The EU provisions on social security

7. How do the coordination <strong>provisions</strong>
work in practice
Sections 1 to 6 of this guide deal with the purpose, principles and content of the <strong>EU</strong>
<strong>provisions</strong> on social security. This section provides you with some general information
on how the <strong>provisions</strong> work in practice, to help you claim your rights.
7.1. Portable documents
When dealing with administrative cases involving cross-border elements, social security
institutions often need to exchange information with institutions in other member
states. Most data is exchanged directly between them. However, in certain cases the
information you require may be issued in the form of a document which you can then
present to the institutions of other member states. <strong>The</strong>se portable documents, which
currently take the form of paper forms (however, they may be issued via other media in
future), allow you to prove your entitlement to a certain number of rights when moving
within Europe. <strong>The</strong>y are listed in the following table.
<strong>The</strong> portable documents are usually issued upon your request. However, if you forget to
ask for the appropriate document before leaving, this will not prevent you from claiming
benefits: the institution of the other member state will obtain the necessary data
directly from the competent institution of your own state. However, this might cause
some delay to the decision on your claim.
7.2. Dealing with several member states
When dealing with the social security systems of several member states (e.g. posted
workers, frontier workers) you may find it difficult to submit a claim within the required
deadline to an authority, an institution or a tribunal of a specific member state. This
could lead to a partial or total loss of your entitlement to the benefit under the national
laws of that state. In order to avoid such undesirable consequences, the coordination
<strong>provisions</strong> ensure that your claim will be admissible if you submit it within the same
deadline to a corresponding authority, institution or tribunal of another member state
(where you are staying or residing, for example). Your claim will then be forwarded without
delay to the competent state.
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