# uk benefits in spain



## leah2015 (Feb 1, 2015)

Is there any way i can move to spain to start a new life and business but still receive my children's child tax credits and child benefits in the uk? As that is a lot of money to loose for 4 children. I want to be able to feed my children if my business isn't bringing in enough money.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

No I think that is a non runner Leah.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

To even be able to use Spanish healthcare , you would need to prove you are paying into the Spanish system, by way of an employment contract or by being self employed (paying autonomo). 

Child related benefits aren't transferable 

Jo xxx

Sent from my D5803 using Expat Forum


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

leah2015 said:


> Is there any way i can move to spain to start a new life and business but still receive my children's child tax credits and child benefits in the uk? As that is a lot of money to loose for 4 children. I want to be able to feed my children if my business isn't bringing in enough money.


as said, these benefits aren't transferable to Spain, & there's no Spanish equivalent


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## leah2015 (Feb 1, 2015)

After everything I've been reading on UK government website aparently I still can claim them


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

leah2015 said:


> After everything I've been reading on UK government website aparently I still can claim them


No, the only UK benefits you can claim are DLA type benefits and thats not straight forward anymore. Even when we lived in Spain 7 years ago, we wouldnt have been able to claim child benefit if we stopped paying into the UK system. So unless you continue with your NI contributions - no, not even the standard child benefit and definitely not tax credits

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

leah2015 said:


> After everything I've been reading on UK government website aparently I still can claim them


Maybe
https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-abroad
*Going abroad for longer*

You may continue to get Child Benefit for longer if you go to live in certain countries or if you’re a Crown servant.
*Living in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland*

You can get Child Benefit for children living with you within the EEA or Switzerland. You must pay National Insurance in the UK (ie you’re employed or self-employed) or get 1 of the following benefits: 


Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
State Pension
Bereavement Allowance (Widow’s Pension)
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Is this your case?


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## leah2015 (Feb 1, 2015)

So it'll be worth keeping my business open in the uk


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

leah2015 said:


> So it'll be worth keeping my business open in the uk


you can keep the child benefit if one parent is living & working in the UK

you said you were moving here :confused2:

if you're living here in Spain it doesn't matter about having a business in the UK


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

Hi Leah, this may help clarify your situation, if you though of moving out her with your entire family.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-abroad
You are supposed to let the benefits agency know.
Whilst any business you are running in the UK, should attract UK tax, if you moved part or whole of it to Spain each year you would have to fill in a UK and Spanish tax form, as residents here are expected to declare world wide income, and they are pretty strong on chasing that.
Have you thought about where you would live with such a large family?, rent or buy? Getting a mortgage here would be difficult for anyone who cannot prove a certain income, and most land lords would require some large deposit, and proof of regular income, before they let out any premises.
Getting a job and starting a business is not easy in Spain, I have seen many try and a few months later fail.
State health care here is good, but even Spain has a shortage of GPs, if you can afford to pay autonomo, on the grounds you run a successful business, then you would be entitled to health care, by paying into the system,if your business unfortunately failed, then you might find yourself grossly out of pocket, with no benefits to turn to.
I think you need to do long term 'homework' on the way which Spanish systems work, especially with a family of 4-5 children, they would be entitled to schooling, with lessons taught in Spanish, unless you had them educated in a private international school.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

And, with Spanish school hours being rather different from the UK, would the OP be able to operate her business in the afternoons and evenings whilst caring for all the children? The difficulty of organising and paying for childcare to balance with Spanish working/school hours has made it too difficult for a couple of expat mothers I've met here to find work.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

leah2015 said:


> Is there any way i can move to spain to start a new life and business but still receive my children's child tax credits and child benefits in the uk? As that is a lot of money to loose for 4 children. I want to be able to feed my children if my business isn't bringing in enough money.


