Tell us about any changes

You must tell us straight away if there is a change in your

circumstances. For example, you need to tell us if your work or
earnings change.

Leave a message in your online journal to tell us about changes.

If you give wrong or incomplete information or you do not report

changes straight away, you might be paid the wrong amount.
You will have to return any overpayment when told to do so. You
could also be prosecuted or need to pay a financial penalty. If we
pay you less money than we should we may pay you more later,
including any arrears due.

Yours sincerely,

Universal Credit

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Page 2 of 7
If you disagree with a decision

You can ask us to explain why

You, or someone who has the authority to act for you, can phone
us or use your journal to request a written explanation. You will
need to do this within one month of the date of this letter.

You can also ask us to reconsider a decision

Tell us if you have more information, or if you think we have

overlooked something which might change the decision. Do this
within one month of the date on this letter.

We will look at what you tell us and send you a letter to tell you
what we have decided, and why. We call this letter a Mandatory
Reconsideration Notice.

When you have done this you can appeal

If you disagree with the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice, you

can appeal to a tribunal.

You must wait for the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice before

you start an appeal.

Treating people fairly

We are committed to the Equality Act 2010 and treating people
✁✂✄☎✆✝ ✞✟ ✂✠✡ ✟☛☞ ✌✟✄✍ ✁✎✟☛☞ ☞✏✂✑ ☎✁✒✓ ✑✍✁✄✔✏ ✕✖✗☛✁☎✂☞✆✘ ✟✠

www.gov.uk

Call charges

Calls to 0800 numbers are free from personal mobiles and

landlines.

Why DWP needs personal information and how we treat it

We treat personal information carefully. We may use it for any of

our purposes. To learn more about information rights and how we
use information, please see our DWP Personal Information
Charter at www.gov.uk/dwp/personal-information-charter

