Going outside of GB for about 9 hours

SavageWentWhere
SavageWentWhere Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hello,

I've looked and can't find an actual concrete answer.

I am LCWRA on UC and I am going outside of the UK (to France) for a few hours - about 9 hours. Leaving in the morning and returning in the evening. I am unsure if I actually need to report going outside of GB.

I have read that the DWP don't actually count the first and last day as being outside of the UK anyway and some people have said that it doesn't need to be reported but some people have said that it does.

Has anyone had experience with this? Does it need to be reported as it is only for a few hours?

I don't want to break the rules but the Government website says that you are committing benefit fraud if you don't tell them you are going abroad even for a visit.

Any information or help would be appreciated.

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 63,860 Championing

    You are allowed to go abroad for up to 1 month when claiming UC. As you have LCWRA then you have no commitments. The day you go and the day you return are not counted within the timeframe. Therefore you do not need to report it. Even if it was longer than that you wouldn't need to report it unless it was for longer than 1 month.

    Yes, I'm aware what is says on Gov.uk but in my opinion, it's misleading. You have no commitments so there's nothing to report.

  • Jimm_Scope
    Jimm_Scope Posts: 5,592 Scope Online Community Specialist

    If you are starting the day and ending the day inside the UK I think it is fine to not report it. Especially as the day you go and day you return are not counted as Poppy mentions.

    While Poppy is correct that you don't need to report it unless it is longer than 1 month, I personally would still do so if it was for two weeks or so. Simply because I would want to prevent any issue from a work coach who may try to find fault because they do not know the exact requirements and are just going off gov.uk themselves.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 63,860 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/976879#Comment_976879

    For those with LCWRA you don't have a work coach anyway so there would be no issues with that. Some people think it should be reported, some don't and I'm in the "some don't" group. I've not reported my daughters going away for our annual holiday and she claims UC with LCWRA and there's never been an issue.

    It's pretty much the same as the Gov.uk website telling you that all changes must be reported but in some cases this is misleading, especially for benefits such as PIP.

Categories