I have been getting ESA for a couple of years now and am in the Support Group. I am thinking of moving to southern France because the weather there helps my health problem (I have a chronic pain condition) whereas the winters here are absolute killers. My dream is that the pain will decrease and I may be able to work there but I would like to know if I can continue to claim ESA when I go over there and whether there is a similar French benefit I could apply for if I do not get better. Any advice would be appreciated.
We do not really advise on claiming/receiving ESA abroad. However, an important aspect of whether you can continue to receive ESA whilst living in France is whether or not your ESA payments are Contribution Based (CB) ESA or Income Related (IR) ESA.
If they are IR ESA, you can only receive payment for up to a maximum of 4 weeks.
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