•If your circumstances involve more than one European Economic Area (EEA) state (or the UK and an EEA state), your benefit entitlements may be affected by the European Union (EU) co-ordination rules.

•The EU co-ordination rules are most relevant when you have moved to the UK from an EEA country or vice versa.

•This Handbook uses the phrase ‘EU co-ordination rules’ to refer to five sets of co-ordination rules, which can currently apply. They provide similar social security rights and require similar conditions to be met, but differ in terms of who, which countries and which benefits each covers, and how they can affect entitlements.