UCD357
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HRT category
Habitual Residency
EEA Jobseeker
Non EEA - Person Subject to
Immigration Control (PSIC)
Examples of individual rights to
reside issued by the Home Office
(list not exhaustive)
EEA - Indefinite leave to remain
EEA - Limited leave to remain
Non-EEA Settlement
Non-EEA - Permanent right to reside
Non-EEA - Indefinite leave to remain
Non-EEA - Limited leave to remain
Non-EEA - Humanitarian protection *
Non-EEA Refugee *
British Citizen or national of the
Common Travel area (comprising the
United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of
Man, and the Channel Islands. The
British Overseas Territories are not
included)
EEA Permanent right to reside
Brief description
To be habitually resident in a country a person must
have actually taken up residence and lived there for a
period. It is not sufficient that the person came to this
country voluntarily and for settled purposes.
They must be resident in fact for an appropriate period
of time which demonstrates that their residence has
become, and is likely to remain, habitual in nature.
Certain rights to reside do not require a person to be
habitually resident to qualify (shown by *).
A person who is looking for work. For Universal Credit
purposes this does not count as a right to reside.
A person wh✟ ✂✑ ✠✟☞ ✁✠ ✖✖✁ ✠✁☞✂✟✠✁☎ ✁✠✡ ✒✏✟ ✡✟✍✑✠✘☞
have a Biometric Residence Permit or Visa giving them
a right to reside in the UK. Or, they have a Biometric
Residence Permit or Visa but this is subject to the
condition that they do not have recourse to public
funds or the Permit or Visa was given as a result of a
maintenance undertaking.
(In some exceptional circumstances an EEA national
may have been granted leave to remain before their
country joined the EU, which could still be relevant.)
These people have the right of abode in the UK but
they have to show they are actually habitually resident,
and intend to remain. This would normally be a period
of continual residence between 1 and 3 months.
A person can get a permanent right to reside in the UK
if they can show that they have resided here, as a
qualified person, for a continuous period of 5 years.
This will be lost if they are away from the UK for a
period of 2 years. (There are other circumstances that
qualify permanent right to reside that are outlined in
Reg 15 of the EEA regulations.)
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EEA Worker
EEA Self-employed person
EEA - Retained worker status (looking
for work)
EEA - Retained self-employed status
(ill health)
EEA - Retained worker status (temp.
incapacity)
EEA - Retained worker status
(maternity period)
EEA Retained Worker involuntarily
unemployed and embarked on
vocational training
EEA Retained Worker, voluntarily
unemployed
EEA - Self-sufficient
EEA Student
EEA - Worker or self-employed person
who has ceased activity
A person currently doing genuine and effective work.
A person who is currently doing genuine and effective
self-employed work.
A person who stopped working (from 24 July 2018 this
also includes self-employed work) involuntarily and can
demonstrate that they remained in the labour market.
A person who has stopped work or self-employed work
due to sickness or accident and as a direct result
cannot return to work yet.
A woman who gives up work due to the physical
constraints of the late stages of pregnancy (within 11
weeks of the due date) can retain their status as a
worker provided they intend to return to work within a
reasonable period of time (up to 41 weeks from when
the baby was born).
A person who has stopped work (from 24 July 2018
this also includes self-employed work) involuntarily and
has started vocational training.
A person who stopped work (from 24 July 2018 this
also includes self-employed work) voluntarily to start
vocational training linked to their previous employment.
A person who has enough resources to not be a
burden on the State and has comprehensive sickness
insurance. Such a person would not normally be
entitled to Universal Credit but periods where this right
to reside is satisfied could count towards determining a
permanent right to reside.
A person who is in full time education, has enough
resources to not be a burden on the State and has
comprehensive sickness insurance. Such a person
would not normally be entitled to Universal Credit but
periods where this right to reside is satisfied could
count towards determining a permanent right to reside.
A person who has retired, has a permanent incapacity
or works in another member state, whilst living in the
UK, has a permanent right to reside if they satisfy the
conditions in Reg 5 of the EEA Regulations.
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EEA - Family member of an EEA
national
EEA - Family member who has
retained the right of residence
EEA - Extended family member
EEA - Family member of British
Citizen
Primary carer of a child in education
A person who satisfies one of the conditions in Reg 7
of the EEA Regulations would have the same right to
reside as the family member of an EEA national. Any
✔✏✁✠ ✍✑ ✂✠ ☞✏✍ ✖✖ ✁ ✠✁☞✂✟✠✁☎ ✁✌✂☎✆ ✌✍✌✎✍✄✘✑
circumstances must be reported.
In some circumstances a person can derive a right to
reside from a family member who has died or from
whom they are divorced. The relevant conditions are
set out in Reg 10 of the EEA Regulations.
A person who satisfies one of the conditions of Reg 8
of the EEA Regulations and also holds one of the
following:
✁ a valid EEA family permit
✁ a valid registration certificate
✁ a valid residence card
This gives them the status of family member of an EEA
national and would have the same right to reside as
the EEA family member. Any changes in the EEA
✠✁☞✂✟✠✁☎✘✑ ✔✂✄✔☛✌✑☞✁✠✔✍✑ ✌☛✑☞ ✎✍ ✄✍ ✟✄☞✍✡✝ ✂
The British Citizen and the claimant must have lived
together in another EEA country and the other
conditions in Reg 9 of the EEA Regulations must be
✑✁☞✂✑ ✂✍✡✝ ✁✠✆ ✔✏✁✠ ✄✄✂☞✂✑✏ ☎✂☞✂✆✍✠✘✑ ✟✄
✍✑ ✂✠ ☞✏✍ ✁✌✂☎✆
✌✍✌✎✍✄✘✑ ✔✂✄✔☛✌✑☞✁✠✔✍✑ ✌☛✑☞ ✎✍ ✄✍✂✟✄☞✍✡✝
A person can have a derivative right to reside, if they
do not have any other right to reside (whether that
entitles them to benefit or not) and are the primary
carer, or joint primary carer, of a child in general
✍✡☛✔✁☞✂✟✠✓ ✂✄✟✝✂✡✂✠ ☞✏✁☞ ✟✠✍ ✟ ☞✏✍ ✔✏✂☎✡✘✑ ✂✁✄✍✠☞✑ ✂✑
an EEA national who has resided in the UK as a
worker since the child came to live in the UK. There is
no requirement for the worker to be part of the family
unit but the work must be genuine and effective.
If the child is a British Citizen this does not count as a
right to reside for Universal Credit purposes.
A derivative right to reside does not go towards the 5
continuous years required to acquire a permanent right
to reside.
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Non-EEA - Family member of an EEA
national
Non-EEA /EEA - Primary carer of a
British National child in education
A person who satisfies one of the conditions in Reg 7
of the EEA Regulations which allows them to be
treated as the family member of an EEA national. They
would have the same right to reside as the EEA
national family member. A non-EEA national would
normally hold a valid residence card confirming they
are a family member - but as long as they can
demonstrate they are a family member the card is not
essential. Any changes in the EEA national family
✌✍✌✎✍✄✘✑ ✔✂✄✔☛✌✑☞✁✠✔✍✑ ✌☛✑☞ ✎✍ ✄✍✂✟✄☞✍✡✝
A person who is the primary carer of a British national
child in general education can get a derivative right to
reside, but for benefit purposes this does not count as
a right to reside.
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