Statistics on migrants and benefits

Standard Note:

SN06955

Last updated:

27 November 2014

Author:

Roderick McInnes

Section

Social and General Statistics

This note collates the main data available on UK benefits paid to migrants or in respect of
children living abroad.

Contents
1

Introduction

DWP working-age benefits paid to migrants

Table 1: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working age benefit claimants by

world area of origin, Great Britain

Table 2a: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working-age claimants by client

group and world area of origin, GB, 2014

Table 2b: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working-age claimants by client

group and world area of origin, GB, 2011 & 2013

Table 3a: Non-UK nationals at NINo registration: DWP working age benefits by
client group and top 40 nationalities, Feb 2014

Table 3b: Non-UK nationals at NINo registration: DWP working age benefits by
client group and top 20 nationalities, Feb 2011 and Feb 2013
3

Child and Working Tax Credits

8
9

Table 4a: Nationality at NINo registration: families receiving Child Tax Credit
(CTC) and/or Working Tax Credit (WTC) as of March 2014, by world area of
origin, UK

10

Table 4b: Nationality at NINo registration: families receiving Child Tax Credit
(CTC) and/or Working Tax Credit (WTC) as of March 2013, by world area of
This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties
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updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for
it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is
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origin, UK

11

Child Benefit

12

UK family benefits for children resident elsewhere in the EEA

12

Table 5: Child Benefit claims under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of

children living in another EEA member state (or Switzerland)

13

Table 6: Child tax credit claims under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of

children living in another EEA member state (or Switzerland)

14

Asylum support

15

Further reading

15

Introduction

The UK's benefit payment systems do not systematically record the nationality of benefit
claimants, as nationality is not in and of itself a criterion of eligibility for benefits. Attempts to
obtain an official estimate of the total annual cost of welfare benefits issued to immigrants to
the UK or non-UK nationals have been unsuccessful for this reason.1
Consequently we do not have a complete picture of the number of migrants to the UK or
foreign nationals in the UK who receive UK social security benefits and tax credits, or the
cost of this. The main figures that are available are set out in this note.

DWP working-age benefits paid to migrants

The DWP has in recent years conducted a series of data-matching exercises which show the
number of claimants of DWP-administered working-age benefits (encompassing out-of-work,
disability, carer and bereavement benefits) who were non-UK-nationals when they first
registered for a UK National Insurance number (NINo). This is not the same as those who
are currently non-UK nationals, as some of these will have subsequently obtained British
nationality. Moreover, this measure does not capture foreign-born individuals who were
naturalised (obtained UK nationality) prior to NINo registration.
The most recent NINo-based analysis was published in August 2014:
NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to June 2014,
DWP, 28 August 2014.
The headline figures for all working-age DWP benefit claimants, broken down into broad
geographical groupings, are shown in table 1 (below).

As of February 2014, of the 5.3 million working-age claimants in the DWP benefit
client group, 7.4% (395,420) were non-UK nationals when they first registered for a
NINo.

Within this group, 130,990 claimants (2.5% of the total client group) were EU
nationals when they first registered for a NINo, and 264,430 claimants (5.0% of the
total) were non-EU nationals.

There were 67,270 claimants from the EU accession countries that joined the EU
from 2004 onwards these accounted for 1.3% of all claimants.

Table 2 shows a breakdown by benefit type. As of February 2014 11.7% of JSA claimants
were of non-UK origin (5.7% EU and 6.0% non-EU).
Table 3a shows the top 40 countries of origin for claimants of working-age benefits in
February 2014 who were non-UK nationals at point of NINo registration.

For example, see: HC Deb 14 Jan 2013 c470W | PQ 136673

Table 1: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working age benefit claimants by world area of origin, Great Britain
Thousands and percent
World Area of Origin

Feb 2008

Feb 2009

Feb 2010

Feb 2011

Feb 2012

Feb 2013

Feb 2014

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

All

5,174.88

100

5,802.48

100

5,917.56

100

5,765.34

100

5,881.70

100

5,695.39

100

5,309.58

100

UK
non-UK and unknown - total

4,886.17
288.72

94.4
5.6

5,472.74
329.75

94.3
5.7

5,560.72
356.84

94.0
6.0

5,394.31
371.02

93.6
6.4

5,474.79
406.90

93.1
6.9

5,298.23
397.16

93.0
7.0

4,914.16
395.42

92.6
7.4

of whom:
European Union (not UK)
EU excl. Accession Countries
EU Accession Countries

