Methodology

1. Contact

What we ask. How may a former member now living abroad contact you, in writing, from outside the country?

What evidence counts. A written route that a person outside the country can actually use: a published email address, a web form that accepts a foreign address and a foreign telephone number, a postal address, or a portal open to non-residents. What we record is where that route is published, because a member can only use a route they can find.

How it scores.

• 3, a written route is published on the authority's own contact page, in a place a member looking for it would reach, and the authority confirms it in writing.
• 2, a written route is published on the authority's own website but only outside the contact pages, for example in a privacy policy, a data protection notice, a freedom of information page, a transparency page or a downloadable form.
• 1, a written route exists but is published only by a third party, for example another government's liaison directory, an international body, or an embassy, and not by the authority itself.
• 0, a published address that does not accept mail is scored 0, as is a system where no written route is published anywhere we could find, or where the only published route requires a domestic address, a domestic telephone number, or attendance in person.
• Unknown, we could not establish the position and the authority has not told us.

A route that exists but cannot be found is not a route. We score where the address is published, not whether we were able to find it.

An address that is published is not necessarily an address that works. Two of the addresses in this study were published by official government directories and are dead: one returned mailbox closed, one was rejected outright. Where we have written to an address, we record whether the message was delivered.

An authority that publishes no address on its contact page and prints one in its privacy policy has not failed to publish. It has chosen where to publish. We record that choice.

2. Identity

What we ask. Can that person establish their identity to you without a national digital identity credential, and if not what is the alternative?

What evidence counts. A stated alternative to a national digital identity credential, for example a certified passport copy, a consular attestation, or a notarised form. Evidence is the authority's own written statement or its published procedure.

How it scores.

• 2, identity can be established from abroad without a national digital credential, by a route the authority states.
• 1, an alternative exists but requires a domestic intermediary, a domestic notary, or an appointment at a mission.
• 0, the national digital credential is the only accepted route and it is not obtainable from abroad.
• Unknown, neither the published procedure nor the authority states what an applicant without the credential should do.

3. Presence

What we ask. Can a claim be completed in full without the person physically appearing in the country?

What evidence counts. A statement, or a published procedure, on whether the process can be completed end to end without the person travelling to the country.

How it scores.

• 2, the process can be completed in full from abroad.
• 1, the process can be started from abroad but one step requires attendance, whether at a branch, a court or a mission.
• 0, attendance in the country is required.
• Unknown, presence requirements are not stated anywhere we can find and the authority has not answered.

4. Death

What we ask. Where a member has died abroad, what is the route for their heirs and what documents are required?

What evidence counts. A named route for heirs and a stated list of documents. A general statement that heirs should make contact is not evidence of a route.

How it scores.

• 2, a route for heirs abroad is stated, with the documents named.
• 1, a route is stated but the documents are not named, or the documents are named but the route assumes heirs are resident.
• 0, no route exists for heirs outside the country.
• Unknown, the authority has not answered and nothing is published.

5. Discovery

What we ask. Is there any register, statement or service through which a person may discover an entitlement they have forgotten?

What evidence counts. A register, a periodic statement, or a service through which a person may learn of an entitlement they had forgotten. It counts only where a person can reach it from abroad, or where the authority states it will answer a written request from abroad.

How it scores.

• 2, a discovery route exists and is usable from abroad.
• 1, a discovery route exists but is only usable with domestic credentials or a domestic address.
• 0, no discovery route exists, so a person must already know which institution holds their record.
• Unknown, we cannot establish whether a discovery route exists.

6. Responsiveness

What we ask. Did the authority answer, and how quickly, within the period given to it.

What evidence counts. Our own outbound record and the reply itself. Both dates are published in the entry, so the score can be checked against them.

How it scores.

• 2, a substantive answer within the period given.
• 1, an acknowledgement, a partial answer, or a referral to another body within the period.
• 0, no answer by the deadline, or a refusal to answer.
• Unknown is not available on this dimension, because we hold our own sending record either way.