A certain amount of rules must be followed by Universal Credit claimants if they travel abroad while on benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has outline the guidelines for those who claim the benefit, reports Nottinghamshire Live. Those on Universal Credit can continue to claim one months worth of benefits while abroad, as long as they are eligible.
People must remain eligible while overseas, and inform their work coach that they are going away too. However, the DWP has warned that you cannot continue to claim Universal Credit if they move to a different country permanently, and also cannot apply if they are abroad already.
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If a close relative dies while the claimant is abroad, then they can claim the benefit for an extra month, but this only applies if it was not reasonable to travel back to the UK. If a person was visit a relative in a different country and they passed away while they were visiting, you can also claim an extra month.
However, if a family member in the UK died when you were abroad, you could not claim Universal Credit. There are exceptions to this rule, including going abroad for medical treatment.
You can continue to claim Universal Credit for six months if:
you go abroad for medical treatment
you go abroad for a period of recovery that’s been approved by a medical professional (also known as 'approved convalescence)
your partner or child is going abroad for medical treatment or ‘approved convalescence’ and you’re going with them
Before booking anything, claimants must notify the DWP that they intend to go abroad, and why. If you don't, or if you go abroad for longer than a month and the travel does not fall under the specific circumstances when the one-month period can be extended, then the Universal Credit assessment period is reduced to nil.
This also means that the next Universal Credit payment will not be paid on the due date, but it won't be terminated altogether. So, while you won't get a payment for the period you have been away, you won't need to restart your claim again and wait another five weeks.
A DWP spokesperson said: "Claimants must be in Great Britain on the day the Universal Credit claim was submitted. Those who travel abroad or have come back on the same day the claim is submitted may be eligible for Universal Credit.
"If a claimant is unable to accept a Claimant Commitment - the document listing all the things they must do to get UC - because they are abroad on holiday, they won't get the benefit and will be required to make a new claim on their return to the UK."
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