No Recourse to Public Funds: What You Can and Cannot Claim

If your permission to enter or stay in the UK includes a no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition, you will not be able to claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state. There are exceptions for some benefits.

The Immigration Act lets limited permission to enter or stay be given subject to a condition requiring you to maintain and accommodate yourself, and any dependants, without recourse to public funds. NRPF is a standard condition applied to most categories of temporary immigration permission. People who do not have permission to be in the UK and require it also have no recourse to public funds.

The majority of temporary migrants, for example those coming to visit, study or work in the UK, are granted permission subject to an NRPF condition, and people without lawful status, such as those who entered the UK illegally or overstayed their visa, are also unable to access public funds.

• In general, only British citizens and other permanent residents, such as Irish nationals, those with indefinite permission to enter or stay and those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, are entitled to access public funds.
• Some migrants with temporary permission to stay, such as refugees, those granted humanitarian protection and those with discretionary permission, may also be able to access public funds, if eligible, in the same way as British citizens and other permanent residents.
• People who have had the NRPF condition lifted by a change of conditions application may also be able to access public funds, if eligible, in the same way as British citizens and other permanent residents.

Your eVisa is a digital record of the conditions of your status, for example if you are allowed to work or study in the UK. Our eVisa guide explains how to get into your online account.

Public funds for immigration purposes include Universal Credit, State Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Housing Benefit. They also include Child Benefit, social housing and homelessness assistance, council tax reduction schemes and a discretionary payment made by a local authority under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011.

Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules set out what counts as a public fund for immigration purposes. Section 115 says a person subject to immigration control is not entitled to benefits such as Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Child Benefit, unless they fall within a category or description set out in regulations. That includes someone whose leave to enter or remain is subject to a condition that they do not have recourse to public funds.

The Home Office list also includes these, which you will not usually be able to claim with an NRPF condition:

• ✗No: Health in Pregnancy Grant
• ✗No: Social Fund payments made in England and Wales: Maternity Expenses Payment, Funeral Expenses Payment, Cold Weather Payment, Winter Fuel Payment and Budgeting Loan Payment
• ✗No: Severe Disablement Allowance, which is closed to new claims
• ✗No: Income Based Employment and Support Allowance, Income Based Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support, which are closed to new claims
• ✗No: Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, which are closed to new claims

Public funds do not include benefits that are based on National Insurance contributions, and people with no recourse to public funds who have paid the necessary National Insurance contributions or have relevant periods of employment or self-employment can claim contributory benefits and statutory payments.

The Home Office says these are not considered public funds for immigration purposes:

• ✓Yes: New-Style Jobseeker's Allowance
• ✓Yes: New Style Employment and Support Allowance
• ✓Yes: Maternity Allowance
• ✓Yes: State Pension
• ✓Yes: Statutory Sick Pay
• ✓Yes: Bereavement Support Payment
• ✓Yes: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• ✓Yes: Statutory parental payments: Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
• ✓Yes: Guardian's Allowance, if you receive Child Benefit
• ✓Yes: Free school meals, because children from households with NRPF may be eligible to receive them

As with all benefits, you must satisfy the eligibility criteria set by the department that administers the benefit, and other benefits, payments and services may fall outside the definition of public funds. If you do not qualify for most benefits, also known as having no recourse to public funds, your child may still be eligible for free school meals, so ask their school or local authority whether they are eligible.

See our guides to Universal Credit eligibility and Child Benefit for what each benefit asks of you.

People with settled status or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are not subject to the NRPF condition, but eligibility for certain benefits depends on a person with pre-settled status showing a qualifying right to reside. People with pre-settled status may be able to get Universal Credit on a case-by-case basis if they have no qualifying right to reside and would otherwise be destitute.

Our EU Settlement Scheme guide explains how pre-settled status becomes settled status.

The Immigration Act lists a condition restricting your work or occupation and a condition requiring you to maintain and accommodate yourself without recourse to public funds as separate conditions that limited permission may be given subject to. Your eVisa is a digital record of the conditions of your status, for example if you are allowed to work or study in the UK.

You can apply online for a change to your conditions if your financial circumstances change and you have permission to stay on the basis of your family or private life, have permission to stay with a close relative with protection status as a child, or hold a British National (Overseas) visa.

Under the Immigration Rules you can apply on any of these grounds:

• ✓Yes: You are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution
• ✓Yes: There are reasons relating to a child's welfare which mean you need access to public funds
• ✓Yes: You are facing exceptional circumstances affecting your income or expenditure

You can also apply while you wait for a decision on an application for permission to stay, if you had permission granted on the basis of your family or private life or as a British National (Overseas) visa holder when you made it, and you are in urgent need of access to public funds. If you have permission in another category you can apply on discretionary grounds, and the Home Office says cases that meet the threshold of particularly compelling circumstances are rare.

