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If you have come to the UK from abroad, claiming benefits when you are not allowed to can have serious consequences. Below is basic information if you have leave to remain in the UK with a 'no recourse to public funds' condition or other circumstances when you may count as a 'person subject to immigration control' for benefit purposes. These terms are often misunderstood and have very specific meanings when it comes to benefit entitlement.
This information explains the basics of what these terms mean for benefit entitlement and the main groups of people they cover. You can find information on other CPAG webpages specifically on benefits for new refugees (including those granted humanitarian protection or discretionary leave outside the rules), benefits for resettled Afghans, benefits for resettled Ukrainians and rights to benefits and tax credits for European nationals. There is much more detail on the rights of all these groups in the CPAG's Benefits for Migrants Handbook (for subscribers).
Note that CPAG does not have expertise on or provide advice about immigration matters, only about how someone’s immigration status affects their benefit entitlement. Find out where you can get advice about immigration issues under More information, resources and advice below.
Most, but not all, benefits have residence and presence rules that you must meet to be entitled. Depending on which country you come from and your immigration status in the UK, these rules may stop you from getting the benefit entirely or for a certain period of time. The rules vary considerably between different benefits and there are no general rules about how long you must have been in the country before you can be entitled to benefits. If you are a British national who has been living abroad, these rules can also stop you from getting some benefits until you have been back in the country for some time.
In addition to the specific rules for individual benefits, you may be excluded from getting most benefits due to your current immigration status. If you have 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) as a condition of your current leave to remain in the UK granted by the Home Office, normally you should not claim any benefits listed as 'public funds'. A benefit is only a public fund if it is listed as such in the Home Office's Immigration Rules. A NRPF condition only applies if your current leave to remain says it does, eg on your biometric residence permit, eVisa or other Home Office documents. NRPF does not apply as a general rule to everyone who comes to the UK from abroad. However, even if you have no current NRPF condition, other rules about immigration status can treat you as a 'person subject to immigration control' (PSIC) and still prevent you claiming most of the same benefits. Note that all those with NRPF are PSICs, but not all PSICs have NRPF.
Having no recourse to public funds (NRPF) is a specific condition of being granted some types of leave to remain by the Home Office under UK immigration law. If you have come to the UK from abroad and have been granted leave to remain in the UK which is subject to a NRPF condition, the documents issued to you by the Home Office will say you have NRPF, eg on your biometric residence permit or eVisa. If your Home Office documents do not say you have NRPF, or you should have leave to remain in the UK but do not currently (eg you entered the UK without first getting leave to enter or remain, or you had leave to remain but it expired before making a further application), then you are not subject to a NRPF condition. If in doubt about whether a NRPF condition applies to your current leave to remain, seek specialist immigration - see More information, resources and advice below.
Examples of non-British nationals whose leave to remain is likely to have a NRPF condition (eg it says so on their Home Office documents) include:
Examples of non-British nationals who will not usually have NRPF include:
Note that just because your access to public funds is not restricted does not mean you have access to any or all benefits. You may still be excluded by other rules. For example, while asylum seekers are not usually subject to a NRPF condition they are still excluded from most benefits under the 'person subject to immigration control' rules.
If your current leave to remain was granted on the condition that you have NRPF, breaking that condition can have serious consequences both for your current stay in the UK and when making future applications for further leave to remain in the UK. You break a NRPF condition if either you are awarded public funds or someone else gets more of them due to your presence (including for a child who has NRPF). If you are subject to a NRPF condition, it is therefore very important to get advice before making or being included in a claim for any benefit defined as a public fund - see More information, resources and advice below.
There are some exceptions that may allow you in certain circumstances to claim some benefits that count as public funds, even if you have NRPF. However, those rules are complex so get advice first to check if any exception applies to you - see More information, resources and advice below.
Not all benefits are public funds. It is only those covered by the legislation specifically listed in the Home Office’s Immigration Rules that are defined as public funds. Therefore, if the benefit is not covered by the Immigration Rules, having a NRPF condition as part of your leave to remain does not stop you claiming it, although other rules may still prevent you being entitled. The list of public funds sometimes changes and has most recently been updated to include a number of devolved Scottish benefits.
