a horrible situation and you're being severely let down. 💐

AnotherEmma, it’s like you’re almost desperate for one of us on this thread to ‘out’ ourselves as a go home spouting racist. You’re reading things into the comments about Sweden which simply aren’t there! I’m as anti Brexit as they come, it’s a shitstorm of insanity which taps into the very worst of the UK’s darkest sides. So don’t accuse people suggesting the OP considers Sweden of being Daily Mail reading xenophobes. Maybe our comments are in fact borne out of the fact that we know something about the Swedish system and are trying to help the OP consider ALL her options for her precarious situation.

No it was a bit of a tongue in cheek comment but my serious point is that a lot of people seem to being saying “just go to Sweden” and not “Sweden is an option”, there is a difference I think. The overall theme of the responses seems to be more skewed towards telling the OP to “go back where you came from” rather than seeking the appropriate help to see if she can stay here - even if that was not people’s intention.

I agree there is a difference between ‘go back to Sweden’ and ‘Sweden is an option’. But the ‘go back to where you came from’ comments would also be different again, and I can’t sense that undertone in this thread, I really can’t. Those kinds of comments wouldn’t be okay - we’re definitely in agreement on that!!

I'm also totally anti-Brexit but I do have work based experience of families who do not have a right to public funds and if OP cannot persuade the government to change its mind about her status she is going to be in this group. The position on these families is much tougher than it used to be and it simply isn't the case that anyone with a dc will be housed by a council. As has been said if she is housed it is likely to be in poor accommodation some distance from London and her support network. It is only sensible to consider if her dc would be better off in OP's home country. This doesn't make anyone a daily mail reader either.

I recently claimed UC due to redundancy, contributions based I received £73 a week. My council tax was £110+, then I had all my other bills to pay. That was after decades of working and paying NI and tax. With young children there are more funds made available. That is the reality ! I was fortunate to find employment quickly.