Moving to Scotland on a Dutch benefit: your WIA goes with you, but it does not give you a visa
A WIA disability benefit, including IVA and WGA, can be taken to the United Kingdom, as can the WAO, the WAZ, the AOW state pension and the Anw survivor's benefit. The UWV supplement, unemployment benefit (WW) and the Wajong cannot. But a benefit gives you no right to live in Scotland: for that you need a visa, and a visa based on a benefit does not exist.
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Your WIA disability benefit goes with you to Scotland. That applies to the IVA (the benefit for full and long-term incapacity for work) and to the WGA (the benefit for partial incapacity). The United Kingdom is on UWV's list of countries to which you can take the WIA, the WAO, the WAZ and Sickness Benefits Act payments.
But a benefit is not a right of residence. Living in Scotland is only possible with a UK visa, and a visa for people who live on a benefit does not exist. For most people on a WIA without a job, that is the real limit.
In short:
- WIA (IVA and WGA), WAO, WAZ and Sickness Benefits Act: go with you.
- AOW and Anw: do not change, says the SVB.
- The UWV supplement, WW, Wajong and social assistance: do not go with you.
Which benefit can you take to the UK?
| Benefit | To the UK | Why |
|---|---|---|
| WIA, IVA and wage-related WGA | yes, at the same level | UWV list; 2005 convention, article 6 |
| WGA follow-up benefit | yes, at 100 percent | UK residence factor in the 2026 regulation |
| WAO, WAZ, Sickness Benefits Act | yes | UWV list |
| UWV supplement (Toeslagenwet) | no | UWV list; convention, article 6(6) |
| WW | no | only within the EU, the EEA and Switzerland |
| Wajong | no, with three exceptions | convention, article 6(6); UWV |
| Social assistance | no | Rijksoverheid |
| AOW | yes, unchanged, in pounds | SVB |
| Anw | yes, unchanged | SVB |
| Child benefit | no, for moves from 2021 | SVB |
That the WIA goes with you is not a given. Under the law itself, a WIA benefit stops if you do not live in the Netherlands (article 43(f)), unless you live in a country where a treaty allows the benefit (article 45). That is how the Benefits Export Restriction Act (Wet beperking export uitkeringen) works. UWV is firm about it: if a country is not on its page, you cannot take your benefit there. The UK is on it.
The treaty behind it is the social security convention between the Netherlands and the UK of 21 December 2005. Article 6 says you keep an invalidity benefit in the other country as if you lived in the first. Paragraph 6 excludes two things: the Toeslagenwet supplement and the Wajong.
Does your WIA stay the same?
The IVA and the wage-related WGA stay the same. For the WGA follow-up benefit the residence principle applies: the amount is adjusted to the cost of living in the country where you live. For the United Kingdom that factor is 100 percent in the 2026 regulation. So you keep the full amount.
The UWV supplement, which you get if your benefit is below the social minimum, does stop. If you now live on benefit plus supplement, first work out what is left without the supplement.
What do you arrange with UWV?
You keep the same obligations as in the Netherlands, plus a few more:
- Report your departure at least two weeks in advance. In those two weeks UWV may still have you medically examined.
- Once a year you receive the Verklaring van in leven zijn (proof of life) form. Return it completed and signed within six weeks.
- UWV can invite you for an examination by a doctor in the UK, or make you come to the Netherlands. Your travel and accommodation costs are then reimbursed.
- If your health improves or worsens, or you are admitted somewhere, report it within a week.
Does your benefit give you the right to live in Scotland?
No. This is the key point of this article. Your benefit may go with you, but you cannot simply go yourself. Scotland is part of the UK, and since 2021 a Dutch citizen needs a visa to live there. The routes are work, a partner, talent and your own business. A route based on a pension or a benefit is not among them. See the visa routes to Scotland.
As a visitor you can usually stay up to six months. But GOV.UK states plainly that you cannot "live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits" and cannot "claim public funds (benefits)". A Dutch WIA is not public funds: that list only names British and Scottish schemes, such as Universal Credit and the Scottish Adult Disability Payment. So you can visit on a WIA. Living there as a visitor is not possible.
For someone on an IVA without a job, often one route remains: the partner visa, if your partner is British or already allowed to stay. You then need a combined income of at least £29,000 a year, or enough savings. Whether and how a Dutch benefit counts towards that requirement is not stated on the GOV.UK page. Have that checked before you apply.
Do not stop anything in the Netherlands or report your departure until your visa is settled. Without a visa you may not live in Scotland, not even with a benefit that can go with you.
Who taxes your benefit?
According to the Belastingdienst overview, a WIA, WAO, WAZ or Wajong paid to a UK resident may only be taxed by the UK (article 20 of the tax treaty). The same applies to the AOW and the Anw (article 17). In Scotland you then pay Scottish income tax. How that works is in AOW, pension and tax in Scotland. For the AOW and the Anw, the SVB says you can get an exemption from Dutch payroll tax if you have them paid into a UK account. Ask UWV how the Dutch deduction on your WIA stops.
And your healthcare?
With a Dutch benefit or a Dutch pension you can register with the CAK. The United Kingdom, including Scotland, is a treaty country. The CAK advises starting three months before your move and handles an application within four weeks. You then get an S1, the form that transfers your right to healthcare. With an S1 registered with the NHS, you can get all or part of your visa's healthcare surcharge back.
How benefits abroad work in general is in emigrating on a benefit.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Scotland or go straight to step 3.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- UWV — which benefit you can take to which country; for the United Kingdom WIA, WAO, WAZ and Sickness Benefits Act yes, supplement no — uwv.nl
- UWV — taking a WIA, WAO or WAZ benefit abroad, reporting and obligations — uwv.nl
- UWV — the United Kingdom as a treaty country — uwv.nl
- UWV — WW can only be taken within the EU, the EEA and Switzerland — uwv.nl
- UWV — taking a Wajong benefit abroad, the three exceptions — uwv.nl
- Rijksoverheid — can I take my benefit with me if I emigrate; no WW outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland — rijksoverheid.nl
- Wet WIA, articles 43 and 45 — no benefit outside the Netherlands unless a treaty allows it — wetten.overheid.nl
- Besluit afwijkende regels beperking export uitkeringen (decree on the export of benefits) — wetten.overheid.nl
- Convention on social security Netherlands–United Kingdom (The Hague, 21 December 2005), article 6 — export of invalidity benefits, not of the Toeslagenwet or the Wajong — wetten.overheid.nl
- Regeling woonlandbeginsel in de sociale zekerheid 2012, annex — the United Kingdom at 100 percent — wetten.overheid.nl
- SVB — Brexit FAQ, AOW, Anw and child benefit in the UK — svb.nl
- Belastingdienst — Treaty countries for non-residents, January 2026, United Kingdom on p. 106 — download.belastingdienst.nl
- CAK — the treaty countries, with the United Kingdom including Scotland — hetcak.nl
- CAK — moving abroad with a pension or benefit — hetcak.nl
- GOV.UK — Standard Visitor, no public funds and no living there through repeated visits — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — public funds, which British and Scottish benefits count — gov.uk
- GOV.UK — Immigration Health Surcharge refund with an S1 — gov.uk
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