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If a claimant whose family includes a child or young person reports that he / she is taking up residence or employment in an Other Member State ( OMS) of the European Economic Area ( EEA), it may result in a shift in responsibility for paying family benefits. Family benefits in the United Kingdom ( UK) are Child Tax Credit ( CTC) and Child Benefit ( ChB)

All change of circumstances involving movement between Member States will be processed by the Complex Case Team when there is a child or young person included in the family. This also applies to Crown servants serving outside the UK in an OMS.

The change of circumstances can be referred by

• Contact Centres

• Child Benefit Office (CBO)

• Enquiry Centres

• The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP)

• The Department for Social Development ( DSD)

• Other teams within Tax Credit Office ( TCO)

And

• Direct contact from the claimant

The Complex Case Team will initially decide which country should be responsible for paying family benefits, and will liaise with CBO to ensure that there is consistency between the two departments.

If the change of circumstance results in the OMS becoming competent to pay family benefits, the claimant may still be entitled to a supplement of family benefits from the UK, if CTC and ChB combined are more than the family benefits payable in the OMS. The Complex Case Team will be responsible for paying any supplement of CTC and CBO will be responsible for paying any supplement of ChB

If the change of circumstance results in the UK becoming competent to pay family benefits, the claimant may be entitled to a supplement of family benefits from the OMS, if CTC and ChB combined are less than the family benefits payable in the OMS.

If the change of circumstance does not result in a change in the competent State, the Complex Case Team will process the change as normal, following the relevant guidance in Changes, depending on whether the claimant has reported a change of address or a change of employer.

If the change of circumstance results in the claimant no longer being entitled to tax credits, for example because the claimant(s) no longer have any links with the UK, the Complex Case Team will process the change following the guidance in Residency Criteria Not Met

Other change of circumstances will occur, which do not require the Complex Case Team to reconsider competency, for example the birth of a new baby. The Complex Case Team will process these changes as normal, following the relevant guidance in Changes. If payments are being made manually, the Complex Case team will

• Recalculate the manual payments to take account of the change of circumstance, using the SEES Tax Credit Entitlement Calculator and following the guidance in 'Payment and Accounting for Complex Cases'

• Need to issue the revised award notice to the claimant(s) manually

And

• Notify the OMS and appropriate CBO of any revised award of CTC by completing form TC694

The following Action Guide relates only to change of circumstances that require the Complex Case Team to reconsider the question of competency'