Britain has been dragged into a fresh benefits row after the Polish government was accused of encouraging its own citizens to claim UK welfare before leaving the country.
Official advice published by Warsaw tells Poles considering a return home to check whether they qualify for Britain’s Jobseeker’s Allowance before they leave – because they may still be able to receive payments after moving back to Poland.
The guidance, published on the Polish government’s Powroty (“Returns”) website, highlights that UK unemployment payments are more generous than those available in Poland and warns that applications must be made before departing Britain, the Express reported.
It states: “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.”
The advice has sparked anger in Britain, with critics claiming it amounts to encouraging people to maximise claims on the British taxpayer before returning overseas.
Under arrangements agreed after Brexit, some EU nationals who secured settled status before the end of the transition period in December 2020 can export certain unemployment benefits for up to three months while seeking work in another eligible country.
The rules were designed to preserve existing rights for people covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. To qualify, claimants must meet eligibility requirements before leaving the UK and comply with the conditions attached to exporting the benefit.
Nevertheless, the Polish government’s guidance has prompted accusations that the system is being exploited.
A UK Government spokesman insisted the arrangements were never intended to become “a mechanism to maximise claims on British taxpayers.
Warsaw rejected suggestions that it was encouraging abuse of the welfare system, arguing that many Polish nationals are returning voluntarily because the country’s economy has been transformed over recent decades.
Officials said people were being drawn home by attractive employment opportunities, strong economic growth, the chance to live closer to family and friends, and high levels of public safety.
Poland has experienced almost three decades of sustained economic expansion, dramatically narrowing the income gap with Western Europe and reversing a migration trend that saw hundreds of thousands of Poles move to Britain after Poland joined the European Union in 2004.
Following the UK’s vote to leave the EU in 2016, many have chosen to return as wages and living standards in Poland have improved.
But the benefits advice has reignited Britain’s long-running political argument over welfare and immigration.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately 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 pledged that the Conservatives would end arrangements allowing foreign nationals to continue claiming British benefits after leaving the country.
The row is likely to intensify pressure on ministers over welfare spending, with critics arguing that taxpayers expect benefits to support people living and seeking work in Britain rather than being exported overseas.
Supporters of the current system, however, note that the arrangements stem from legally binding post-Brexit agreements protecting the rights of people who were already lawfully resident in the UK before the end of the transition period, rather than new immigration rules.
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