65.09
52.48
12.61

1.3
1.0
0.2

84.08
60.41
23.67

1.4
1.0
0.4

89.89
63.67
26.22

1.5
1.1
0.4

91.31
62.57
28.74

1.6
1.1
0.5

116.52
66.80
49.72

2.0
1.1
0.8

121.28
62.33
58.95

2.1
1.1
1.0

130.99
63.72
67.27

2.5
1.2
1.3

Other non-UK
Europe - non-EU
Africa
Asia and Middle East
The Americas
Australasia and Oceania
Others and Unknown

223.63
19.46
77.12
99.59
13.32
1.67
12.47

4.3
0.4
1.5
1.9
0.3
0.0
0.2

245.67
21.29
84.38
108.86
15.38
2.23
13.53

4.2
0.4
1.5
1.9
0.3
0.0
0.2

266.95
22.40
93.28
118.16
17.36
2.19
13.56

4.5
0.4
1.6
2.0
0.3
0.0
0.2

279.72
21.99
98.76
125.69
18.31
2.08
12.89

4.9
0.4
1.7
2.2
0.3
0.0
0.2

290.38
22.34
101.87
132.04
19.72
2.11
12.30

4.9
0.4
1.7
2.2
0.3
0.0
0.2

275.88
21.31
94.70
128.03
18.71
2.00
11.13

4.8
0.4
1.7
2.2
0.3
0.0
0.2

264.43
20.08
88.98
126.11
17.47
1.85
9.94

5.0
0.4
1.7
2.4
0.3
0.0
0.2

Sources:

NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to March 2013, DWP, 29 August 2013
NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to June 2014, DWP, 28 August 2014

Table 2a: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working-age claimants by client group and world area of origin, GB, 2014
of which:
All DWP workingage client group
benefits

comprising:
key out-of-work
benefits

Jobseeker's
Allowance (JSA)

ESA and incapacity

benefits

Others on incomerelated benefit

Lone parent

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

All

5,309.58

100

4,223.74

100

1,145.63

100

2,459.30

100

480.09

100

138.72

100

UK

4,914.16

92.6

3,899.37

92.3

1,011.64

88.3

2,316.52

94.2

441.95

92.1

129.26

93.2

Non-UK and unknown: total

395.42

7.4

324.37

7.7

133.99

11.7

142.78

5.8

38.14

7.9

9.46

6.8

of whom:
EU (non-UK)
EU excl. Accession
EU Accession

130.99
63.72
67.27

2.5
1.2
1.3

113.72
54.88
58.84

2.7
1.3
1.4

64.83
26.25
38.58

5.7
2.3
3.4

39.46
23.78
15.68

1.6
1.0
0.6

7.45
3.59
3.86

1.6
0.7
0.8

1.98
1.26
0.72

1.4
0.9
0.5

264.43
20.08
88.98
126.11
17.47
1.85
9.94

5.0
0.4
1.7
2.4
0.3
0.0
0.2

210.65
16.77
77.66
92.62
14.25
1.32
8.03

5.0
0.4
1.8
2.2
0.3
0.0
0.2

69.17
3.75
29.34
28.78
5.22
0.41
1.67

6.0
0.3
2.6
2.5
0.5
0.0
0.1

103.32
10.42
29.93
50.59
6.42
0.77
5.19

4.2
0.4
1.2
2.1
0.3
0.0
0.2

30.68
2.15
16.28
9.63
2.29
0.10
0.23

6.4
0.4
3.4
2.0
0.5
0.0
0.0

7.48
0.45
2.11
3.62
0.32
0.04
0.94

5.4
0.3
1.5
2.6
0.2
0.0
0.7

February 2014

Other non-UK
Europe - non- EU
Africa
Asia and Middle East
The Americas
Australasia and Oceania
Others and unknown

Source: NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to June 2014, DWP, 28 August 2014

Table 2b: Nationality at NINo registration: DWP working-age claimants by client group and world area of origin, GB, 2011 & 2013
of which:
All DWP workingage client group
benefits

comprising:
key out-of-work
benefits

Jobseeker's
Allowance (JSA)

