Can EEA national Spouse apply for benefits

hi new here and need advice please, my wife is a Maldives national she is living and working in uk under eea family permit, she has 5 year resident stamp with 2 yrs remaining, we are separated now. But we have two kids age 11 & 9 yrs both going to school in UK. She have resident card as a spouse of EEA national.The thing is this, can she claim benefits ?
If she cannot claim benefits then can she claim housing benefit? as she is a single parent on low income. This is very sad situation as Kids and my ex wife struggling hard to survive. And I also without work af advise much appreciated

Thankyou

I would suggest that you speak to your local CAB or contact jobcentre plus.

This is not a straight yes or no I'm afraid. If she has lived here a long time and has not claimed anything and will only be on benifits for a short time this may not be considered an "unreasonable burden on the state". What nationality are you, and when and where was your child born - this will affect their Nationality which muddies the waters even more. How long have you and your wife been here, what are your prospects of finding work quickly and being able to support your wife and child(ren), or she finding full time work and you having the children? I will try and translate the legalese into English for you when I have more time (i.e not at work!)but I need more details of your circumstances to give fuller advice. My advice will be just that not a definitive yes or no.

Here is the legal bit:

1. Introduction
Regulation 1612/68 Article 7, Council Directive 2004/38 and Regulation 6 of the EEA
Regulations 2006 are the principal references.
1.1 Key points
• Under EC law a person from another Member State who is exercising Treaty rights in the United Kingdom enjoys the same social and tax advantages as a British citizen.
• Under Directive 2004/38, an EEA national and his/her non-EEA family members may
reside legally in the UK if the EEA national is working or self-employed or has a right of permanent residence. This is also subject to them not becoming a burden on public funds. In some circumstances EEA nationals may claim public funds and retain their right of
residence under EC law (eg 'top-up' benefits for low-paid or part-time workers,
persons who are involuntarily unemployed etc)..•
• It is important to remember that the Home office does not decide whether an EEA
national qualifies for benefits or for local authority housing. We can only advise
whether an EEA national has a right of residence.
1.2 What is a public fund?
For the purpose of these instructions public funds means:
• Income Support and income ­base­d Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)(IB )
• housing and homelessness assistance;
• Housing and Council Tax Benefit;
• Working families' Tax Credit;
• A social fund payment;
• Child benefit; or
• Any disability allowance.
These are all income-related benefits. Being in receipt of one of these benefits may affect a
person's right of residence. Contributory benefits are not considered as public funds and for the
purpose of these instructions Social Housing is not to be regarded as a public fund.
NB Social care support should not be confused with social fund payment. Receipt of Social care
does not affect an EEA national's right of residence.
1.3 The effect of public funds on an EEA national's right of residence and their eligibility to
obtain a registration certificate
EEA nationals who are residing in the UK should generally be able to support themselves
without help from public funds. EEA nationals who are exercising Treaty rights in the UK as
workers, self employed persons or work seekers are able to claim public funds without their right
of residence being affected. Caseworkers should note that a worker or self employed person
would include someone whom had temporally ceased their economic activity in the UK due to
involuntary redundancy or illness.
Section 1.1 of Chapter 4 provides further guidance on the definitions of workers, self-employed
persons and work seekers.
EEA nationals who are in the UK as self-sufficient persons and students should be able to
support themselves without public funds. Such persons are only able to claim public funds
without losing their right of residence if they are able to demonstrate that they are not an
unreasonable burden on the state. To establish whether an EEA national is an unreasonable
burden on the state each case would need to be assessed on an individual basis. If the EEA
national is claiming public funds after having been in the UK for some time, the fact that s/he
had been self sufficient would be a factor in determining whether the burden is reasonable, as
would the length of time that s/he is likely to be in receipt of public funds. Although an EEA
national in this situation would be regarded as having a right of residence even though s/he was
in receipt of public funds, it would not be appropriate to issue him/her with a registration
certificate.

Have a look at this! It happened just yesterday and I hope this helps.

migrant parents can claim UK [URL=http://www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Resources/Library/Financial-Advice/Benefits_c94_m1852.html ]benefits, EU judges rule [/url]

Hi Thanks for the reply. Here are some answer to your questions.

What nationality are you? I am German National

when and where was your child born? Both our kids born in German & they are living in UK since three years age is 11 & 8

How long have you and your wife been here ? She is living here since three years 2007

what are your prospects of finding work quickly and being able to support your wife and child ? I m trying all my best to find work but it's very uncertain, been to 45 interviews and applied for 1022 jobs( hv all proofs for it.

she finding full time work and you having the children?
My ex-wife (we are already separated(un-officialy)have no job because her English is at very poor standard.We still live in same house but have no any connection whatsoever except discuss kid's affairs. Main reason for our situation raised with due to economic hardship we are facing now. We cant tell anyone but actually we are suffering lot. My wife thinks all this is my fault.



Here are some details if you need more I can provide all.