Some EU citizens are entitled to claim as long as they are working, or actively seeking work, and have a National Insurance number. Citizens from the new EU countries (A8) are not entitled to benefits until they have been here at least 2 years or are registered with the Workers Registration Scheme. To register they must have a job. After a year of employment they may be eligible for certain state benefits: child benefits, tax credit, housing benefit and housing accommodation. People from other countries must have special work permits and cannot generally claim benefits.
