Everything about calling Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from abroad
Which PIP line is which
Personal Independence Payment can help with extra living costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and find everyday tasks or getting around difficult. A claim starts by phone: you call the PIP new claims line, 0800 917 2222, answer some basic questions about you and your condition, then fill in a form called How your disability affects you. GOV.UK gives the line's hours as Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm on its how to claim page, and 9am to 5pm on its page for people nearing the end of life, who claim on the same number. Once you have a claim, the PIP enquiry line, 0800 121 4433, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, is where you report changes and ask questions, including if you need more time for the form.
PIP and time abroad: what GOV.UK says
If you get PIP, GOV.UK says you must contact the PIP enquiry line straight away if you plan to go abroad for more than 4 weeks. You can keep claiming if you go abroad for up to 13 weeks, or 26 weeks if it is for medical treatment. If you live abroad, GOV.UK says you might still be able to get PIP if you either live in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, where you can only get help with daily living tasks, or you work in the Armed Forces or are a family member of someone who does.
Moving to or living in the EEA or Switzerland
For a permanent move to an EEA country or Switzerland, GOV.UK says you may be able to claim the daily living part of PIP if, for example, you work or pay National Insurance in the UK, you get State Pension or certain other benefits, or you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. If you already live there, you do not need to have claimed in the UK before you moved, but you must be habitually resident there, have a genuine link with the UK and be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. People living abroad write to the PIP Exportability Team to make a claim, change their address or bank account, or ask for advice. Coming back from living abroad, you usually need to have lived in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years, and be living in England or Wales, before you can apply. In its section on moving abroad permanently to an EEA country or Switzerland, GOV.UK also says you cannot claim the PIP mobility component abroad.
Calling a UK 0800 number from abroad
0800 917 2222 and 0800 121 4433 are UK freephone numbers. GOV.UK lists 0800 calls as free from UK landlines and mobiles, and tells you to check the cost with your provider when calling from abroad. For callers abroad, GOV.UK gives the new claims line in an ordinary international form, +44 191 218 7766, so check the cost with your own provider; it prints no such number for the enquiry line. From a foreign phone, an 0800 number may not connect, depending on your operator.
What Losali does with these lines
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 917 2222 or 0800 121 4433, 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 for each number is shown beside it before you call.
- Your National Insurance number, if you have one, and your date of birth.
- Your bank or building society account number and sort code.
- Your doctor or health worker's name, address and telephone number.
- Dates for any time you spent abroad for more than 4 weeks at a time, and the countries you visited.
Other ways in
You can also start a claim by post, by writing to Freepost DWP PIP 1 with your name and address, and in some areas the full application can be made online. Relay UK users dial 18001 before either number, and a British Sign Language video relay service is offered. On the new claims line you can ask for a Welsh speaker, have someone added to your call, or ask about a home visit from a DWP officer. Citizens Advice gives help with PIP and the form. In Scotland the benefit is Adult 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.