Visiting/Living Abroad

A client (of Sri Lankan origin) is considering visiting Sri Lanka or Philippines for about 4 weeks as his health will benefit from the warmer weather. He wants to know how his IR-ESA will be affected.

My understanding, from page 1594 of the CPAG guide is that up to 4 weeks is not a problem. He can go for more than 26 weeks and up to 52 weeks if he can demonstrate that he is going away solely for treatment.  Do readers know whether a GP letter saying his health will improve be sufficient?

I understand from https://www.gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad that the UK has reciprocal arrangements with the Philippines but not Sri Lanka.  If he went to the Philippines, would he be paid by the UK government or the Filipino govt? What currency would he be paid in?

If he chose a country such as Sri Lanka with no reciprocal arrangements, does that mean his benefit will stop altogether?

Will he get benefits if he subsequently decided to live permanently abroad? Would that depend on the country? How long does it take to organise the benefits in another country?

Lastly, I’ve told my client that he has to let the Authorities know, even if it was for less than 4 weeks. However, I think he is concerned that if they know he is travelling it might impact on PIP as he has mobility problems. What are your thoughts on this, please?

Thanks.

[ He can go for more than 26 weeks and up to 52 weeks if he can demonstrate that he is going away solely for treatment. ]

Not quite as simple as that.  Any treatment must be carried out by, or under the supervision of, a person qualified to provide medical treatment, physiotherapy or similar treatment.  [ESA Regs reg 153(1)(d)(iii) and 153(2).]

If he chose a country such as Sri Lanka with no reciprocal arrangements, does that mean his benefit will stop altogether?

Yes, after the requisite number of weeks. He would need to consider that if he returned in future a new claim might have to be for UC (depending on SDP rules, etc).

Also, GB’s agreement with the Philippines does not cover ESA - see the table at 070333 in the DMG.

I think this is the actual Order - if so, then as is usually the case with these agreements it is more about allowing for things like periods of national insurance in one country to be treated as if they occurred in the other country. Though possibly that might assist your client to claim an invalidity benefit from the Philippines, if he became a resident there?

Here’s a random page giving an overview of the Philippines system, NB I’m not vouching for its accuracy:
https://mywage.org/philippines/labour-law/social-security

Lastly, I’ve told my client that he has to let the Authorities know, even if it was for less than 4 weeks. However, I think he is concerned that if they know he is travelling it might impact on PIP as he has mobility problems. What are your thoughts on this, please?

There is more than one relevant Authority. As far as PIP itself goes, I think I’d stick with the PIP handbook‘s statement on this, with the proviso that if his mobility has actually improved, then that may be something he should report, regardless of travel plans:

“The claimant should notify us if they are planning to go abroad for 4 weeks or more.”

There is a much more draconian statement about benefits generally, on the gov.uk page you linked, which I think is perhaps unfounded, but should be borne in mind when considering the DWP’s approach to these issues:

“You’re committing benefit fraud if you ...  do not tell the office that pays your benefit you’re going abroad, even if it’s just for a visit”

Thanks, Ruth and Jon.

Very helpful.

If the client decides to go to a country where there was a reciprocal arrangements for all of his benefits:
1) Is it a long process to sort out? 
2) Can client choose to be paid in pounds sterling? 
3) Or is payment made in the local currency by the government in the country he visits?

Hi Stuart

I don’t know the details of how this works in practice, but the real problem is that there is probably no such country. No country has an agreement that covers income-related ESA, as far as I know. The EEA co-ordination rules might allow for PIP daily living to be exported within Europe (for now), but not to the nations that you mentioned.

What the reciprocal agreements, such as the one with the Philippines, do allow is aggregating periods of residence or NI qualification. So in the Philippines, someone who paid NI in the UK might use that to increase a pension paid in the Philippines. The reciprocal agreements also often allow ‘equal treatment’, but that doesn’t normally assist someone who wishes to claim a UK means-tested benefit while residing overseas - there already is equal treatment, in so far as citizens of neither nation can claim them while outside GB.

Stuart G - 11 March 2019 01:38 PM

Thanks, Ruth and Jon.

Very helpful.

If the client decides to go to a country where there was a reciprocal arrangements for all of his benefits:
1) Is it a long process to sort out? 
2) Can client choose to be paid in pounds sterling? 
3) Or is payment made in the local currency by the government in the country he visits?

The reciprocal arrangements are in reality pretty limited. For example the US-UK agreement covers little more than pensions where, among other things, it allows payment of social security tax (NI in the UK) in one country to count towards a social security pension (the state pension in the UK) in the other.