You should provide evidence of your financial circumstances and living arrangements, which could include:

• 6 months bank statements for all accounts held by all members of your household, even those belonging to children or ones that are rarely used, with an explanation of any significant and regular transactions
• Recent pay slips accounting for the last 6 months
• A breakdown of monthly income and expenditure
• A recent tenancy agreement or mortgage statement
• Recent utility and other relevant bills
• A recent P45 or P60
• A letter confirming duration of employment, hours worked and salary, in which the person writing states their position in the company and gives contact details
• A recent letter from a local authority confirming that support is being provided
• A recent letter from a registered charity or other organisation providing support
• Recent letters from family or friends who are providing support, giving full details regarding the extent of this and how often it is provided
• A recent letter confirming that you or your spouse or partner is in receipt of public funds

If your request is successful your conditions of stay will be amended to allow you to receive public funds. If you have permission to stay under the 5 year partner or parent route and are granted access to public funds you will remain on the 5 year route. Your circumstances will be reassessed when you apply for further permission, and you will need to meet all requirements of the relevant rules at the time, including any financial requirements.

If you are granted recourse to public funds on a discretionary basis you will remain within the same immigration route as when you were granted permission. To stay on that route you will need to meet all requirements of the relevant rules at the time you apply for further permission, including any financial requirements.

If you successfully apply to change the conditions attached to your British National (Overseas) visa, it will not affect your ability to apply for settlement through the BNO route after 5 years of living in the UK.

• When assessing child welfare reasons, the Home Office looks at the evidence and considers whether your income is enough to meet your child's needs, how being unable to access public funds is affecting your child's wellbeing and whether they are being deprived of something of recognised benefit normal for a child.
• Exceptional circumstances means compelling evidence that there is something exceptional about your financial circumstances which means you need to access public funds, even though you are not destitute or at risk of imminent destitution and there are no child welfare reasons.
• The Home Office says cases that meet this threshold are likely to be rare.

You can get help with completing the online form if you do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device or do not have internet access, you can only use the service if you are currently in the UK, and you cannot get immigration advice through the service. See our legal aid guide and our guide to finding a regulated immigration adviser.

It may be considered that there has been a breach of an NRPF condition where a person subject to the condition has received a benefit listed as a public fund for immigration purposes, and this breach could have an impact on a person's status or future immigration applications. There are several situations in which receiving a public fund would not result in a breach of an NRPF condition, for example exceptions for nationals from certain countries with reciprocal social security agreements.

If you make an in-time application to extend your permission you will usually have section 3C leave, and in general any conditions attached to your existing permission, such as permission to work or no recourse to public funds, continue to apply.

The cross-government guidance for councils covers England only. In England it says:

• The duty under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to support children in need applies to children in families subject to an NRPF condition and those with no lawful status, and the presence of an NRPF condition must not be a barrier to councils in England carrying out that duty.
• Under the Care Act 2014 a council in England must assess the care and support needs of adults living in its area regardless of their immigration status, but it may not meet needs that arise solely because the adult is destitute or from the physical effects of being destitute.
• Social housing and homelessness assistance are public funds, so people with an NRPF condition are generally not eligible, but councils must still give information and advice about the housing and support options that may be available to everyone in their district, whatever their immigration status.
• Councils must also consider whether they have other statutory duties or discretionary powers to accommodate people who are ineligible for homelessness assistance, for example where a household includes children or where a person has care and support needs.
• The Education Act 1996 requires all children of compulsory school age in an area of England to receive suitable full-time education regardless of immigration status, and a school cannot claim prejudice to refuse admission because of a child's immigration status.
• Asylum seekers do not have access to public funds, but a separate support system is in place for them, and asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute can obtain support from the Home Office while their claim and any appeal is being considered.

• The Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession gives eligible migrant partners on family, work or study visas who self-identify as victims of domestic abuse three months Leave Outside the Rules with access to public funds, and during that period they may apply for a new immigration route or prepare to leave the UK.
• The Support for Migrant Victims Scheme is a Home Office funded programme that supports migrant victims of domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds, including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and immigration support.
• Southall Black Sisters and their delivery partners deliver the scheme across the UK.
• The National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247 can give a list of agencies.

Our guide to spouse visas when a relationship ends covers settling after domestic abuse, and our care needs assessment guide covers asking your council for an assessment.

The Home Office list of public funds includes Social Security Scotland benefits and payments made in Northern Ireland as well as payments made in England and Wales.

In Scotland the Home Office list of public funds includes these Social Security Scotland benefits and payments:

• ✗No: Child Disability Payment
• ✗No: Adult Disability Payment
• ✗No: Carer's Allowance Supplement
• ✗No: Scottish Child Payment
• ✗No: Funeral Support Payment
• ✗No: Job Start Payment
• ✗No: Child Winter Heating Assistance
• ✗No: Winter Heating Payment
• ✗No: Carer's Support Payment
• ✗No: Pension Age Disability Payment
• ✗No: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
• ✗No: Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance
• ✗No: A payment made from a welfare fund under the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015

In Northern Ireland the Home Office list of public funds includes:

• ✗No: A discretionary support payment made under regulations made under article 135 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015
• ✗No: Social Fund payments: Sure Start Maternity Grant Payment, Funeral Expenses Payment, Cold Weather Payment, Winter Fuel Payment and Budgeting Loan Payment