A BACKPACKER who spent seven weeks in Europe says he has been made a “refugee in his own country” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after being told he is not eligible for benefits.

Steven Leishman, from Falkirk, has been left without any income or anywhere to live after being denied access to Universal Credit, because he failed to meet the terms of the Department for Work and Pensions “habitual residence test”.

Despite the fact that he had not previously left the country for more than two decades, and has lived in the Falkirk area all his life, the DWP concluded he did not pass the test and wrote to him saying: “You are a person who must be treated as not in Great Britain”.

Mr Leishman, currently homeless and being supported by the local authority in temporary accommodation, is appealing the decision.

The 45-year-old, said he was stunned when he was handed the letter by staff at Grangemouth Jobcentre. “They say I am ineligible for any benefits – a refugee in my own country. It’s absolutely shocking. I’ve lived in Scotland my whole life and was applying for Universal Credit before I left. I signed off before I went away but they said they thought I was moving abroad. As far as I’m concerned that’s a complete lie.”

Mr Leishman left the UK on February 12 and spent time visiting France, Spain and Portugal before returning on April 1st. He has suffered from depression and took the trip to get himself out of a rut. With college qualifications in accounting and administration he is now looking for employment. But after contacting the Jobcentre, he was given an interview where he was asked to detail every country he had been to and show travel tickets to justify his story. But he had travelled around Europe on buses and discarded the tickets.

Under DWP rules, those who leave the UK for three months or more may be subjected to a residency test, especially if they do not have an address. However, this is usually waived if the person in question has been on holiday. The DWP’s website states: “You should not be subject to the test if you’ve simply been abroad on a long holiday. In these cases you should be treated as a ‘returning resident’. “However, if you’ve spent three months or more living or working abroad you could find yourself subject to the test when you return... particularly if you no longer have property or close family in the UK.”

Mr Leishman thinks staff have made a huge mistake. He said: “It was a total shambles in the jobcentre and no-one seemed to know what they were doing. I can’t help but think someone has pushed the wrong button and my case has become confused. Now I have to wait 12 weeks before I can apply again. But I’ve got no money and no home and nothing to live on. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that.”

He said he had been waiting for weeks for his appeal against the UC decisions to be heard. A welfare officer from the local council has taken up the case on his behalf.

A DWP spokesperson said it couldn’t comment on the case as without knowing the individual involved, but added: “The Habitual Residence Test is in place to ensure that only people intending to remain within the UK for the foreseeable future can claim welfare support. That includes returning UK nationals.

”If Mr Leishman can get in touch with his jobcentre, we can discuss his case with him.”