ESA Support Grp. Live abroad - no contact from DWP for 7 years - needing proof

Hello

Thankyou for this forum and all the support.
You helped me get my ESA support group in 2009.
I still receive this.
I moved abroad to France in 2015.

I was reassessed in 2015.

SInce then I ve heard nothing but I do receive ESA.

eg.I don't receive annual updating letters about amounts of benefit increases ( ha ha ) .

A perfect situation! Maybe they forgot about me.

However now due to Brexit I need to prove some things to the french authorities. One is they want my letter of award and normally they only accept documents up to 6 months old.

I see on the DWP site that as I live abroad I should call up the benefit office that deals with me for a Proof of Benefit letter.

However I am very afraid that this will trigger investigation into my situation eg. They might look to print one out and see nothing has been sent to me /or they can't find me or some such.

Of course my big fear if that I will have to go through a reassessment. Perhaps that would be here in France where they don't even recognise ME - one of my two health conditions exists, and where the war induced PTSD I have would require them doing their own long long investigations before making a conclusion.

Crucially I have no documentation now as I just live with my condition as best I can ( 25 years of it so I know best really) rather than having health professionals who supervise me( since they dont 'get' ME) who could provide reports on my health.

My last re-assessment and medical was a mammoth stressful task and I had to appeal against the appalling medical and speak with lawyers.

So I wonder
1) If you know what happens when one applies for a Proof of Benefit letter - if it could be , even with having to engage with the Benefit Office by phone, simply an automatic non contested process;

2) if you have any knowledge of what happens for people who are abroad -if it is common not to be reassessed.

3) anything else that could be helpful.

Thankyou so so much
Sophie

Hi Sophie,

Just a question but do you not have to inform the DWP if you go abroad for more than 4 weeks?

Maybe im wrong, sorry unsure

Contact the overseas dept of dwp as listed on the dwp gov.uk site.They are very helpful despite being a small unit dealing with overseas benefits and state pensions

Hi traceytracey,

I was to believe it was 28 days for ESA, and was it 13 wks for PIP. Had i'd known that, id have moved to the one of the Costa's, which incidentally does give natural pain relief via sunshine.

I supposed the DWP don't want millions of us flocking abroad to have a better lifestyle to help us get some relief with our ilnesses etc.

Be interesting to know how sophie gets on.

Sophie I hope all goes well for you, and hopefully you can keep us all here in the forum in the loop.

Regards.