# The Social Security (Residence and Presence Requirements) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026, Regulation 5: Amendment of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013


(1) The Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 are amended as follows.
(2) After regulation 18B, insert—
“Absence where His Majesty’s Government provides public information to advise British nationals to leave a country or territory or arranges the evacuation of British nationals from a country or territory
18C. (1) Where C is temporarily absent from Great Britain, C is treated as present in the relevant area for the purposes of regulation 16(a) and (b) during the first 26 weeks of that absence, where—
(a) C was present in a country or territory outside Great Britain immediately before His Majesty’s Government—
(i) provided public information to advise British nationals to leave that country or territory, or
(ii) arranged the evacuation of British nationals from that country or territory,
(b) the Scottish Ministers are satisfied that it would be unreasonable to expect C to return, or to have returned, to Great Britain, and
(c) C did not enter that country or territory when His Majesty’s Government’s public information was to advise British nationals to leave that country or territory.
(2) In this regulation, “temporarily absent” has the same meaning as in regulation 17(2).
Time limits on absences where the claimant is treated as being in Great Britain
18D. (1) Where a person is temporarily absent from Great Britain in the circumstances specified in regulation 17(1), 18(1) or 18C(1), the total period of an absence where C is treated as present in the relevant area will not exceed 26 weeks.”.
(3) In regulation 23A (refugees and certain persons with leave to enter and remain in the United Kingdom)—
(a) after sub-paragraph (j) insert—
“,
(k) met conditions A to D,
Condition A
The person was residing in a country or territory outside Great Britain immediately before His Majesty’s Government—
(i) provided public information to advise British nationals to leave that country or territory, or
(ii) arranged the evacuation of British nationals from that country or territory,
Condition B
The person has left that country or territory.
Condition C
The person arrived in Great Britain in the first 26 weeks beginning on the day on which the public information is issued, or the evacuation is started.
Condition D
The person—
(i) has a right of abode in the United Kingdom within the meaning given in section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971,
(ii) does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in accordance with section 3ZA of that Act,
(iii) has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in accordance with immigration rules, or
(iv) has leave on a discretionary basis outside of immigration rules, or
(l) as part of a safe and legal humanitarian immigration route, leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in accordance with immigration rules or leave on a discretionary basis outside of those rules”,
(b) after paragraph (1B) insert—
“(1C) Where paragraph (1)(k) applies, it will apply for 130 weeks beginning on the day on which the public information is issued, or the evacuation is started.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2026/9780111064979/regulation/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-social-security-residence-and-presence-requirements-miscellaneous-amendment-scotland-regulations-2026/regulation-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.