Jobseeker's Allowance and the “habitual residence” legacy

In light of the fact that some 15,000 appeals on the ‘habitual residence' test are currently awaiting determination, then benefits law practitioners should brush up their knowledge on this important, but legally grey, area. This starred Commissioner’s decision (82/95, also known as CIS/1067/1995) illustrates an all too common problem which benefits advisers continuously encountered throughout last year - the ‘habitual residence' rules. Since Regulation 21 and Schedule 7 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (SI [1987] No. 1967) provided no definition of the 'habitual residence' test, the general rule that from 1 August 1994 to September 1996, all Income Support (IS) claimants, deemed not to be habitually resident in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man were not entitled to IS. The few exemptions to this rule, according to Schedule 7, were claimants who were: '(a) workers or a person with a right to reside in the UK [under EC law]; or (b) a refugee; or (c) a person who has been granted exceptional leave to remain in the UK by the Secretary of State’.