Honest answers to the questions we hear most often from British expats wondering what they're still entitled to.
Exportability is simply whether a UK benefit can continue to be paid to you after you move abroad. Some benefits are exportable to EU countries, while others stop as soon as you leave the UK — it depends entirely on which benefit it is and your residency history.
Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and the State Pension can all, in the right circumstances, be exported to an EU country. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) exportability depends on when the award started. Means-tested benefits like Universal Credit and Pension Credit generally cannot be exported.
You're covered if you're a British national who was already lawfully resident in an EU or EEA country before 31 December 2020, and you've remained resident there since.
The key date: 31 December 2020. Established residency before then, and remained resident since, and you're covered. Moved after that date, and different rules apply.
Not if you moved before the cut-off date above — this is the single most common misconception we come across. Pre-Brexit movers keep the entitlements they built up in the UK.
The Exportability Team is the specialist DWP unit that handles benefit claims and correspondence for British nationals living abroad under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Most Attendance Allowance claims we submit take around 8 to 12 weeks from submission to a decision, though this can vary depending on DWP workload and whether further evidence is requested.
You can request a Mandatory Reconsideration — asking the DWP to review its own decision — usually within one month of receiving it.
Yes — the DWP typically asks for proof that you were resident in the EU before 31 December 2020 and have remained resident there since.