Welfare Benefits

From 5 October 2023, the Immigration Rules list ‘public funds’ as: 

• Universal Credit 
• Personal Independence Payment 
• Help with housing from the local authority 
• Attendance allowance 
• Carer's allowance  
• Child benefit 
• Council tax reduction (Note that 'council tax reduction' is different from being exempt from council tax. If your dwelling is 'exempt' from council tax, or you are 'disregarded' for the purpose of council tax, then you are not receiving a council tax reduction. See Council tax). 
• Domestic rate relief (in Northern Ireland) 
• Disability living allowance 
• Housing benefit 
• Income support 
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance 
• Income-based employment and support allowance  
• Severe disablement allowance 
• Social fund maternity expenses payment or Social Fund sure start maternity grant, Social Fund funeral expenses payment, Social Fund cold weather payment, Social Fund winter fuel payment, or Social Fund budgeting loan payment 
• discretionary payment made by a local authority in England under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 (but not energy rebate scheme payments in England) 
• discretionary support payments made in accordance with regulations made under article 135 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 
• payment from a welfare fund under the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015 
• Child tax credit 
• Working tax credit 
• State pension credit 
• Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Carer's Allowance Supplement, Scottish Child Payment, Funeral Support Payment, Job Start Payment, Child Winter Heating Assistance, or Winter Heating Payment (all are in Scotland only) 

Note that the benefits and services listed as ‘public funds’ above do not include access to the National Health Service, education, or any education funding (for example, being assessed as a ‘home’ fee-payer or being eligible for student support) - so if you are entitled to any of these things, you would not be in breach of your immigration conditions if you claimed them. For information on health benefits, please see Health and healthcare. 

You will see that the list of ‘public funds’ does not include some of the more unusual benefits. So, if you have worked in the UK, then you might be able to claim a benefit based on National Insurance contributions (for example, statutory sick pay), or if you are pregnant or have recently given birth you might be able to claim a maternity benefit such as maternity allowance or statutory maternity pay. Do not make a claim without first getting advice about it from your institution, Students’ Union Student Advice Service, Citizens Advice bureau or Law Centre. 

If you receive ‘public funds’, you may be in breach of your immigration conditions. Breaching an immigration condition is a criminal offence and could lead to serious immigration problems, including removal from the UK, difficulties with getting an immigration extension, or not being allowed to come back to the UK for a specified period of time. 

Some international students are encouraged to apply for benefits by agencies which are not aware that they are in the UK with immigration permission as a Student, and that it would be a breach of their immigration conditions to claim the benefit. For example, if a student or their partner has a baby in the UK, the midwife, hospital or social work staff may encourage them to apply for Child Benefit, when in fact the student is not usually permitted to claim this.