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Being legally detained abroad
This refers to any legal detention which takes place outside of the United Kingdom.
Individuals who are legally detained abroad are subject to the same rules discussed above. In these circumstances, an individual’s payment of Scottish Adult DLA would be set at £nil after 28 days.
Being in Legal Detention abroad does not affect an individual satisfying the ordinary and habitual residence requirements for Scottish Adult DLA. However it could impact them being present in the common travel area depending on how long they will remain in legal detention, and so impact upon their entitlement to Scottish Adult DLA (Scottish Adult DLA regs, reg. 10(1)(d)).
Entitlement to Scottish Adult DLA stops after 13 weeks as a result of the individual being temporarily absent from the UK. This is because they are treated as being present in the UK for the first 13 weeks of a temporary absence (Scottish Adult DLA regs, reg. 11(1)(a)). For more information on temporary absence from the UK, see the Residence and Presence chapter.
Example: an individual who is legally detained abroad for 60 days
Abigail is entitled to Scottish Adult DLA. She enters legal detention on 1 June for 60 days while visiting Denmark. Abigail’s payments of Scottish Adult DLA are reduced to £nil on 29 June after she spends 28 days in legal detention. She is released from legal detention on 31 July and returns to Scotland 2 days later. Abigail was not absent from the UK for more than 13 weeks and is still entitled to Scottish Adult DLA.
Example: an individual who is legally detained abroad for 160 days
Jacob is entitled to Scottish Adult DLA. He is legally detained for 160 days on 1 March while visiting the United States. Jacob’s payments of Scottish Adult DLA are reduced to £nil on 29 March as he has spent 28 days in legal detention. Jacob is released on 8 August and returns to Scotland 3 days later. Jacob is no longer entitled to Scottish Adult DLA after 13 weeks spent in the United States. This is because Jacob is now considered to be absent from the UK.
Legal detention – moves between Scotland and elsewhere in the UK
If someone is sent from another part of the UK to legal detention in Scotland, or is sent from Scotland to legal detention in another part of the UK, please see the chapter on ‘Moving from Scotland to another part of the UK and vice versa’ for information on how the residence rules apply.