Commentary on Sections Conditions of Eligibility Section 8: The person must be in the UK
51.Section 8 sets out the third condition of eligibility. This is that the person making the declaration of eligibility is in the UK.
52.Subsection (2)(a) permits regulations to be made to provide rules for determining when a person will be treated as being, or not being, in the UK. The Government intends to make regulations providing that, for example, members of the armed forces who have been posted overseas, and residents of EEA states who are working in the UK, are to be treated as being in the UK.
53.Subsection (2)(b) permits regulations to be made that allow temporary absences from the UK to be disregarded. The Government intends to make regulations providing, for example, that any absence from the UK of up to 8 weeks is to be disregarded, and in certain circumstances, such as where a person experiences a period of illness, longer absences may also be disregarded.
54.Subsection (2)(c) permits regulations to be made that allow provisions of the Act to be modified in certain circumstances where people who are not in the UK are treated as being in the UK. The Government intends to make regulations that will, for instance, provide an equivalent to the requirement that a person must not be in receipt of universal credit, since universal credit will not be available in the person’s country of residence if they live outside the UK.