Social Security

Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits When You Live Out Of The Country

Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits When You Live Out Of The Country

The Social Security Administration will consider you to be outside the United States, when you are not residing in any of the 50 states, the US Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa.

If you have lived outside of the country for at least 30 days consecutively, you are officially considered to be living outside the country, and will continue to remain so, until you return to the country and stay within the country for at least 30 consecutive days.

If you are a US citizen and are living outside of the United States, you may receive your Social Security disability benefits as long as you meet the eligibility criteria for benefits. If you are a citizen of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom, you are eligible for benefits, no matter how long you have remained outside the United States.

Remember, however, that there are certain countries to which the United States Social Security Administration will not send your disability benefits payments. If you are currently in Cuba or North Korea, and are a citizen, your payments will be withheld, and you will receive your payment only when you then travel to a country where the agency can send payments to you. Besides, the agency will also not deliver payments to persons living in Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and several other countries.

To understand more about how to qualify for Social Security disability benefits, speak to a Social Security disability benefits attorney in Los Angeles. For help understanding how your stay overseas will affect the benefits you receive, schedule a consultation with a Social Security disability benefits attorney in Los Angeles.