英国移民需接受英语技能测试才能享受福利

Migrants to the UK are to be quizzed about their English skills before being able to claim income-related benefits, the government has announced.

In a move to "protect the integrity of the benefits system", people will also be asked what efforts they have made to find work before coming to Britain.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said people should not be able to "take advantage" of British benefits.

Job centres in England, Scotland and Wales will use the "more robust" test.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the test would ensure "only migrants who have a legal right to be in Britain and plan to contribute to this country can make a claim for benefits".

"For the first time, migrants will be quizzed about what efforts they have made to find work before coming to the UK and whether their English language skills will be a barrier to them finding employment," the DWP said in a statement.

Income-related benefits include council tax benefit, housing benefit, income-based jobseeker's allowance and pension credit.

Mr Duncan Smith said British people were "rightly concerned" that migrants should contribute to the economy and should not be "drawn here by the attractiveness of our benefits system".

"It is vitally important that we have strict rules in place to protect the integrity of our benefits system," he said.

He said the new test would help create a fair system which provided for "genuine" workers and jobseekers but "does not allow people to come to our country and take advantage".

To claim the benefits, migrants will have to pass a "habitual residence test" including more than 100 extra questions compared to now.

This will be overseen by an "intelligent IT system" which will ensure questions are "tailored to each individual claimant".

Migrants will be allowed to claim benefits if they can prove they are legally allowed to be in Britain and are "habitually resident" the country.

As part of this they might be questioned about what measures they have taken to "establish" themselves in Britain and what ties they still have abroad.

"They will also have to provide more evidence that they are doing everything they can to find a job," the DWP said.

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英国政府发表声明：英国的移民在获得与收入相关的津贴之前需要通过英语能力测试。

人们需要回答他们到达英国之前是怎么找工作的，此举是为了“保护福利系统的合理性”。

就业和退休金部大臣伊恩•邓肯•史密斯表示，移民者不能在英国津贴上“占便宜”。

英格兰，苏格兰，威尔士的职业介绍中心会进行更加严格的测试。

就业与退休金部门声称，这个测试只会让那些有合法权利居住在英国并能够给应该带来贡献的移民得到补助。

就业与退休金部门声明，移民首先会被询问在来到英国之前付出了什么努力，以及他们的英语能力是否会阻碍就业。

与收入相关的津贴包括家庭税收津贴，住房津贴，基于收入的求职者津贴和养老保险信用。

邓肯•史密斯先生表明，英国人对“合理关注”移民福利事务。移民应该对英国经济的发展做出贡献，而不是因为想要享受这儿的福利体制而搬到这里。

他说，设定严格的规则来确保福利制度的健全是至关重要的。

他还说这个新测试有助于建立一个能服务于真正的工人求职者的公平体制，而不是任由移民占便宜。

与现在相比，为了领取救济金，移民还必须通过一份100多道问题的常住居民测试。

这将会由能根据每位申请者不同而提出相应问题的智能信息技术系统监督实行。

移民者若能证明自己在英国是合法的常住居民就能得到救济金。

作为测试的一部分，他们还要回答怎样定居下来，以及在国外还有什么关系。

就职及退休金部门说：他们还需提供更多的证据以证明他们会想方设法找到工作。