Check if you can get Universal Credit

If you’re in education or training you can’t usually get Universal Credit - but there are exceptions.

Check if you’re in education or training

You count as being in education or training if either:

• you’re in full-time higher education - this includes anything above A level

• you’re doing any full-time course where you get a loan or maintenance grant

• you’re doing any full-time or part-time course that stops you from doing your work-related requirements - check your work related requirements

You also count as being in education or training up to 1 September after your 19th birthday, if you do at least 12 hours work a week for either:

• school or college

• certain types of training course

You won’t count as being in education if you’re doing the training course as part of your job. You also might not count if you’ve been referred to the training course by the DWP, or it lasts less than 6 months.

If you’re studying but you’re not in any of the situations above, you won’t count as being in education or training. This means you should be able to get Universal Credit.

Exceptions that let you get Universal Credit while you’re in education

You can still get Universal Credit if at least one of the following applies: 

• you’ve reached State Pension age and you live with a partner who’s below State Pension age - check your State Pension age on GOV.UK

• your parents have died or you can’t live with them, and you aren’t in higher education - you must be under 21 years old, or 21 if you reached this age during your course

• you took time off because you were ill or had caring responsibilities, but you're now waiting to return to the course

• you get Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment or Child Disability Payment - and the DWP decided you have ‘limited capability for work’ before you started your course

• you look after a child under 16, or under 20 if they’re also in full-time education or training

• you’re a foster parent and have a child living with you

If you live with your partner

You can get Universal Credit while you’re in education if you live with your partner and one of the following applies to them:

• they’re not in education or training

• they’re in education or training, but they’re entitled to Universal Credit while they study

• they’re in education or training, and one of you is responsible for a child or is a foster parent

If you’ve had a migration notice 

If you’ve had a migration notice telling you to move to Universal Credit from other benefits, you can get Universal Credit while you’re in education. You can usually get Universal Credit until your course ends.

You can only get Universal Credit if your immigration status lets you claim public funds. In some situations you also need a ‘right to reside’.

You can 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 have pre-settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme, you can claim public funds - but you also need to show you have a right to reside to get Universal Credit. Check if you have a right to reside.

If you’ve applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and you’re waiting for a decision,  you can claim public funds - but you also need to show you have a right to reside to get  Universal Credit. Check if you have a right to reside.

If you have any other immigration status, check if your immigration status lets you claim public funds.

Applying as a couple

If you and your partner are making a joint claim for Universal Credit then you both need to be eligible. You’ll both need to be habitually resident, and have either settled status or a right to reside.

If one of you isn’t eligible, the other person can still apply for Universal Credit. They should make a joint claim because the DWP need to know about both your incomes.

When the DWP process the claim, they’ll change it to a single claim. This means you or your partner will be paid as if you’re a single person.

If you've both reached State Pension age, it's usually best for you to claim Pension Credit. You can check what your State Pension age is on GOV.UK.

You can talk to an adviser if you’re not sure which benefit to claim - they can help you work out when you’ll be better off.

If you’re paying rent

If you’ve both reached State Pension age and you’re paying rent, you might be able to get Housing Benefit. You should check if you can get Housing Benefit.

If only one of you has reached State Pension age

If only one of you has reached State Pension age, you usually can’t claim Pension Credit or Housing Benefit. You’ll often need to claim Universal Credit instead.

There’s an exception if both of the following apply:

• one of you reached State Pension age before 15 May 2019

• you’ve been claiming Housing Benefit or Pension Credit as part of the same couple since before 15 May 2019

There’s also an exception if the younger partner can't get Universal Credit because of their immigration status. In this situation, the older partner can claim Pension Credit or Housing Benefit as a single person.

Check if the younger partner's immigration status lets them get benefits.

If either one of you are getting Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, you can keep getting it unless you get a migration notice. If you aren't already getting Pension Credit, you can make a new claim for Pension Credit. If you pay rent you should also check if you can claim Housing Benefit.

There’s another exception that means you won’t have to apply for Universal Credit instead. This applies if the person who hasn’t reached State Pension age is getting:

• Income Support

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

They can keep getting it unless they get a migration notice.

If your circumstances change your benefit might end. If you're sent a migration notice, the benefit you're getting will end and you'll need to claim Universal Credit instead.

You might be able to claim Universal Credit if you meet all the other conditions and also one of these:

• you can’t work because you’re disabled or ill - you’ll need to give the DWP medical evidence showing this

• you have a child - or are expecting a baby in the next 11 weeks

• you care for a severely disabled person

• your parents have died or you can't live with them - for example if your relationship has broken down or your health would be at risk

You won’t need to look for work as part of your Universal Credit claim if both of the following apply:

• you're in full time education or training

• you don’t have a parent, foster parent or local authority looking after you

You’ll need to give evidence to show that the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man is your main home. This is known as being ‘habitually resident’. You have to do this even if you’re a British citizen.

Check how to prove you’re habitually resident.