Veterans residing in Denmark

Under the agreement with Denmark clients can be paid the New Zealand Veteran's Pension when they are living in Denmark.

Clients can apply for Veteran's Pension to be paid in Denmark before their departure from New Zealand, or from Denmark. Payment cannot be backdated so clients should be encouraged to apply before they leave New Zealand.

To get Veteran's Pension paid in Denmark, a client must:

• be entitled to or getting Veterans Pension
• be aged 65 or older
• be ordinarily resident in Denmark or New Zealand and present in Denmark or New Zealand at the time they apply for payment from overseas
• have the intention of remaining ordinarily resident in Denmark for at least 26 weeks and
• have resided continuously in New Zealand for at least 12 months since age 20

The client can use their periods of residence in Denmark since the age of 20 to meet the residence qualification for Veterans Pension.

If a client leaves New Zealand intending to live in Denmark for 26 weeks or more, they have up to 26 weeks to take up residence in Denmark. Clients may go to other countries before they get to Denmark, but they must arrive in Denmark within 26 weeks from the date they left New Zealand to be considered as ordinarily resident in Denmark on the date they left New Zealand.

Example

A client may want to have a three-month holiday in the United Kingdom before taking up residence in Denmark.

In this example, the client would be considered to be ordinarily resident in Denmark for the purposes of deciding their application for payment of Veteran's Pension in Denmark.

Clients getting Veteran's Pension in Denmark will need to complete a Mandatory Review 52 weeks from when the payment commenced, and 52 weeks from when the client's last Mandatory Review was completed.

For more information contact International Services.