Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a UK benefit which has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people between 16 and State Pension age. PIP helps towards some of the extra living costs arising from having a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability that is expected to last for 12 months or longer. You can get PIP even if you’re working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.  To find out more please visit NI Direct Personal Independence Payment 

For children under the age of 16 please see Disability Living Allowance for Children

Going abroad temporarily

You can claim PIP for up to 13 weeks if you’re going abroad (or 26 weeks if it’s for medical treatment).

Residence and Presence Tests

You must have been present in the UK for not less than 104 week in the last 156, however, there are some exemptions. If you are covered by the EEA co-ordination rules or the UK-Ireland Convention , you are habitually resident in the UK or an EEA country and you can demonstrate a genuine and sufficient link to the UK you may not have to meet the past presence test. The principle of ‘Aggregation’ can also help to satisfy this condition. (Advisors see below).   Source: Disability Rights Handbook Edition 46 Chapter 55 Pg. 278.

Cross-border issues

Living South

You or a family member may be able to claim the PIP Daily Living Component if you:

• work in the UK or pay National Insurance in the UK because of work
• have paid enough National Insurance to qualify for contribution-based benefits
• are getting State Pension, Industrial Injuries Benefit, contribution-based ESA or bereavement benefits

Source: https://www.gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad/disability-benefits

Further to your initial application, you will receive a PIP GSL Enquiry form to verify your link with the UK and to establish the UK as the competent state for this payment. As cross-border claims can be complicated, you should consider contacting your local Community Advice organisation to get advice and support.  You can also get help and advice by emailing team.exportability@dwp.gov.uk

Note: The PIP Mobility Component cannot be exported across the border.

Living North, Claiming PIP and Working South

See Border People Case Study – Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

For Advisors:

The Kavanagh Case  reinforces that the genuine and sufficient link in disability benefits is to the UK as a whole, not simply the UK’s social security system, and both objective evidence but also motives, intentions and expectations of the claimant are relevant in establishing the link.

This is a helpful case to refer to when looking at the past presence tests for the following disability benefits: Carer’s Allowance(CA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment(PIP), Attendance Allowance(AA).

Source: CPAG. “4. Principles of co-ordination.” In Benefits for Migrants Handbook (15th edition) 2024.

Aggregation and the past presence test

‘Aggregation’ means adding together periods of insurance (eg, periods in which you have paid NI contributions in the UK), residence or employment/self-employment completed under the legislation of one or more member states to satisfy the conditions of entitlement for a benefit.

Daily living component

Where the claimant is within the personal scope of the European Union co-ordination regulations and the United Kingdom is the competent state for the payment of cash sickness benefits, for the purposes of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, periods recognised as insurance whether for residence, employment or self-employment can be aggregated with presence in the United Kingdom when considering whether the past presence test is met.

Mobility Component

As the Mobility Component is to be treated as a special non-contributory benefit, it is only payable in the United Kingdom. However, for the purpose of satisfying the past presence test, periods of insurance for social security benefits arising from periods of employment, self-employment or residence in another European Economic Area State qualify to be aggregated with residence in the United Kingdom when considering whether the past presence test is met.

Source: C2137 C2138

https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/communities/dm-adm-chapter-c2.pdf

The Upper Tribunal has held that ‘mere residence’ in an EEA country cannot be aggregated under the main co-ordination rules for the purpose of satisfying the past presence test in disability and carers’ benefits. Although in these cases it was not necessary to decide what qualities the residence must have to count, it was suggested that insurance-based, or contribution-based, residence would count. In practice, the benefit authorities generally accept evidence of your having worked in an EEA state as evidence that the residence was not ‘mere residence’ and can be aggregated.

Similarly, the UK–Ireland Convention limits the aggregation of specific periods of residence to those during which you were ‘insured’ in Ireland.

Source: CPAG. “4. Principles of co-ordination.” In Benefits for Migrants Handbook (15th edition) 2024.

See also: Border People – Sickness Benefits Competent State

Page last checked: July 2025

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