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LCWRA and Going Abroad

FloBlo

Hi, we are currently going through a review which is stressing the hell out of me as it is, but we are going to the US for 1 week in November (my wife is American and it's purely a family visit) however I'm worried that they will take my LCWRA away from me because I've got it for severe mental health and a couple of physical things but mainly the mental health struggling to leave the house, anxiety, autism etc. Worried they may see me travelling as contradiction. Although we can prove we have booked airline/airport assistance the whole way and that my wife's parents paid entirely for the plane tickets. Its because we need to change a phone appt as its when we are away but I'm worried about telling them why it needs changed . Thank you.

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Comments

tifo

You should be OK, you're allowed to leave the country for up to a month and not affect your UC claim, but you're still expected to stick to commitments, in your case there won't be any for LCWRA.

Albus_Alumni

Hey @FloBlo a trip to the states sounds very exciting! You wont need to let the DWP know you're going abroad unless you wanted to. It's only if you're away for a month you need to tell them.

Though the gov website says this, so it depends if you wanted to err on the side of caution or not;
If you go abroad, you can continue to get Universal Credit for one month.

"You must:

be eligible for Universal Credit when you’re going abroad
remain eligible for it while you’re abroad
tell your work coach that you’re going"

FloBlo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/932711#Comment_932711

Thank you, it's not so much the eligibility as it's only 1 week and we will remain eligible for UC througout, I'm more concerned that they will see travelling abroad as a contradiction of why I was awarded LCWRA and take it off me, even though we haven't been to see my partners family since November 2022, so 2 years ago and that was prior to us needing to go on UC. (And it was mega stressful then too lol).

OverlyAnxious

If they've booked a telephone appointment during that week then you will need to change that. They may not ask for a specific reason if you just say something like 'previously planned commitments' or words to that effect. A holiday shouldn't be any of their business but I understand the concern around telling them.

Also make sure you don't open the journal while you're on holiday as that gets flagged to UC if you're out of the country.

tifo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/932717#Comment_932717

There are no telephone appointments on LCWRA. There's no commitments.

Kimi87

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/932722#Comment_932722

OP mentioned a review, which might be a Compliance Check, so a phone appointment is part of that review.

FloBlo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/932723#Comment_932723

Yes its a telephone appt as part of our review. I know they will be doing it to everyone and they have to do it, but it feels so invasive and like they are trying to catch you out on things that aren't even there (everything is above board but my accounts look very messy because I'm terrible with money - mental health stuff)

honestly the whole thing is making me so unwell it's unreal. I may not end up going to visit family at all if I end up in the hospital because of allthiss Which is a real possibility. But I doubt UC care about that.

Kimi87

It is extremely invasive, I hated being questioned about my banking transactions last year, the questions didn't even seem to make sense.

Ak1

Can I go on holiday for three weeks i am on uc - with lcwra i have no work commitments

Charlie_Alumni

Hello @Ak1, yes you can go on holiday. If you are leaving the UK for your holiday, the official guidance recommends informing them that you are going away and again when you return (as you can not be out of the country for more than 1 month).