TCTM02875 - Entitlement: Tax credits and European Law: Orphans - Article 69 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004

Article 69(1) of Regulation (EC) 883/2004

Article 69 provides the rules to be applied in establishing which Member State (MS) is responsible for paying Orphans benefits

Article 69(1) of Regulation (EU) 883/2004

If under the legislation designated by virtue of Articles 67 and 68, no right is acquired to the payment of additional or special family benefits for orphans, such benefits shall be paid by default, and in addition to the other family benefits acquired in accordance with the abovementioned legislation, under the legislation of the Member State to which the deceased worker was subject for the longest period of time, in so far as the right was acquired under that legislation. If no right was acquired under that legislation, the conditions for the acquisition of such right under the legislations of the other Member States shall be examined and benefits provided in decreasing order of the length of periods of insurance or residence completed under the legislation of those Member States.

For the purpose of applying Article 69, a child is classed as an orphan if either one or both parents is or are deceased.

Where a person is entitled to claim family benefits from a MS in respect of an orphan, but that MS does not provide additional or special family benefits for orphans, competency will switch to the MS whose legislation the deceased was subject to for the longest period of time, provided that additional or special family benefits for orphans are available, and also provided that there is a right to special or additional family benefits in that MS.

If no right to benefits is acquired under the legislation of that MS, competency will switch to any other MS whose legislation the deceased was subject to or in whose territory the deceased was resident, provided that additional or special family benefits for orphans are available, and also provided that there is a right to benefits in that MS.

If there is more than one such other MS, the order of priority will be determined according to the legislation of the MS that the deceased was subject to or in whose territory the deceased was resident, for the longest period of time.

Note: For UK purposes, Guardian’s Allowance is classified as an ‘additional or special family benefit for orphans’.