CostaDelScotland

Hey guys, newbie here, go easy on me

I have been in receipt of Incapacity Benefit from approx 2004 until 2009 when I was put on Employment & Support Allowance, during this time I have had my National Insurance Contributions paid by DWP.

ESA claimed upto 5/4/12.

Has anyone any experience of either temp/perm disability pension being assessed where Spain takes into consideration the UK contributions as a EU country to qualify for the Disability Pension ?

The weather here is killing me for last 10 years & I need to relocate, at 35 and ten years ill health I need to escape the adverse effect the climate in UK has on my medical conditions.

Thanks in advance all

stuboy

If you are dependent on benefits then Spain is not for you. You could consider moving to the South Coast of England where the climate might suit your condition and you will keep all your current benefits.

CostaDelScotland

Hi Stuboy,

My intention is to live in a climate where I can get better enough to return to work, currently fighting DWP with MP & going through ICE & Parliamentary Ombudsman after a 100 week ESA "assessment" period :rollseyes:

I know my health is 50/50 in a better climate, I done that before in 2009-10 going abroad for medical treatment as my NHS trust were incompetent in 8 years of (mis)diagnoses.

I cant keep existing housebound, I need to start living again !

stuboy

I understand costa but as many othere will tell you on here if you are heavily dependent on benefits and the NHS for your day to day welfare then the best place for you is the UK. I know of several people who moved to Spain mainly to help with conditions such as arthritis etc. but you will get nowhere near the same level of support in Spain as you have in the UK. I know this is not what you want to hear but it is I'm afraid the reality.
Q. If you were to move to Spain how would you support yourself.

megmet

You would not get the benefits here in Spain that you are getting in the UK, and you would also after the first two years here have to pay for private health care.
I know it's not what you want to hear, but you will be much better off financially in the UK, and the chances of finding work here are very slim indeed!

Another point to remember is that Spain can and does get pretty cold and wet in the winter months, most of the houses do not have central heating so you would be colder than where you now are....I know from experience that it's not good for the arthritis!

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

As others have already said there is very little help here in Spain. My husband has been ill for the last few years and although the healthcare that he receives is excellent there is no additional help. If you need any equipment to make your life easier with your illness you will have to pay for it and this can be expensive. I know that you are seeing Spain as having a wonderful climate that will help you but the houses are not built for warmth but for coolness so they are generally very difficult to heat in the winter.

Good luck with your research and I hope that you will not feel that we are being negative but that we are trying to help you by telling you how it really is here.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Domino

you should not make any arrangements until you get your DLA/ESA rights sorted and written in stone.
as we have said on other threads over the past couple of weeks, not all but one or two benefits can be taken with you when moving within the EU, but not all.
for example, DLA/ESA opens up Pandora's box and gives you CTB and HB - these cannot be transferred to Spain, so you would be finding all your living expenses out of your primary benefit(s).

If your immediate problems are weather orientated (I lived 18m in Dunfermline - rained nearly every day!) then a move down to the English South Coast would be a potential change whilst remaining in the UK - Bournemouth beach is always being foto'd for its sunbathing.

But as I said at the beginning, you have got to get the benefits and the treatment sorted out before leaving the UK. It isnt just the Spanish don't speak English, its also they care little enough about their own people's aches, pains and woes. Just another whinging Pom will be another little gnat amongst the many.
Their attitude is - if you want to live here then you do it under our rules, otherwise go home (which is actually what should be said in the UK)

sorry if this seems negative, but it isnt all sun, sea and sangria (well not all the time). It isnt UK with sun, its another country, its a place where if you should come you will have to be independent, self reliant and also have enough money to live - in a country with 45-55% unemployment in many places.

keep in touch, let us know how things pan out and if you feel lonely there is, usually, someone here

kr

agoreira

I'm glad you said that!

missile

Appart from sunshine, Spain has little to offer disabled people.

If you are physically disabled, you may find the pavements and public buildings difficult to negotiate. You will loose your free access to medical care and public health centres. It can be oppresively hot in summer and surprisingly cold in winter.

Maybe you should consider relocating to southern england, where the weather is kinder. Have you explored own countryside? Charlie Chaplin visited what he described as the Riviera of the North every year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...el-advice.html

CostaDelScotland

Hey all, thanks for the replies !

NHS, local authority & DWP are all clueless & I get no help !

DWP destroyed medical evidence obtained in AU which the NHS now agree with apart from spinal arthritis (as A&E negligence on admission), that cost £25,000 my dad paid for whilst in Sydney as only my UK passport covered me for some free healthcare in AU as NHIC would not allow such in EU. DWP also destroyed NHS evidence agreeing with AU diagnoses (except spinal), lied to Tribunal Atos got my medical reports but Atos confirmed in writing that was a lie.

DLA tapered me off High then Middle Rate Care from 2004-2010 even though I'm getting worse, I have been housebound since 2002 & need help most of the year being transported places, "summer" allows me 50/50 "at the extreme best" outdoors, usually alone.

Fibromyalgia, asthma (& poss COPD),spinal arthritis, chronic pain/neurological damage in left leg....now in Sydney I was 50/50, I had to go to Melbourne in winter (Royal Melbourne Hospital) & I was like Scotland - bedridden over 3 months, went to Cairns & got better then returned to Sydney finalising medical stuff & returned to UK, DWP with ESA would not even pay me whilst abroad getting medical attention which ESA Regulations allow!.

Now I have liver problems because inactivity & meds, off most my drugs for pain, its unbearable !

Quite frankly every resource I have used to fight government depts not helping is HOPELESS including CAB, Independent Advocate, MP etc I know more than them on the legislation (studying Open Uni LLB).

Frankly I change my life or just stay here and get more ill & then die over a unknown period..

Does anyone have experience of other "med" countries other than Spain ? I'm open to suggestion, I need to get out of this unsupporting country to a warmer climate to support myself.

Cheers all

Fred James

You are surely joking?

rspltd

I cannot understand why you did not receive ESA provided of course 'while absent from Great Britain, the claimant continued to satisfy the other conditions of entitlement to that employment and support allowance'. Did you do that?

It might be more helpful if you explain why you think the UK is unsupportive - perhaps by saying how much you pay in to the country's coffers and how much they pay out to you (including items such as free prescriptions, free caring etc if applicable). That way someone might be able to suggest a country which does more .

agoreira

I think the OP is in for a big surprise looking for help in different countries if he thinks the UK is unsupporting.

pwwm

Indeed sadly you are right, so much more support in UK than any oher country I can think of

CostaDelScotland

I have had no income from 7/4/12 after 100 weeks of £67.50 "assessment" rate & DLA withdrawn Oct 2010 - I have now defaulted on payments for everything & that has now tripled to £5000, been mostly in bed from October 2011 until April 2012 with no help - unsupported yes, I need a better climate than here to support myself in work.