Scotland will keep paying certain disability and carer benefits to people living in the EEA or Switzerland, under regulations made on 18 December 2025, laid before Holyrood on 22 December 2025, and taking effect on 1 April 2026. The instrument was signed at St Andrew’s House by Cabinet Secretary Shirley‑Anne Somerville.

Known formally as the Social Security (Residence in an EEA State or Switzerland) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/415), the move updates Scottish provisions linked to Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). It mirrors changes already taken forward for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland earlier this winter, so people with protected rights are treated consistently across the UK family of systems.

To qualify, a person must have been within the scope of a relevant EU regulation on 31 December 2020, must have been continuously paid from that date, and must not have been habitually resident in the UK on or after 31 December 2020. These are technical but firm tests designed to preserve rights that existed at the end of the Brexit transition.

Only specific elements are covered: the daily living component of PIP, the care component of DLA, and Carer’s Allowance. PIP mobility is not part of this protection.

This is not a route for new claims. The regulations simply provide a legal basis to keep paying awards already in place that meet the criteria. For the rest of the UK, the parallel measures commenced on 10 December 2025.

For households across the North with family in Scotland and relatives living in Spain, France or elsewhere in Europe, the detail matters. Awards remain payable only if they have never stopped since 31 December 2020 and the person has stayed abroad for residency purposes; a return to habitual residence in the UK after that date breaks the protection.

If you think you’re covered, keep hold of award letters showing continuous payment from 31 December 2020 and proof of residence in an EEA state or Switzerland. Speak to Social Security Scotland for confirmation rather than making a fresh claim; the instrument preserves existing payments, it doesn’t open a new entitlement pathway.

Although this extends to Scotland only, it sits within devolved responsibility for disability and carers’ benefits. UK regulations for England and Wales and a separate rule for Northern Ireland are already live, which is why Scotland’s timetable points to April 2026. Earlier Scottish amendments on genuine and sufficient link show how Holyrood has been tailoring these rules since 2024.

The technical changes update regulation 9B of the 1976 Invalid Care Allowance rules, regulation 2B of the 1991 DLA rules and regulation 23 of the 2013 PIP rules so that protected cross‑border cases continue to be recognised in law. It’s an administrative fix to keep payments flowing for the same group, not a widening of eligibility.

Key dates for diaries: made on 18 December 2025, laid on 22 December 2025, in force from 1 April 2026. For families and advisers, that’s the window to double‑check paperwork so awards continue without a hitch once the Scottish instrument takes effect.