going abroad while on UC LWRA

buildupbuttercup

my partner has asked me if i would visit his father abroad with him as his father is ill. i don't know whether i will be well enough to go, but in the interest of supporting my partner i am looking into it (this will all be after lockdown of course)

as far as i know, a claimant is able to go abroad up to once a month at a time. is there a limit to how many times a year you can go abroad, or is it that so long as you're not away for over a month it's fine? 

what's the process for informing DWP if i do decide to go? do they need details of plane tickets or what have you? is there anything i will have to provide to them, like reasoning for going abroad, expected length of absence, details of route, or is just informing them all that's required?

thanks 

calcotti

Is that even possible at the moment?

You are correct that you can go abroad for up to a month without losing UC. You still have to fulfil all the requirements of your Claimant Commitment but as you have LCWRA these are presumably minimal.

Bearing in mind the amount of travel disruption that may continue to occur you would need to think carefully about the risk of your planned visit being extended and possibly going over the one month limit. (It’s possible there are temporary easements due to COVID but I don’t know.)

I don’t know if there is anything about frequency of trips.

calcotti

Guidance here
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/949232/adm-chapter-c1-universal_credit-international-issues.pdf

C1986 For the purposes of deciding whether a person is “in GB” a temporary absence is disregarded provided that
1. the person was entitled to UC immediately before the temporary absence started and 
2. the absence
2.1 is not expected to exceed and
2.2 does not exceed
one month.

there are possible extension described in the following paragraphs in connection with death or medical treatment.

I can’t recall whether a day partly in GB and partly abroad counts as a day in GB or a day abroad.

buildupbuttercup

@calcotti yes you're right, for the foreseeable future this would not be possible, even if my disability allowed it, due to the unsafeness of covid. i am very careful about covid and wouldn't dream of doing anything to put myself or others in danger of it, especially since his father is already quite ill hence the idea of the visit in the first place . 

thanks for the information! was very helpful as i easily become very stressed about every detail of every little thing even if it's hypothetical.