Exporting CB ESA Support Group to an EU County

Hello all,

I apologize again as again I missed off some information .. so want to add it here, so please use this post rather than the last 2.

Firstly I want to say I know this is not an area that you normally deal with but there have been some very useful points made by the Admins and others who have experience in this on other threads. So I am wanting to clarify if what I have read by others on the forum is correct and if anyone else has any experience.

I would like to know if someone or if anyone on here knows of any one in the support group for ESA Contribution Based Benefit who has been getting that benefit for a few years has recently (Last 2 years) sucessfully been able to export that benefit to another EU Country and what the process they had to take was?

I have been unable to find anyone locally from any benefits help place, lawyers or helplines anywhere that have had any real knowlege of this area...yes lots of solicitors who knew about benefits but none who really knew much about exporting them. So sadly no option but to come here.
I know the exportability team at DWP have said that it is exportable and "may" be granted and a form bf5 form would need to be completed and a request made and then a decision made but I am not sure if that advice is reliable and why would it be a "may" be granted - its either exportable or not, not "May" be granted? why would a decision need to be made if it is exportable? that makes no sense?

I have read various things on your forum from others who have said that "ESA CB is no longer exportable and most requests to export ESA abroad have been denied and that if you request to make it exportable and they refuse you can not appeal the decision" However, can anyone confirm this? just reading the website

www.gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad/illness...-disability-benefits

Going abroad for more than a year
You can get contribution-based ESA in the EEA or Switzerland if you’re eligible and if you’ve paid enough National Insurance contributions.

So thats different to what some have said. Hoping to get clarification. Thank you

It is no longer exportable to an EU or any location.
Most who had the old IB, if living abroad, when transferred to ESA, had to reside in the UK if they still were eligible for ESA.
The same arises for PIP and only care, as mobility is closed if abroad.
Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the reply.
I spoke again and also wrote to the Exportability Claim and they confirmed without any doubt that Contribution Based ESA Support Group IS exportable to an EU country. I said but someone online which was pusscatsmum, I didnt say your name though said "It is no longer exportable to an EU or any location" and two people said this is correct for Income related ESA but NOT for Contribution based ESA and that person must be getting mixed up with contribution based ESA and income based ESA.
They said "Listen, we can assure you CB ESA IS exportable to an EU country, we are the exportability team who deal with it and we deal with it all week we know what we are talking about"

pusscatsmum can I also ask you where you get that information from that Contribution Based ESA Support Group is NOT exportable to an EU country as I contacted the ESA Exportability Team by email and phone (spoke to 2 different people at diferent times) and they all said without any doubt CB ESA is exportable within the EU, they said they deal with claiments who move to EU countries day in and day out who export their CB ESA now to EU countries.
You can contact them yourself if you want. Also reading from the goverment website which says CB ESA is exportable

www.gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad/illness...-disability-benefits

Plus I have spoken with people who live in Spain and other EU countries and who right at this moment recieve CB ESA, some who moved over to an EU country within the last year and have exported their CB ESA. Plus numerous people on forums who live in Spain, France etc who recieve ESA CB right now and have been recieveing CB ESA for sometime abroad.

I can only find yourself who has said that
"It is no longer exportable to an EU or any location".

Are you sure you are right when the DWP said it is exportable, the DWP website says its exportable, when many others continue to recieve ESA CB and have exported their ESA CB to another EU country?

Can you give me a link to something to show you are correct?

It's an interesting topic, especially as there would be the question of F2F, which some members have already stated find difficulty in attending in this country. I didn't even realise the benefit could be exported abroad, thought only state pension could be.