Maternity Allowance and EEA3 and EEA4

[devolai2012]

Hi,

i(EU citizen exercising living and working in uk) am married to non EU citizen and are expecting our first child soon. I have not been working for my employer long enough to get Statutory Maternity Leave. however, i've been told i can get Maternity allowance. would it affect our application for PR in future?

thanks

[nonspecifics]

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/spec ... owance-ma/

Maternity Allowance is not normally regarded as Public Funds, so should not affect your future application for PR.

However, you have to consider if you are intending to return to employment after the birth of your child.

If your job has been kept open for you, you remain employed by your employer, then you will be considered to be exercising treaty rights as a worker.

If you resign from your job to be a full-time mother, you will be considered voluntarily unemployed and not exercising treaty rights as a worker / jobseeker.

Unless you continued to exercise treaty rights as self-sufficient with sufficient funds and CSI for all family members when not a worker ( if you did resign), then you would break the five continuous years of exercising treaty rights that are required to acquire PR.

[devolai2012]

thanks for your reply.

i have read several places that MA is a type of benefit, which leaves me to think that UKBA would probably class it as public funds.
I intend to return to work after maternity leave.

Am still very confused about whether to apply for maternity allowance or not.
I wouldn't want it to affect our applications later on.

[nonspecifics]

I fully understand your caution and it is a good idea to think ahead.

See the link below for more info on UKBA and their stance on public funds.

You will see workers often have the right to claim public funds without it affecting their residence status.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

[devolai2012]

Many thanks once again.

The guidelines support what you said in your earlier post. i will apply for MA.

cheers.

[nonspecifics]

I think this publication would be interesting to you and others.

http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/siteb ... eainfo.pdf