UC and being out of the UK more than three months

A single ex-student with no national insurance contributions tries to claim UC after travelling abroad for just over three months. The area she lives in has been a UC area for single claimants since July.
She tries to claim online but isnt allowed to proceed with the claim as she answers the question about being out of the county for more than 4 weeks truthfully. She cant even make a claim as the system wont let her through.
She phones the UC line and is told to claim JSA. She does this online and gets a letter stating she has been turned down for IBJSA as not habitually resident.
Surely the letter should have mentioned that IBJSA wasnt the correct benefit for her to claim anyway?
She asks for my advice at this point and I say she has to insist on making a UC claim over the phone and to ask to speak to someone senior if she is initially refused and also state that as she was travelling not working/residing in another country she should be able to establish habitual residence straight away. She does this and the senior officer states that there is no way the system will allow her through due to her having been out of the country for more than three months and refuses to let her proceed with a claim.
Clearly this is ridiculous but I havent got any practical experience of people being out of the country for more than three months and trying to claim UC so I need help please.

Unfortunately, it looks like they are correct in saying that she can’t get UC -  she doesn’t meet the gateway conditions.

See: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/983/pdfs/uksi_20130983_310815_en.pdf

Schedule 5 Para 1 (Personal characteristics)

“The claimant must be–
...
(c)  a British citizen who–
(i)  has resided in the United Kingdom throughout the period of two years
ending with the date on which the claim for universal credit is made; and
(ii)  has
not, during that period, left the United Kingdom for a continuous
period of four weeks or more”

HI Deb - if she has been out of the country for more than 4 weeks in the last 2 years she doesn’t meet the gateway conditions (unless she is in a digital area which you won’t be in Swansea). This article from CPAG has very good info on the gateway - http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/universal-credit-gateway-early-experiences. And until she has been in the UK for the last 3 months she won’t meet the habitual residence test for JSA.

Thanks for those replies, I missed an obvious point there on the gateway conditions but you live and learn!

Going back to the JSA claim she has made which she has been turned down for what about asking for a mandatory reconsideration on the basis that though she was out the country for more than three months she was travelling not working so didnt lose habitual residence? There used to be arguements around this point or has that been wiped out now?

I think when they brought the rule change in 2 years ago that went - see SI No 3196/2013 -http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3196/pdfs/uksi_20133196_en.pdf - it’s just about if you’ve been living here or not

I think it may still be possible to argue over the meaning of `living in`?

This is from government guidance amended in Feb 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470826/dmgch0703.pdf

Meaning of “living in”
072994   This expression is not defined within the regulations and as such should be given its
ordinary everyday meaning.
072995
Temporary Absences
072996   If, during the three month period the claim
ant has spent some time outside the CTA,
the DM will have to make a judgement as to whether the claimant ceased to be
“living in” the CTA during that absence. It is not possible for this guidance to deal
with all the circumstances in which a te
mporary absence from the CTA will mean
that a person has or has not ceased to be
living in the CTA. DMs should take a
common sense approach by applying the norma
l everyday meaning of “living in”.

What do you think?

Definitely worth a shot…