More than 2,000 British expats living in European holiday hotspots are still claiming UK taxpayer-funded disability benefits

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT Published: 16:03, 22 June 2026 | Updated: 16:06, 22 June 2026 More than two thousand British expats are still claiming disability benefits while living in Europe.  Brits soaking up the sun in holiday hotspots including Spain, Italy, France and Portugal can still apply for taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP).  Some 2,244 people are currently claiming the benefit despite living abroad, according to statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  The figure has surged by 86 per cent since before Covid, when 1,203 expats were receiving the benefit.  The most common reason for PIP payments among European expats were musculoskeletal issues (1,001) followed by psychiatric disorders (414). Under current rules, someone living in a country within the European Economic Area or Switzerland may be able to claim PIP if they meet certain requirements. They can only claim for daily living costs, not the mobility component of the benefit, but this can still amount to between £76.70 and £114.60 per week. Shimeon Lee, policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Taxpayers will be astonished that millions are being spent on disability benefits for people living abroad. 'Remote checks risk turning the system into a soft touch, with too little scrutiny of whether claims remain valid. 'Ministers must urgently review these payments and ensure support is going to those who genuinely need it.'   Brits soaking up the sun in holiday hotspots including Spain, Italy , France and Portugal can still apply for taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Taxpayers may be shelling out as much as £10 million a year to fund expats' living costs. Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called for the claims to be reviewed. 'If you choose to live abroad, and work abroad, because PIP is not work-related, you could be earning a significant salary while getting this benefit,' he told The Sun.  'This was not as much of a problem as before Covid, but the number of cases have gone up significantly.' A DWP spokesman said: 'Only a very small number of PIP claimants are currently living abroad.  'We're fixing the broken system we inherited by creating a welfare state that works for disabled people and taxpayers and have launched the Timms Review to make sure PIP is fit and fair for the future.' Some 4 million people were claiming PIP across England and Wales by the end of April, latest figures show.  This was a 2 per cent increase in the PIP caseload in England and Wales from the end of January this year. Of the 4 million PIP claimants, 3.3 million (83 per cent) were of working age and 680,000 (17 per cent) were of state pension age.  Your browser does not support iframes. Meanwhile, 37 per cent of claimants received the highest level of award - the same level as in January. PIP is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has offered to lend her party's votes to the Government to push through welfare reform. She said she would work with whoever is Labour prime minister to slash the benefits bill in order to boost defence spending. Mrs Badenoch tore into Sir Keir over the Government's shambolic Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which has been delayed again amid a funding row within Whitehall. Andy Burnham is Sir Keir Starmer's most likely successor after he stepped down as Prime Minister yesterday.  Since PIP was first introduced in April 2013 - to replace the previous Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - until April this year, there have been 4.6 million successful PIP claims, according to the latest DWP figures. Of the total 9.7 million PIP claims registered over the same period, of which 4.5 million were disallowed, 7.5 million were new claims and 2.2 million were DLA reassessment claims. The DWP said there was a gradual increase in the total number of people with entitlement to either PIP or DLA, from 3 million to 3.5 million, between February 2013 and February 2020. There was a sharper increase from 3.5 million to 5.3 million between February 2020, when the Covid crisis began, and November 2025, it added. The Tories pointed to figures showing an extra 430,000 people were claiming PIP since Labour came to power at the 2024 general election. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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