If you are on benefits is it possible to move to spain?

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Harry R

Know a friend who has been collecting around Â£740 DHSS per month (Disablement Incapacity payments, etc) since 2002 - and he lives in a place called Los Boliches...he is as right as rain, working as a chef in Fuengirola and Torremolinos, earning around 1200â‚¬. He returns to the UK every six months - as one must - just for a weekend, before hopping back to Malaga.
Would have grassed him up long ago, but realize as a taxpayer, my money goes to various destinations much more dodgier than skivers - especially since the New Labour oddities came to power.

rose1

You can come on holiday but you cannot continue to claim benefits when you are not resident in the UK.
I appreciate your husband may be disabled genuinely, but if anything were to go wrong whilst he was here, he would get no medical treatment from the Spanish health authorities, and you probably would not be covered by UK papers either. Think about it.
There are of course, as someone else commented, others here working illegally, claiming in the UK and living the life of Riley whilst others like myself and many others are struggling with no handouts. If I knew that man I'd report him, sorry. Simply because there are far too many living on the backs of others either here in Spain or in the UK. I once paid taxes in the Uk, and also in Spain so I am peeved when people think the likes of us tax payers will keep them sun bathing.

Beleive it or not, stay where you are, you are really better off in the long run. We do not have the facilities to claim like in the UK, although most people think the UK system is bad, it really isn't you know

pirate_princess

What do you want, you UK benefits shipped to Spain for you to live in the sun or the Spanish to fund your holiday lifestyle?

Gemma M

Unfortunately the spanish government will not continue your disability/carer's allowance as your not spanish citizens and the British government will not continue to pay either as you will be registered as living and working in Spain. However owning a pub in Spain is a classed as a luxury and tax payers may object to funding your new life in the sun

carol p

yes you can most of what has been said so far is a load of rubbish but not all i hasen to add first if you own a house in the uk dont sell it rent it out as you will not get rent alowance here then make sure all your claims for benifit are up to date as you will not be able to claim any new benifits once here inform the dwp of your intension to move they will issue you with from e126 you take that to the spanish social securty ofice and they will isue with a spanish social securty card you then need to regester as a resident at the police station you are then entitled to full medical cover in spain but lose all cover in the uk if you live in rented accomodion at the moment forget it rent out here is high and the dwp will not pay it you will also need to speak spanish or put money to one side for an interprter as none of the medical staff will see you whithout one in think there have been mistakes made in the past when the patiant didnt understand medicine doses and the like but as has allready been said its not all its cracked up to be it is just one up from a third word country no electic for days on end no proper drainage system no rubbish collection no proper drinking water but i still love it ps. your freinds that have bought the bar i hope they have done there homwork as i live on the costa del sol and they are closing down faster than the speed of light the days of coming to spain and making a living from a bar are long gone im afraid

Angel

i live here and we are going back to u.k asap, dont make the mistake i did it not all it cracked up to be, we have been here 2 years now, nope you get no benifits either, im guessing you hubby gets some disablity money??? i cant see any reason why that would stop , id phone the benifit people who you get your money from
good luck feel free to email regarding living in spain, i think though in my circumstances we have 2 small kids so need to go back but if you hubby disabliled and you his carer it must be hard to live in u.k as it expensive!!
we rent a 3 bed 2 bathroom for 350 euros a month in a lovely small spanish town lots of english around you intrested?? costa blanca!! lol

Happy Murcia

Some are payed overseas but as far as I know it`s only UK standard pension and incapacity benefit(not DLA or Carers allowance)

Hi T

You would need to ask the various benefits offices. I think.

Angela P

You would no longer receive Uk benefits if you moved out of the country

Dennis - 1

Jenn. Your husband can move anywhere within the E.E.C. and continue to claim disability benefit, you must inform the authorities because your claim is handle by the Overseas Benefit Office also they continue to check up on you, they employee local English or English speaking doctors to do this.
Does your husband claim Disability Living Allowance, if the answer is yes then he will probably lost this if you leave England, there is a cut of year of either 1991 or 1992 (not sure which) if he was claiming before he can continue whilst living abroad if his claim started later then he will lost it.

I spent four years living in Tenerife and I returned to England two years ago, my advice to you as one disabled to another "don't do it".

Dealing with all the paperwork is difficult, the medical side is a nightmare, being disabled you can forget private health insurance which means you will have to join the Spanish N.H.S.
first, they have a rule laid down by the Spanish Government that they can only deal with you in Spanish which means if you can't speak fluent Spanish you will have to employ and pay for a translator every time you visit the doctor or hospital and that can be expensive as you pay by the hour.
To register for medical care took me about six months to get all the required paperwork and when I left Tenerife all I had was a piece of paper to show that I was register I was and still am waiting for my medical card not that I want it now.
Many of the medical aids in Spain are provided by private companies for which you have to obtain a presciption from your doctor, if you fail to get a repeat prescription the company will demand the be returned of the equipment regardless of how important it is to the patient.
If you come back to England for a holiday you are only then entitled to accident and emergency medical cover because you will no longer be registered with the UK N.H.S.

My dream of living in Tenerife was shattered by having to deal with the medical side of my life there, I'm glad I tried but I even more glad to return to England to a system that I understand and can deal with.

Foot note:- With the Governments intend new system to record the all details of those who enter and and leave the country the days are number for those who cheat the system and live overseas without declaring the fact.

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