Skip to content Skip to footer

Advisers dealing with EEA clients required for research


EEA clients: Navigating Habitual Residence Test (HRT)

This research is being undertaken on behalf of Citizens Advice by the Best Practice Lead for Help to Claim in the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire JobCentre district. Five other JobCentre districts will also be participating, with the aim of providing national representation.

We want to understand:

  • Are EEA nationals a growing proportion of the people we help with issues relating to habitual residence/right to reside across the service and/or within Help to Claim?  
  • Are EEA claimants without settled status (either pre-settled or not yet applied/applying to scheme) more likely to have problems with claiming benefits than those with settled status? 
  • What are the most common causes of problems with claiming benefits for each of the three categories of EEA claimants (settled/pre-settled/not applied or applying to scheme)? 
  • What is best practice for advisers navigating the HRT with EEA clients? 

To answer these questions, we will be reviewing evidence forms and a sample of client cases. We also need to interview Advisers from Help to Claim, as well as other services.

How do I contribute as an adviser?

We would like to interview all types of advisers (generalist, caseworkers, Help to Claim, etc.). Advisers must have experienced helping EEA/Swiss nationals with HRT.

  • The interviews will last no more than 50 minutes and can be conducted over the phone or face to face at a time which suits you. 
  • You can volunteer to take part by entering your details into this short form, or by getting in touch with Charlotte Rennie directly. 
  • Your interview responses will be treated entirely confidentially. All published results will be anonymous. You can withdraw your data (i.e. your interview responses) at any time during the interview and up to the point of publishing any outputs. 

Important Information

The named point of contact is Charlotte Rennie, the Best Practice Lead for Help to Claim in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. If you have any questions or queries about the research please get in touch:

, 07985 145863

The project will run between December 2019 – March 2020.

Key dates:

  • December 2019 – Mid January 2020 – Opportunities to get in touch about participating in an interview. 
  • 2nd January – 31st January 2020 -Interviews to be conducted by researchers.  
Findings will contribute to new guidance for Advisers and clients. 

Thank you for your assistance with this research – your support is greatly appreciated!