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Exporting CB ESA Support Group to an EU County

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6 years 10 months ago #188574 by Battlezone
Replied by Battlezone on topic Exporting CB ESA Support Group to an EU County
I can only give you my experience of Spain. I originally lived in Southampton. I moved in 1996 to Spain where I transferred IB. I phoned the Exportability Team who provided me with five S1 to cover my husband and three children. After a couple of years I was transferred over to CB ESA Support Group. The medical was held here in Spain but I had to provide a translator at my expense. I did not try and recover travel costs although this was possible. At my first f2f my translator was not allowed to come into the room as they were not medically trained. I was then put into CB WRAG but appealed the decision and was moved to the support Group.

My second f2f I did not take a translator and of course this time they said it would have been OK to not have someone who had no medical background. All forms completed by the Spanish health authorities were in Spanish. These forms are then returned to the Exportability Team who have them translated and then sent to Maximus/Capita. My second f2f I was put into SG straightaway.

All forms I have received from the UK are in Spanish. Mainly these forms are for identification purposes which have to be completed by your GP.

Once you receive your SI from the DWP you find out where your local health service centre is located. This is not your doctor's surgery. You take your S1s, padron, NIE, residency certificate, passport and any other piece of paper you can think of. They will then provide you with a paper version of your health card. You then take these papers to your local doctors surgery and register. You can now see a doctor. In about a month you receive your plastic health card. Carry this card with you all the time as you will not be able to see a doctor or get medicines without this card.

There are problems involved in living in the EU if the DWP turn down your renewal and you have to go through a tribunal. The tribunal is held in the UK and the travel expense has to be paid by yourself.

We used the EHIC card for emergency care and medication for about the first month of our stay here as it took a long time to get all the paperwork needed for the Health Card. Because every time we went to the office they needed some other paperwork. But this is Spain and we were prepared for this.

Each EU country is different. You will often have the DWP, HMRC etc departments ringing wanting to complete compliance interview. Just know your facts and the relevant law and let them get on with it. HMRC were the worse and the guy had absolutely no idea what the relevant law was. Child benefit regularly gets stopped because someone sees that I live in Spain and stops the payments. But after they did this the first few times I told them each time they stopped my money I would charge them £50. And they pay up. I have had regular payments from HMRC as "compensation". As I said above know the law.

And again, all forms I have received to be completed by doctors or consultants have been in Spanish.

Good luck with this because even after 10 years you always feel you are fighting the DWP. At the moment I am going through DLA to PIP but I keep getting courtesy calls from them asking me how I am getting on with the form!

Hope some of this helps. But please remember transfer of benefits is only possible if they are Contribution-Based.
The following user(s) said Thank You: sally-jane

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6 years 10 months ago #188626 by sally-jane
Replied by sally-jane on topic Exporting CB ESA Support Group to an EU County
Hi

Thank you for a good report explaining how it works for you and letting all know that it is different for each and everyone and each and every country in the EU.
I suppose as you did yours pre 2009 you would have had a letter from the Sec of State allowing you to move to the EU, the same as me, however I did not move in the end.

When one knows their way around the system it is marginally easier to be a step ahead of the DWP/ATOS etc who are not so well informed!!!!

Good luck with your transfer from DLA to PIP.
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