Check if your immigration status lets you get benefits and help with housing

If you’re not a British citizen, you should check if your immigration status lets you claim ‘public funds’. Public funds include most benefits, applying for social housing or making a homeless application.

You should also check what you can do if you can claim public funds but you have a partner or child who can’t.

If you’re struggling because you’re not allowed to claim public funds, there might be other support you can get. You might also be able to apply to get access to public funds.

If you’ve recently arrived in the UK

For some benefits, you must have been living in the UK for a certain amount of time before you can claim - for example Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

To claim many other benefits or get help with housing, you need to show the UK is your main home and you plan to stay here. This is known as being ‘habitually resident’ in the UK. It’s harder to show you’re habitually resident if you’ve recently arrived in the UK - unless you were living in Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

You have to meet these requirements even if you’re allowed to claim public funds. If you have refugee status or humanitarian protection, you will not have to meet these requirements.

Check the rules for the benefit you want to claim.

Check if your immigration status lets you claim public funds

You’re always allowed to claim public funds if you have any of the following:

• British or Irish citizenship

• settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme

• indefinite leave - unless you came to the UK on an adult dependent relative visa

• refugee status or humanitarian protection

• right of abode

If you don’t have a right to be in the UK, you can’t claim public funds.

If you have any other immigration status

Check your immigration documents, including:

• your biometric residence permit

• your decision letter from the Home Office

• your online immigration status if you have one

You’re not usually allowed to claim public funds if it says ‘no public funds’ or ‘no recourse to public funds’ on your documents. This is called having a ‘no public funds condition’.

If your immigration documents don’t say you have a no public funds condition, you can claim public funds.

If you came to the UK as a visitor, you have a no public funds condition. This includes if you scanned your passport at an ‘eGate’ and didn’t get any immigration documents.

If your visa has ended

The rules depend on whether you applied to change or extend your visa before it ended.

If you applied before your visa ended and you’re waiting for a decision, you still have the same rights as under your old visa. Check your documents to see if you were allowed to claim public funds.

If you didn’t apply to change or extend your visa on time, you can’t claim public funds. If you were already getting benefits, you need to tell your benefits provider your visa has ended - they will stop your benefits. If you don’t tell them, you’ll have to pay the benefits back later. Check what you can do if your visa has ended.

Check what benefits are included in public funds

If you’re not allowed to claim public funds, this includes claiming any of the following benefits from the government:

• Universal Credit

• Pension Credit

• Child Benefit

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

• Attendance Allowance

• Carer’s Allowance

• Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments

• Funeral Payments

• Sure Start Maternity Grants

You’re also not allowed to claim the following benefits that Universal Credit is replacing:

• tax credits - unless it’s a joint claim with a partner who is allowed to claim public funds

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Income Support

You’re also not allowed to claim any of the following benefits from your local council:

• Housing Benefit

• Council Tax Reduction - or Council Tax Support or Council Tax Benefit

• Discretionary Welfare Payments

• welfare assistance or payments from the Household Support Fund

Check what help with housing counts as public funds

If you’re not allowed to claim public funds, this includes applying for council housing or making a homeless application to your local council.

It doesn’t count as claiming public funds if you apply for key worker housing - for example if you’re a nurse.

It also doesn’t count as claiming public funds if you’re housed by your local council because either:

• your child’s health or development is at risk - you’ll be housed under the ‘Children Act’

• you’re disabled and need help - you’ll be housed under the ‘Care Act’

If you apply for public funds when you’re not allowed to

Your application for public funds will usually be refused.

The Home Office might refuse any immigration applications you make in the future. They might refuse an application to:

• extend your visa

• change to a different visa

• get a permanent right to live in the UK - this is called ‘indefinite leave’

In rare cases, the Home Office might take you to court or end your visa early.

If you’re worried that you’ve claimed public funds when you weren’t allowed to, talk to an adviser.

If your partner or child can’t claim public funds

There are extra rules if you can claim public funds but your partner or child can’t.

Claiming benefits

Some benefits aren’t affected by your partner or child. You can claim the following benefits for yourself:

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

• Attendance Allowance

• Carer’s Allowance

If your child isn’t allowed to claim public funds, you can’t claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for them.

The rules are more complicated for other benefits - for example Universal Credit. If you get more money from benefits because of your partner or child, this might make it difficult for them to extend their visa or get indefinite leave. Talk to an adviser before you claim other benefits, or if you’re worried because you’ve already claimed them.

Applying for council housing or making a homeless application

You’re allowed to apply, but it will make it more difficult for your partner or children to extend their visa or get indefinite leave. Talk to an adviser before you apply, or if you’re worried because you’ve already applied.

Check what help you can get if you’re not allowed to claim public funds

You’re allowed to claim benefits that don’t count as public funds. This includes:

• new style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• new style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• State Pension

• bereavement benefit

• discretionary Council Tax reductions

You can use other public services - for example you can send your children to state schools.

If you have permission to be in the UK, you can use the NHS without paying - unless you have a visitor visa or you entered the UK as a visitor using an eGate. You can check the full rules about using the NHS if you’re from abroad on the NHS website.

Getting a no public funds condition removed

You might be able to apply to remove the condition if one of the following applies:

• you won’t have enough money to feed yourself or your family - or afford somewhere to live

• your child’s welfare might be harmed because of your low income

• you don’t have enough money to live on because of exceptional circumstances - for example, if you have extra costs because you’re disabled

If you’re not on a partner, parent or British National (Overseas) visa, you also have to show it's not reasonable for you to go to the country where you're a citizen.

If you’re ready to apply, you can get the form to remove the no public funds condition on GOV.UK. You can find advice about how to apply further down on the GOV.UK page, starting where it says ‘Evidence required’.

If you need help to apply or you’re not sure if you should apply, get help from a specialist adviser.

If you’ve experienced domestic abuse

You and your children might be able to apply for indefinite leave if your relationship with your partner has ended because of domestic abuse. Check what domestic abuse is.

You must have either:

• a partner visa - this doesn’t include fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visas

• pre-settled status as a partner or dependant child of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

You can usually apply to access benefits while you’re applying for indefinite leave. This is called applying under the ‘migrant victims of domestic abuse' (MVDA) concession.

Check the rules about applying for indefinite leave if you've experienced domestic abuse.

Extending a partner or parent visa if you’re struggling with money

If you don’t have enough money to live on, this might also affect:

• how you apply to extend your visa

• when you can apply for indefinite leave

If you have a partner or parent visa, you’ll be on either the ‘5-year route’ or the ‘10-year route’ to settlement in the UK. This affects when you can apply for indefinite leave.

If you’re not sure which route you’re on, check the letter that came with your visa or permit. If it doesn’t say which route you’re on, you’re probably on the 5-year route.

If you’re on the 5-year route, you’ll need to have a certain amount of income or savings when you apply to extend your visa or get indefinite leave. This is called the ‘financial requirement’. You need to meet the financial requirement even if the no public funds condition is removed.

If you don't meet the financial requirement, you’ll need to apply to move to the 10-year route instead. This means you’ll have to wait longer before you can get indefinite leave. Talk to an adviser if you want to move to the 10-year route.