Leah, are you aware of the requirements for residency?
How old are your children, as it will make a big difference as to how they will fit into the education system.
Would you have enough money to tide you over for a year if it all went wrong?
There are so many things to consider.
It would be be a brave person who ventured here with 4 children in today's economic climate.
Have you actually spoken to the DWP to clarify the benefits situation?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

You will not be able to claim Child Benefit, Housing Benefit, Unemployment Pay once you leave the UK and once in Spain you will not qualify for unemployment benefit or any benefit until you are registered as paying into the system. This doesn't come free either. Your autonomo payments will be around 250 euros a month, regardless of whether you earn 100 euros or 1000euros a month.
In order to register you will need to prove you have an income of 3000 euros a month for the five of you plus, as has been said, some regions require additional savings of 6000 euros a month.
I'm afraid it's not a question of just turning up in Spain and having access to work, health care and schools.
If your mother is not of pensionable age she will not be entitled to free health care in Spain.
It seems you have been badly advised.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

leah2015 said:


> Is there any way i can move to spain to start a new life and business but still receive my children's child tax credits and child benefits in the uk? As that is a lot of money to loose for 4 children. I want to be able to feed my children if my business isn't bringing in enough money.


This is going to sound harsh, Leah, but I think you need a reality check. There is no way you can transfer those benefits from the UK to Spain. If you think he income from your business might not be able to feed your children then, frankly, you should not be considering a move to Spain.

You haven't said what kind of business you run but I'm wondering if you are aware of just how bad the economic situation is here. All businesses need customers and long-established Spanish businesses are going under. Unemployment is at over 33% in some areas. If you have no or very few contacts and speak little or no Spanish, your chances are not good.

No-one stats a 'new' life when they come to Spain, really. They bring their 'old' life with them and live it under slightly different circumstances. Compared to the UK, Spain is a harsh country where people have to take more responsibility for their own well-being.
If you have a good income, life is pleasant here. But if you haven't, it's not so much a Spanish 'dream' as a Spanish nightmare.
Think very carefully, get information from official sources and consider.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Leah I am wondering why you seem to have made such a hasty decision to come to Spain, when it appears you have not done much research into these very important health, education and finance matters.
I fear you are jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, and with 5 children, it seems foolhardy, with potentiall disastrous consequences.
Hope my fears are unfounded.


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

Re-locating a whole family is very expensive, if you give up any roof over your head in UK, you may find it equally as expensive to return there, with no roof over your head. Removal costs there and possibly having to return, must be taken into account, no one is going to pay for repatriation for you and your large family.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

A family of six would need an annual income of 43200 euros to register here. Plus the savings requirement.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Just a thought - it may or may not be possible for you to continue claiming tax credits and child benefit if you are operating a business in the UK as the rules stand at the moment (and I agree with other posters who have advised checking this out carefully with the actual Government agencies involved). However, if the Conservatives win the General Election in May and make good on their pledge to stop paying child benefit, etc. for children who are not actually resident in the UK, then you could be in trouble if you have gone ahead and made the move already. Seems a big risk to me.


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> A family of six would need an annual income of 43200 euros to register here. Plus the savings requirement.


I'm assumimg it's about to be a family of seven - Leah, hubby and 5 kids - so that would be over 50k income per year, needed, plus the mother then needs her own approx 7200€ per yr. And / or savings.

Maybe wrong but guessing income from the existing UK business isn't that much if they get tax credits and a new business needs time to build up.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

So to sum up its a non runner then ?


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

VFR said:


> So to sum up its a non runner then ?


We don't know if it's a non runner. It just sounds as if Leah may not be aware of all the practicalities, and we're just trying do make sure she knows what she's letting herself into, especially as she has children to think of.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I wouldn't say it's a non runner necessarily. We don't know what disposable income Leah has and we don't know what her business is for example.
Like Brocher it seems to me she just didn't realise all the ins and outs of coming to Spain and needed more information. There are a lot of people who don't realise just how different some things are in different countries within the EU.
Unfortunately she might not come back and read all the comments, but that's a different matter


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I wouldn't say it's a non runner necessarily. We don't know what disposable income Leah has and we don't know what her business is for example.
> Like Brocher it seems to me she just didn't realise all the ins and outs of coming to Spain and needed more information. There are a lot of people who don't realise just how different some things are in different countries within the EU.
> Unfortunately she might not come back and read all the comments, but that's a different matter


Leah, in her first post expressed concern, that her benefits she received in the UK would make the difference to her style of life, if they were not applicable if she moved to Spain. I imagine the fact she is getting child tax credits in the UK = there isn't the most fantastic wage from any business her and her family have in UK ? Tax credits are given to people on a lower wage declared.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

She also said this in her other post


> Hello I'm moving to alfaz del pi* at the end of this week* but I still find everything overwhelming I have 4 young children and I am pregnant....


Which doesnt give her much time to organise anything at all if she hasnt had any prior knowledge as to the differences between the UK and Spain??


Jo xxx


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