Council house

And

"Equal treatment
During their stay, your spouse, children and grandchildren should be treated as nationals of the host country, notably regarding access to employment, pay, benefits facilitating access to work and enrolment in schools. Even if they are staying as tourists, they should not, for example, have to pay higher fees to visit museums or when buying transport tickets.Exception: If you are a pensioner, some EU countries may decide not to grant you and your family income support for the first 3 months in that country."   https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/family-residence-rights/non-eu-wife-husband-children/index_en.htm

So, a non-EU direct family member of an EU citizen is treated pretty much the same as an EU citizen.  A non-EU extended family member has less rights, I believe.

Under EU laws, non EEA citizen Family Members can be deported if their EEA citizen sponsor is not exercising treaty rights, or if they are no longer a dependent.

If the non-EEA citizen works when they have lost their reside in the UK, they they have commited a criminal offence. Proceeds of crime can be removed (their wages) and they face a criminal record with up to 1 year in jail (up to 6 months in Scotland).

If their EEA citizen sponsor is a student or self sufficient, even of the non-EEA family member is working in the UK and paying taxes, they must buy a Comprehensive Sickness Insurance.

Even under the Withdrawal Bill (if there is one) non-EEA citizens have stricter rules.

But lets not lose track of the very important question that Mecoward asked in their thread, as it sounds like they might be taking Public Funds and may need advice from some of you.

It sounds like the  council (local authority) put your husband in contact with the Housing Association as he applied to the council for housing? If they did and you put your name on the tenancy too, then you are taking Public Funds, which you are not allowed to take on your visa.

Is the above what has happened?

EEA Family Member Rights

The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 provide free movement rights within the UK to direct non-EEA family members of EEA nationals. Under these Regulations, direct family members are entitled to an automatic right of residence which includes the right to work, be self-employed and access to a range of government benefits. These rights will continue for as long as the person remains a family member of an EEA national who is either:

residing in the UK for an initial period of three months;
exercising his or her rights as a ‘qualified person’; or
a permanent resident in the UK.

Which Family Members Benefit?
Only direct family members of EEA nationals can attain the right of residence.

The Regulations define direct family members to include:
a spouse (husband or wife) or civil partner of an EEA national;
direct descendants of an EEA national or their spouse or civil partner who are:
under the age of 21; or
dependants of an EEA nationals or their spouse or civil partner;
dependant direct relatives in the ascending line of an EEA national or their spouse or civil partner.

More available https://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/services/your-rights_en

See also https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/claiming-benefits-if-youre-from-the-EU/

And

"Equal treatment
During their stay, your spouse, children and grandchildren should be treated as nationals of the host country, notably regarding access to employment, pay, benefits facilitating access to work and enrolment in schools. Even if they are staying as tourists, they should not, for example, have to pay higher fees to visit museums or when buying transport tickets.Exception: If you are a pensioner, some EU countries may decide not to grant you and your family income support for the first 3 months in that country."   https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/family-residence-rights/non-eu-wife-husband-children/index_en.htm

So, a non-EU direct family member of an EU citizen is treated pretty much the same as an EU citizen.  A non-EU extended family member has less rights, I believe.

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It rather follows that if one is no longer a direct family member (i.e., they are out of status) none of the above applies, Sirius.    However, once they are here, as long as they are legitimately a direct family member, they are treated pretty much the same. My response is in relation to cloverbea.

As to the OP: If it were me, I'd get my name off that document ASAP.

But lets not lose track of the very important question that Mecoward asked in their thread, as it sounds like they might be taking Public Funds and may need advice from some of you.

Is the above what has happened?

He was on the council list as a single person and changed his status to married with a child. It was after this that he “bid” for a house and was approved. The housing association put me on the agreement even after I specifically asked about the visa and if I was allowed. They even took a photo of my BRP. Now I am scared! What do I do?! They said it was all fine!!!


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He was on the council list as a single person and changed his status to married with a child. It was after this that he “bid” for a house and was approved. The housing association put me on the agreement even after I specifically asked about the visa and if I was allowed. They even took a photo of my BRP. Now I am scared! What do I do?! They said it was all fine!!!

I was hoping ksand would be around to answer this.

As you can see from the UKVI guidance on public funds above, you are taking public funds;  the tenancy should have been in your husband's name only as a sole tenant. As also stated in that quote for UKVI staff, you living there with him as sole tenant would not have been you taking public funds: this is because you would have no claim to that social housing property if anything happens to him or you split up, as your name is not on the tenancy.

 It is up to you to make sure you don't take public funds and the link I gave above came from the government site on the public funds page. Staff who work in housing, benefits etc, are not immigration advisors, nor is it their job to be.

Don't be scared as this has been picked up before you apply for another visa. Others have taken public funds when they were not allowed to and have sorted this out before they applied for another visa.

The first thing to do would be to stop taking public funds and take your name off the tenancy. I assume with your visa renewal, this would have to be addressed by you as the UK views deception in applications as a serious offence; wait for others to advise on what you should say in your next application and where on the form you should say it. Perhaps ask this question on visa board, so that others can see it?

I was hoping ksand would be around to answer this.

I did see this but I didn’t reply because I’m not positive about the answer and I don’t want to give incorrect information... also I’m on holiday in Italy at the moment.



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I did see this but I didn’t reply because I’m not positive about the answer and I don’t want to give incorrect information... also I’m on holiday in Italy at the moment.



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Ah, ok. It is public funds as we can see from the UKVI guidance on what is public funds and Mecoward has to stop taking these.

For the visa renewal, we know that using deception is very serious, often worse than what they are trying to hide, and that deception can even cause problems at a later date if not caught at the time of the application. I assuming Mecoward should mention this in her next application; that she didn't realise it was public funds but has now taken her name off the social housing tenancy, to avoid any risk of being accused of deception?

Have a good holiday.