The Social Security (Croatia) Amendment Regulations 2013

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207), the State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1792), the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213), the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/214), and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/794) (“the income-related benefit regulations”) in consequence of the accession to the European Union on 1st July 2013 of Croatia.

The income-related benefit regulations provide that a claimant is ineligible for benefit where he or she is a “person from abroad” or, in the case of state pension credit, “a person not in Great Britain”. A person is a person from abroad or a person not in Great Britain if he or she is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland. No person shall be treated as habitually resident without a relevant right to reside in the place where he or she is habitually resident. However, certain categories of persons are exempt from this habitual residence test.

These Regulations insert a new category of persons who are exempt from the habitual residence test, namely nationals of Croatia who are subject to the worker authorisation scheme established by the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/1460) and who are treated as workers pursuant to those Regulations. This adds to the exemption category, inserted on 1st January 2007, for the nationals of Bulgaria and Romania who are subject to the worker authorisation scheme and who are treated as workers pursuant to the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/3317).

Regulation 8 amends paragraph 1 of Part II of the Schedule to the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/636) in order to update the reference to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the private sector and civil society organisations.