Child Disability Payment decision making guide
Past presence in the Common Travel Area
Each of the following groups:
- UK nationals
- third country nationals, and
- EEA and Swiss nationals not in the ‘protected cohort’
must have been present in the Common Travel Area for 26 of the past 52 weeks before the date when they apply for CDP, known as the ‘past presence test’ (CDP regs, reg. 5(1)(e))
A shorter qualifying period applies to younger children. A child aged up to 6 months old must have been present in the CTA for 13 weeks (CDP regs, reg. 5(2)).
There are situations in which no past presence test ever applies:
- terminally ill applicants
- applicants who are refugees (CDP regs, reg. 5(10)
- applicants arriving in the UK from Afghanistan who have been awarded leave to remain in the UK under either the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, the previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (sometimes referred to as the ex-gratia scheme) (CDP regs, reg 5(10), or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, and their dependents (The Social Security (Residence Requirements) (Afghanistan) (Scotland) Regulations 2021))
Both:
- EEA or Swiss nationals in the ‘protected cohort’
- their family members
applying for CDP generally do not have to satisfy the past presence test. See Residence requirements under the Coordination Rules below.
Some absences do not count for the purpose of the past presence test. Both temporary absences:
- up to 13 weeks for any reason
- up to 26 weeks where the absence was to obtain medical treatment
should be treated as presence. See Temporary Absence below. Special rules also apply to some types of workers who are routinely sent overseas for work. See both Armed Forces And Civil Servants and Mariners, Aircraft Workers and Continental Shelf Workers below.
A temporary absence is one which is expected to last for less than a year at the start. However, after 13 weeks the benefit will no longer be paid. Any additional periods of absence cannot be considered presence for past presence. See Temporary Absence below. The same applies in cases where the absence is due to medical treatment, but the relevant period in these cases is 26 weeks. An absence of 13 weeks for any reason can be followed by 26 weeks for medical treatment.
The parents of John (8) make an application for CDP in January 2022. He has been out of the CTA on holiday three times in the preceding 52 weeks, amounting to a total of 7 weeks. None of these absences are deducted from John’s past presence. This is because they are all within the 13 week period allowed for temporary absence for any reason. This means that, John is treated as present for all of the preceding 52 weeks.
The mother of Sally (7) makes an application for CDP in September 2022. She has recently returned to Scotland from New Zealand, where she has been living with her parents since she was 3 years old. Sally’s mother makes her application to CDP on 22 September, having arrived back in the UK on 20 July. As Sally has only been present in the CTA for 9 of the preceding 52 weeks she has not satisfied the past presence test. The test would require an additional 17 weeks’ presence.
The carer of Rita (7) makes an application to CDP in September 2022. She has recently returned to Scotland from Australia, where she has been living with her carer since she was 5 years old. Sally’s carer makes her application to CDP on 22 September, having arrived back in the UK on 1 June. An advance award can be made with a delayed payment start date as Rita will satisfy the past presence test within three months.
James (6) has a rare type of brain tumour which he has been receiving treatment for in the UK. He is taken to Germany for the purpose of receiving specialist radiotherapy. He is away for 12 weeks and is treated as present in the CTA for that period of time. His payments should continue during the absence and the 12 weeks can be treated as presence for any past presence calculations made in the future.