Going abroad 30 days while on UC

Cefalu24

My question is: if I left on September 9th, when would I need to return to the UK? Based on the fact that I can stay out of the country for one month. Thank you.

Brie

well given that not all months are 30 days I think you should stick to the 30 days.  And to be safe I'd say that if you left on 9th Sept you should ensure you are back in the country by 8th October.  A few hours delay on a flight might push you in to 31 days.  

Yamor

The permitted absence period is actually technically one month, not 30 days.

DWP guidance also states elsewhere that you are treated as being in Great Britain on any day on which you are in GB for any part of the day, so the day you leave and return count as days when you are in GB.
It isn't clear however if this rule is followed when calculating absences for the one month temporary absence rule. If it does, you could leave on 9th Sep, and return on 10th Oct, and still be alright, as the absence (10th September to 9th Oct) does not exceed one month.

Cefalu24

Yamor said:

The permitted absence period is actually technically one month, not 30 days.

DWP guidance also states elsewhere that you are treated as being in Great Britain on any day on which you are in GB for any part of the day, so the day you leave and return count as days when you are in GB.
It isn't clear however if this rule is followed when calculating absences for the one month temporary absence rule. If it does, you could leave on 9th Sep, and return on 10th Oct, and still be alright, as the absence (10th September to 9th Oct) does not exceed one month.

Many thanks. Any chance you could share the link to the DWP guidance which states this, please? I would return on October 9th, just to be on the safe side. When I spoke to Universal Credit, they weren't sure how the one month rule applied exactly. 

la531983

Ive never claimed UC in my life. So a practical question if I may.....how would they actually know? If you landed a few hours late, who tells them? 

Spoonie_Turtle

la531983 said:

Ive never claimed UC in my life. So a practical question if I may.....how would they actually know? If you landed a few hours late, who tells them? 

Presumably they can check with whichever entity collects information about going through immigration at the airport, they'll have the information about whn you're technically back in the country.  (It may even potentially be automatically shared, but I don't know whether it is or not.)

Cefalu24 said:

Yamor said:

The permitted absence period is actually technically one month, not 30 days.

DWP guidance also states elsewhere that you are treated as being in Great Britain on any day on which you are in GB for any part of the day, so the day you leave and return count as days when you are in GB.
It isn't clear however if this rule is followed when calculating absences for the one month temporary absence rule. If it does, you could leave on 9th Sep, and return on 10th Oct, and still be alright, as the absence (10th September to 9th Oct) does not exceed one month.

Many thanks. Any chance you could share the link to the DWP guidance which states this, please? I would return on October 9th, just to be on the safe side. 

ADM Chapter C1  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68b8622fcc8356c3c882aa40/adm-ch-c1.pdf

"C1122 With regard to any particular day, a person should be regarded as present if they are in GB for part of a day: thus the day when a person arrives in GB and a day when they leave count as days when they are “in” GB."

Cefalu24

Spoonie_Turtle said:

la531983 said:

Ive never claimed UC in my life. So a practical question if I may.....how would they actually know? If you landed a few hours late, who tells them? 

Presumably they can check with whichever entity collects information about going through immigration at the airport, they'll have the information about whn you're technically back in the country.  (It may even potentially be automatically shared, but I don't know whether it is or not.)

Cefalu24 said:

Yamor said:

The permitted absence period is actually technically one month, not 30 days.

DWP guidance also states elsewhere that you are treated as being in Great Britain on any day on which you are in GB for any part of the day, so the day you leave and return count as days when you are in GB.
It isn't clear however if this rule is followed when calculating absences for the one month temporary absence rule. If it does, you could leave on 9th Sep, and return on 10th Oct, and still be alright, as the absence (10th September to 9th Oct) does not exceed one month.

Many thanks. Any chance you could share the link to the DWP guidance which states this, please? I would return on October 9th, just to be on the safe side. 

ADM Chapter C1  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68b8622fcc8356c3c882aa40/adm-ch-c1.pdf

"C1122 With regard to any particular day, a person should be regarded as present if they are in GB for part of a day: thus the day when a person arrives in GB and a day when they leave count as days when they are “in” GB."

Thank you so much! Massive help. So I should be fine returning on October 9th, since I arrived on September 9th.

Muttleythefrog

Yes if you call them they seem never to know... but make things up or just agree with what you say. The advice above suitably given... but to add... sometimes they will extend the time you can spend outside of the country  but you have to have very good reason and ask for that... my wife got an extension after her foreign mother died overseas.

Cefalu24

Just reading this in the ADM Chapter C1, which shows that in this case one month counts as 1 August – 1 September:

Example 2

Paul a UC claimant who travelled to Cyprus on holiday on 1 August 2021 with the intention of staying for 3 weeks. Unfortunately, whilst on holiday he had an accident and needed a hip replacement which meant he could not travel for 8 weeks. As a result, Paul was outside the UK for more than one month. The accident occurred after Paul had left GB. The DM determined the claimant was not entitled to UC from 2 September 2021 when Paul’s absence exceeded one month.

peteuk

The exceptions to the one month rule that allows for a longer period outside the UK.  

• Up to six months for medical treatment: 

  You may continue to receive UC for up to six months if you are abroad for:

  • Medical treatment by a qualified professional. 
• A period of recovery from treatment in England, Scotland, or Wales. 
• Caring for a partner or child receiving treatment or recovery in the UK. 

NedS

Spoonie_Turtle said:

la531983 said:

Ive never claimed UC in my life. So a practical question if I may.....how would they actually know? If you landed a few hours late, who tells them? 

Presumably they can check with whichever entity collects information about going through immigration at the airport, they'll have the information about when you're technically back in the country.  (It may even potentially be automatically shared, but I don't know whether it is or not.)

They would know because the claimant would declare it. Failure to declare absence from the country for more than 1 month would be fraud.

Yes, Border Force shares information with DWP about claimants who are out of the country, so anyone failing to declare an absence would get flagged up and investigated for fraud.