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UK expats in Cyprus to campaign for fuel allowance
| Published: | 11 Dec at 3 PM |
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British expats living in Cyprus are ready to campaign against the UK government’s proposal to stop their winter fuel allowance from next year.
Expats residing in the Mediterranean country have said the eligibility tests that UK citizens have to go through to see if they’re entitled to the winter fuel payments were “unfair and sneaky”.
The UK government announced last year that as of 2015, winter fuel payments would no longer be made to citizens living abroad unless they lived in countries that had an average winter temperature that was equal to or lower than what was recorded in Britain’s warmest region in the winter months.
The decision came on the back of public anger that millions of pounds were being sent abroad in winter fuel allowances each year to Brits who often lived in warm countries such as Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and France.
The Daily Telegraph reports that these four nations receive the majority of the benefit, with around 50,000 expats living in Spain receiving the allowance in 2014. A further 30,000 Brits in France received the benefit, while 8,170 did so in Cyprus, according to the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions.
Expats in Cyprus have now joined forces and issued a warning to the UK government, saying that it could expect a fight if the decision was not reversed.
Expats residing in the Mediterranean country have said the eligibility tests that UK citizens have to go through to see if they’re entitled to the winter fuel payments were “unfair and sneaky”.
The UK government announced last year that as of 2015, winter fuel payments would no longer be made to citizens living abroad unless they lived in countries that had an average winter temperature that was equal to or lower than what was recorded in Britain’s warmest region in the winter months.
The decision came on the back of public anger that millions of pounds were being sent abroad in winter fuel allowances each year to Brits who often lived in warm countries such as Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and France.
The Daily Telegraph reports that these four nations receive the majority of the benefit, with around 50,000 expats living in Spain receiving the allowance in 2014. A further 30,000 Brits in France received the benefit, while 8,170 did so in Cyprus, according to the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions.
Expats in Cyprus have now joined forces and issued a warning to the UK government, saying that it could expect a fight if the decision was not reversed.
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