Poland’s government is telling its own citizens to max out British benefits and apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance before heading home, sparking outrage in the UK.
Poland tells citizens to max out UK benefits (Image: Getty)
Poles have been told by their own government to max out their benefits in Britain before heading home. Official government guidance for citizens living overseas instructs those thinking about coming back to “considering whether you are eligible for Jobseeker’s Allowance” before leaving. Deals done between London and Brussels since Brexit enable EU residents who got settled status before December 2020 to keep some of their welfare bungs when they move to an EU nation for up to three months.
That means Poles heading back to their home country can claim hundreds of pounds at the expense of the British taxpayer without looking for work in the UK.
Since the United Kingdom’s historic vote to leave the EU in 2016 thousands of Polish nationals have headed back.
Now Warsaw is attempting to lure back its citizens to prop up a stint of economic growth that has seen the income gap shrink.
In turn that has reversed a period of immigration from the European Country, with many heading to the UK after Poland was allowed into the EU.
Powroty, the government website dispensing the advice, writes: “The UK unemployment benefit is higher than the equivalent benefit paid in Poland. It’s important to apply for it before leaving. Once you return to Poland, you won’t be able to start the benefits process.”
A UK Government spokesman took aim at Poland saying that the Brexit welfare rules should not be seen as a “mechanism to maximise claims on British taxpayers”.
Whately: Britain has become a laughing stock (Image: Getty)
But Warsaw has struck back, telling the Telegraph that Poles were heading home for “attractive job opportunities; the fact that the Polish economy has seen uninterrupted and dynamic economic growth over the past 28 years; the possibility of living and working among friends and family; and a high level of public safety”.
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “Britain has become world-renowned for our soft-touch benefits handouts.
“When other nations are advising their own citizens on how to game benefits in the UK, it is clear how desperately broken our system has become. We have become a laughing stock.”
She vowed her party would end the system that allowed foreigners to claim handouts.