The definition of public funds at present includes the following current benefits:
While other benefits are not listed as public funds, if you need to get one of the above to ‘passport’ you to that benefit then you are also effectively excluded from that benefit too.
Benefits that are not public funds include:
So even if you do have NRPF, you can still claim the benefits listed immediately above provided you meet all the other qualifying conditions for them. For example, if you’re working in the UK but have NRPF and have to take sick leave, you should be entitled to statutory sick pay for the first 28 weeks and then, if you have paid sufficient national insurance contributions, contributory ESA.
Note that as well as the benefits listed above as public funds, some other services are listed as public funds, such as some social housing or homelessness services.
If the leave to remain you had in the UK has expired and you did not make a new application for leave to remain before it did, then you do not currently have NRPF even if your expired leave to remain said you did. However, as you no longer have leave to remain in the UK, you are likely to be a ‘person subject to immigration control’ and so excluded from most of the same benefits for that reason instead. You should get urgent immigration advice if you do not currently have leave to remain and if you do attempt to make any benefit claims it is likely to bring you to the attention of the Home Office.
If the leave to remain you had in the UK has expired, it included a NRPF condition and you made a new application to the Home Office for leave to remain before it did, then your previous leave to remain continues to apply until the new application is decided. That means you continue to be subject to a NPRF condition.
If the leave to remain you had in the UK has expired, it did not include a NRPF condition and you made a new application to the Home Office for leave to remain before it did, then your previous leave to remain continues to apply until the new application is decided. That means you are still not subject to NRPF.
For the purposes of claiming benefits, you are not a person subject to immigration control (PSIC) just because you are a non-British national in the UK. PSIC has a specific meaning in social security law and only includes some people who have come to the UK from abroad.
The law says you are a PSIC if you fall into any of the following groups:
Therefore, people who are PSICs include:
People who are not PSICs include:
All those who have current leave to remain with a NRPF condition are PSICs but not all PSICs have NRPF.
Note that before 1 January 2021 you could not be a PSIC if you were a European Economic Area (EEA) national. From that date EEA nationals are no longer automatically not PSICs, but you will still not be a PSIC if you have leave under the EUSS (ie ‘settled’ or pre-settled’ status) or if you are otherwise in a ‘protected group’ who can still use EEA residence rights – see rights to benefits and tax credits for European nationals.
If you are a PSIC, usually you cannot claim certain benefits including:
Being a PSIC does not exclude you from other benefits (see for example those listed as not public funds above), but if entitlement to it depends on ‘passporting’ from one of the above then you may be effectively excluded. This list above is mainly the same as those listed as ‘public funds’ but does not include Scottish welfare fund (SWF) and several other Scottish benefits. But if you are a PSIC because you have NRPF, then you are also excluded from claiming all the other benefits listed as public funds. Note that while asylum seekers are PSICs but do not usually have NRPF, and so are not excluded from getting grants from the SWF for that reason, Scottish Government official guidance says they are excluded.
There are exceptions that allow PSICs to still be entitled to the benefits listed above in some circumstances. However, those rules are complex so get advice to see if any exception applies to you - see below.
To get specialist immigration advice you can search for a registered adviser in your area on the Immigration Advice Authority’s website: https://portal.immigrationadviceauthority.gov.uk/s/adviser-finder#. Solicitors and law centres may also provide immigration advice and you can look for specialists in your area on the Law Society of Scotland website at www.lawscot.org.uk/find-a-solicitor/ or the Scottish Legal Aid Board website at www.slab.org.uk/new-to-legal-aid/find-a-solicitor/. Some other agencies may also be permitted to provide immigration advice and you can search Advice Local at advicelocal.uk/ to find those in your area that do.
Independent benefits advice is available from agencies such as a local Citizen Advice Bureau or law centre. Housing association tenants often have access to their own support staff and specialist welfare rights officers who can help.
CPAG in Scotland does not provide information or advice about immigration matters, but if you are an adviser and need help with any benefits issues affecting those you support, you can contact CPAG for advice.
The following resources that may be useful when advising people from abroad:
Also see CPAG's Benefits for Migrants topic page.
