Moving my Dad, general advice

[Kemilly3]

Hi there, I am wanting to move my dad over to the UK from South Africa. He has an Irish passport so we shouldn't have any issues from that side, but I want to make sure I have thought of everything before we start the process. If anyone has any advice or things I should be thinking about please do shout.

He is in his 70's and although works in SA, would likely struggle to find work in the UK at least in the short term, so will likely need to claim benefits. Bar setting up a bank account and registering with a doctor and dentist, joining local groups etc. is there anything that you think is important to bear in mind with passing the habitual resident test? I am aware that he would likely not be able to pass this for the first 3 months. In terms of address, he will likely stay with me but we will be looking for housing association housing as soon as possible.

He has very little in SA so bar closing his bank account and transferring his pension, is there anything else he should consider? (he is renting so will just give notice on his contract when we are ready to move him over).

Any idea if he is ok to leave SA on his SA passport and enter the UK on his Irish, or would he have to leave on one and enter on another?

Any advice for being able to set up a bank account - will a letter from me help or would he need accommodation before this happens? Likewise any advice for registering for a NI number?

And anything else that I haven't thought of but should be?! Thanks so much

[CR001]

He must leave SA on his SA passport. That is law for South African citizens. He will have to enter the UK on his Irish passport.

He won't be able to claim any benefits for at least 3 months. When and if he can claim, don't expect him to get much to live on as he hasnt paid into the UK system.

Also don't expect him to get HA accommodation anytime soon after arriving, especially if he has family in the UK. The waiting lists for housing are very long, many waiting in excess of a year for a place.

He needs an address and proof of address before he can open a bank account, sign up at a gp or apply for an NI number. He needs the NI number before he can apply for any benefits.

Dentistry is not free so no mandatory requirement to sign up for dentists.

Presumably his SA pension is a private pension and not the government pension, which cannot be transferred.

[Kemilly3]

Thanks for the very quick reply! In terms of proof of address, will mine be ok if he is staying with me initially?

Many thanks

[CR001]

He will need something in his name at your address once he is in the UK.

[JB007]

In terms of address, he will likely stay with me but we will be looking for housing association housing as soon as possible.

If he is looking for this in London or the South East, he has very little chance or ever getting an HA property, unless he needs an assisted living property. It's not just a case of waiting on a list: there are very limited properties for the numbers wanting them and they are allocated on need e.g. those with children who are homeless.

Even the councils are using private rentals for those families in urgent need, but it is doubltful the rent benefit will cover the full rent.

[JB007]

The councils in popular areas are having to house the homeless families in temporary housing, often all the family in one room with shared facities with other families. These familes can then get offered social housing in areas far away from where they wanted to live. If you live in rural Scotland or somewhere up north, he might have a good chance of getting social housing.

The UK housing benefits are based on bedrooms and on the Local Housing Allowance. Your father would only be allowed the one bedroom rate for benefits, even if he could only find a two bedroom property.

For private rentals, the Local Housing Allowance would only pay the maximum of the 30th percentile of 1 bedroom rents in that area, with his pension and earnings then reducing that benefit amount.
You can see the maximum Local Housing Allownce for a 1 bedroom property in the area you want, by putting in the postcode
https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx