Everything about calling Attendance Allowance from abroad
What the Attendance Allowance helpline is for
Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if you have reached State Pension age and have a disability or health condition severe enough that you need someone to help look after you. It does not cover mobility needs, and you do not need to have a carer to claim. You can apply online or by post, and the helpline, 0800 731 0122, will send you a paper claim form: if you return it within 6 weeks, your claim starts on the date of your call. It is also the line for reporting changes straight away, such as a stay in hospital or a care home, a change in the help you need, or a new name, address, bank account or doctor.
Attendance Allowance and time abroad: what GOV.UK says
If you get Attendance Allowance and plan to leave the country for more than 4 weeks, GOV.UK says you must contact the helpline straight away. You can keep claiming if you go abroad for up to 13 weeks, or 26 weeks if it is for medical treatment. To make a claim, you must be in Great Britain when you claim, with some exceptions such as members and family members of the armed forces, and you must have been in Great Britain for at least 2 of the last 3 years, which does not apply to refugees or people with humanitarian protection status. GOV.UK adds that you might still be able to get Attendance Allowance if you are a UK national and you live in or move to the EU, the EEA or Switzerland.
Why a UK 0800 number may not connect from abroad
0800 731 0122 is a UK freephone number. GOV.UK lists 0800 calls as free from UK landlines and mobiles, and tells you to check the cost with your provider, particularly when calling from abroad. It publishes no international number for the Attendance Allowance helpline. Dialled as +44 800 from a foreign phone, the call may not connect, depending on your operator.
What Losali does with this line
Losali is an independent dialler that works in a web browser. Your call travels over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects it to 0800 731 0122, so the foreign network you are on only carries data and never has to accept a UK freephone number. There is no app to install and no UK SIM card to buy. Minutes are prepaid, there is no subscription, and the rate is shown beside the number before you call.
- The National Insurance number of the person who gets or is claiming Attendance Allowance.
- The dates you will be away, if you are reporting a trip abroad.
- The address and dates of any hospital or care home stay, and how it is paid for.
- The UK clock: the line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm UK time.
If you live abroad, and other ways in
GOV.UK tells people who live abroad to write to the Attendance Allowance Exportability Team to make a claim, change personal details such as an address or bank account, or get help and advice, giving the benefit, your National Insurance number and where you live. Its address is Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 2AD, United Kingdom. In the UK, claim forms go to Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance. Relay UK users dial 18001 then 0800 731 0122, and a British Sign Language video relay service is offered. In Scotland the benefit is Pension Age Disability Payment, and Northern Ireland has its own way to claim.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. Losali shows the price before the call starts.