Syed Kamall MEP welcomes clampdown on benefit tourism

Syed Kamall, MEP for London, has welcomed a landmark ruling by the European Court that migrants moving to another country solely to access the benefits system can have those benefits curbed.

The Court was asked to look into the case of a Romanian woman who moved to Germany with her child. She received German child benefit and social security payments but, owing to a poor level of education, also applied for a subsistence allowance from the German social security system. This allowance is non-contributory, but the German authorities denied her application on the basis that German law does not allow the payments to be made to EU citizens seeking employment in Germany.

The Court has today ruled that the lady should have had sufficient means of her own to reside in Germany as she was economically inactive. It added that domestic legislation can exclude EU nationals from benefits that are available to nationals of that country, if they do not have a right of residence under the directive.

Syed Kamall said:

“This is a real victory for common sense. Migrants make an enormous economic contribution to London’s economy but there is real concern about those who are here for benefits rather than work”.

“This European Court ruling has wide-ranging implications for the UK. We can now tighten the rules to ensure only migrants that come here to work and contribute to the welfare system can receive something back.”