UK to require English language skills from immigrants seeking government benefits-BBC

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12/12/13, "Migrants to be quizzed on English skills before benefits," BBC

"Migrants to the UK are to be quizzed about their English skills before being able to claim income-related benefits, the government has announced.

In a move to "protect the integrity of the benefits system", people will also be asked what efforts they have made to find work before coming to Britain.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said people should not be able to "take advantage" of British benefits.

Job centres in England, Scotland and Wales will use the "more robust" test.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the test would ensure "only migrants who have a legal right to be in Britain and plan to contribute to this country can make a claim for benefits".
 
"For the first time, migrants will be quizzed about what efforts they have made to find work before coming to the UK and whether their English language skills will be a barrier to them finding employment," the DWP said in a statement.

Income-related benefits include council tax benefit, housing benefit, income-based jobseeker's allowance and pension credit.

Mr Duncan Smith said British people were "rightly concerned" that migrants should contribute to the economy and should not be "drawn here by the attractiveness of our benefits system".

"It is vitally important that we have strict rules in place to protect the integrity of our benefits system," he said.

He said the new test would help create a fair system which provided for "genuine" workers and jobseekers but "does not allow people to come to our country and take advantage".
 
To claim the benefits, migrants will have to pass a "habitual residence test" including more than 100 extra questions compared to now.
 
This will be overseen by an "intelligent IT system" which will ensure questions are "tailored to each individual claimant".

Migrants will be allowed to claim benefits if they can prove they are legally allowed to be in Britain and are "habitually resident" the country.

As part of this they might be questioned about what measures they have taken to "establish" themselves in Britain and what ties they still have abroad.

"They will also have to provide more evidence that they are doing everything they can
to find a job," the DWP said."

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