Volunteering overseas while under DRO

david_m4

If I eventually apply for a DRO, I think it would be in September or October 2012. I should be able to pay my bills til then. In summer 2013 I'd like to start a European Voluntary Service placement, and I'm wondering if it would still be possible.

With EVS you go to another European country for between 2 and 12 months, to work on a charity project. An EU grant pays for food, accomodation and travel to the project, and "pocket money of around 50 euros per month" is included to pay for anything else.

My wife is happy for me to go, and doesn't mind paying the rent on our small flat by herself while I'm away. So on the face of it, I would still qualify for a DRO. I'd have no living costs and less than £50 spare each month. I would come home after discharge, so I could look for a better job immediately.

Is the surplus income test related to where you live, so in a poorer country the limit would be less than £50?

And would my wife's ability to pay the rent by herself for a few months call my budget into question while I was still here (on the grounds that she could afford it if I paid less all year)?

I'm really looking forward to getting out of it... but is this too good to be true?