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Affected benefits

The decision affects:

• Disability Living Allowance (care component only)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer's Allowance

The mobility component of Disability Living Allowance has not been affected by this judgement.

• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer's Allowance - introduction

Who can continue to get the benefits

There are three main groups of people who may continue to receive these benefits if they move from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) to live in another EEA state or Switzerland. The EEA consists of the 27 member states of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

You may continue to receive these benefits if:

• you are in receipt of State Pension, long term Incapacity Benefit or Bereavement Benefits from the UK
• you have paid enough national insurance contributions to be able to claim a UK contributions based sickness benefit like short term Incapacity Benefit
• you are a family member of someone who is entitled to claim a UK contributions based sickness benefit
  

To be entitled to a contributions based sickness benefit, you usually need to have worked in at least one of the last three tax years. You must also have paid a certain amount of national insurance contributions in that year.

The exportability team at the Department for Work and Pensions can check your national insurance records and tell you whether you have paid enough.

If you can get a sickness benefit from another EEA state or Switzerland or if you work in another EEA state or Switzerland, this may affect whether you can take the disability benefit with you when you move.

If you are entitled as a family member, whether you can take the disability benefit with you when you move may also be affected if your spouse, civil partner or parent can get a sickness benefit or works in another EEA state or Switzerland.

If you are in receipt of a retirement pension or invalidity benefit from another EEA state or Switzerland, you may be entitled to a disability benefit from that country rather than from Great Britain.

You must still meet the usual entitlement conditions for the benefits you wish to take with you. The only difference is that after you have moved you no longer have to:

• be normally resident in Great Britain
• be in Great Britain
• have been in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey for at least 26 weeks out of the last 52 weeks

How long the benefits will be paid for

If you can take your benefits with you when you move to live in another EEA state or Switzerland, the length of time that you will continue to be paid depends on your circumstances:

• if you are in receipt of State Pension, long term Incapacity Benefit or Bereavement Benefits from the UK, your benefit will be paid for as long as you remain in receipt of one of these benefits, or the duration of your current award if shorter
• if you have paid enough national insurance contributions to be able to claim a contributions based sickness benefit, your benefit will be paid for as long as you remain insured from these contributions, or the duration of your award if shorter
• if you are a family member of someone who has paid enough national insurance contributions for them to be able to claim a contributions based sickness benefit, your benefit will be paid for as long as that person remains insured from their contributions or the duration of your award if shorter

If you can get a sickness benefit from another EEA state or Switzerland or if you work in another EEA state or Switzerland, this may affect whether you can continue to get your disability benefit from Great Britain.

If you are entitled as a family member, whether you can continue to get the disability benefit may also be affected if your spouse, civil partner or parent can get a sickness benefit or works in another EEA state or Switzerland.

Claiming a British disability benefit if you live in another EEA state or Switzerland

The Department for Work and Pensions is still considering the legal implications for people who are already living in another EEA state or Switzerland and wish to claim from abroad.

This includes people who wish to claim for the first time and people who have received benefits in the past which stopped when they moved to an EEA state or Switzerland.

The Department for Work and Pensions is not yet able to make a decision on any new claims made by people living in another EEA state or Switzerland.

The exportability team deals with this issue. You might want to ask the exportability team about making a claim now to make sure that you can be paid from that date if you are entitled.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

What to do next

If you are moving to live in another EEA state or Switzerland, you need to notify the exportability team of this change of circumstances.

When you contact the exportability team, tell them:

• your national insurance number
• whether you are going to work in another EEA state or Switzerland
• whether you already get or will be able to get any other benefits from another state

If you are moving to live in another EEA state or Switzerland and think you might be entitled as a family member, also tell them:

• who the family member is
• their national insurance number
• whether they are going to work in another EEA state or Switzerland
• whether they already get or will be able to get any other benefits from another state

The exportability team may need to ask you some more questions to check whether you are entitled to take your disability benefit with you.

If you think you may be affected by the court's decision and are unsure about what to do, if you wish to make a claim, or if you need any further information, you should contact the exportability team as soon as possible.

Contact details

• write to: Exportability Co-ordinator, Room B120D, Pension, Disability and Carers Service, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill Road, FY2 0YE
• email: exportability.team@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

If you have already contacted the exportability team about the judgement, you do not need to contact them again.

Your original enquiry will be dealt with as quickly as possible. It may take several weeks before all queries can be cleared.