What you need to know
At some point in your Service career, you could be deployed to an operational location for a long period of time. When this happens, your immediate family can claim back travel costs when they visit close family. ‘Immediate family’ is defined as your spouse, civil partner or dependent children under 18. ‘Close family’ means your or your spouse's/civil partner's parents, grandparents or siblings.
The entitlement for this allowance can also be transferred to provide travel costs for up to two close family members when they travel to visit the duty station where your immediate family are living.
It is important that you have read and understood JSP 752 Tri-Service Regulations for Expenses and Allowances (chapter 11, section 2) before proceeding.
Concessionary Travel for Immediate Families is available to all Service people except those in Seagoing Longer Separation Allowance Qualifying Units who are entitled to use transferred get you home seagoers warrants.
Full Time Reserve Service (Full Commitment) and mobilised personnel are eligible, but other Reserve personnel and Military Provost Guard Service personnel are not, except in certain compassionate circumstances.
Your family will be provided with the travel tickets they need to reach their destination. The number of journeys you can claim for depends on the length of time you’re away, and whether your permanent assignment is in the UK or overseas.
For example, a deployment of more than 119 days but less than 6 months would result in 2 return journeys for the family of a Service person permanently assigned to the UK. A 9 month deployment would result in 4 return journeys, and a 12 month deployment would result in 6 return journeys.
You won’t be able to claim this benefit if you claim Get You Home (Seagoers) and are entitled to use transferred Get You Home (Seagoers) warrants.
What you need to do
If you have a Defence Gateway account you can submit expenses from your own personal device on the MyExpenses app (part of the My Series).
You can also claim on JPA. If you are claiming expenses for using your own private vehicle, please follow the guidance for Motor Mileage Allowance, if you are claiming other travel please follow Submitting an iExpense guidance.
If you don’t have access to JPA or a Defence Gateway account then need to complete JPA Form 016 selecting one of the Expense Types 14-22 and XXX Type of Claim and submitting to them.