ESA and incapacity

benefits

Others on incomerelated benefit

Lone parent

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

number
(thousand)

% of
total

All

5,765.34

100

4,822.86

100

1,438.67

100

2,578.66

100

613.78

100

191.76

100

UK

5,394.31

93.6

4,505.95

93.4

1,317.01

91.5

2,448.24

94.9

559.88

91.2

180.82

94.3

Non-UK and unknown: total

371.02

6.4

316.92

6.6

121.66

8.5

130.43

5.1

53.90

8.8

10.93

5.7

of whom:
European Union (non-UK)
Europe - EU excl. Accession
Europe - EU Accession

91.31
62.57
28.74

1.6
1.1
0.5

79.61
55.46
24.15

1.7
1.1
0.5

37.85
25.01
12.84

2.6
1.7
0.9

32.28
23.46
8.82

1.3
0.9
0.3

7.69
5.59
2.10

1.3
0.9
0.3

1.79
1.40
0.39

0.9
0.7
0.2

279.72

4.9

237.30

4.9

83.80

5.8

98.15

3.8

46.21

7.5

9.14

4.8

All

5,695.38

100

4,646.19

100

1,514.37

100

2,475.67

100

504.89

100

151.26

100

UK

5,298.23

93.0

4,314.85

92.9

1,372.10

90.6

2,336.19

94.4

464.66

92.0

141.90

93.8

Non-UK and unknown: total

397.16

7.0

331.34

7.1

142.27

9.4

139.48

5.6

40.23

8.0

9.36

6.2

of whom:
European Union (non-UK)
Europe - EU excl. Accession
Europe - EU Accession

121.28
62.33
58.95

2.1
1.1
1.0

105.67
53.91
51.76

2.3
1.2
1.1

60.10
25.17
34.93

4.0
1.7
2.3

36.81
23.68
13.13

1.5
1.0
0.5

6.86
3.77
3.09

1.4
0.7
0.6

1.90
1.29
0.61

1.3
0.9
0.4

7.46

4.9

February 2011

Other non-UK

February 2013

Other non-UK
275.88
225.67
82.17
102.67
33.37
4.8
4.9
5.4
4.1
6.6
Sources:
NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to March 2013, DWP, 29 August 2013
National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants DWP ad-hoc analysis, 20 Jan 2012
Non-UK nationals registering for a National Insurance number and claiming DWP working age benefits, DWP FoI release 2012-3715, Oct 2012:
ONS Nomisweb and Library calculations

Table 3a: Non-UK nationals at NINo registration: DWP working age benefits by client
group and top 40 nationalities, Feb 2014
Thousands of claimants
All DWP working age
benefits
country

total

ESA and incapacity

benefits

Jobseekers (JSA)
country

total

country

total

Lone Parent (on

Income Support)
country

total

Somalia
Pakistan
Poland
Jamaica
Nigeria
Eritrea
Bangladesh
Iraq
Ghana
Congo
Zimbabwe
Portugal
Turkey
DR Congo
Rep. Ireland
India
Ethiopia
China PR
Uganda
Netherlands
Iran
Lithuania
Angola
Sierra Leone
France
Albania
Sri Lanka
Latvia
Slovakia
Gambia
Afghanistan
Czech Rep.
Morocco
Sudan
South Africa
Kenya
Thailand
Algeria
Italy
Philippines

4.16
3.62
1.90
1.50
1.44
1.42
1.12
0.98
0.98
0.98
0.97
0.96
0.92
0.77
0.76
0.64
0.60
0.60
0.51
0.49
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.44
0.43
0.42
0.40
0.39
0.36
0.36
0.34
0.33
0.31
0.30
0.30
0.30
0.27
0.25
0.24
0.24

February 2014
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

Pakistan
Poland
Somalia
India
Bangladesh
Iran
Rep. Ireland
Portugal
Iraq
Turkey
Slovakia
Nigeria
Jamaica
Italy
Lithuania
Czech Rep.
Netherlands
France
Spain
Zimbabwe
Eritrea
Ghana
Latvia
Afghanistan
Sri Lanka
Germany
Sudan
Hungary
Algeria
South Africa
Ethiopia
DR Congo
Congo
China PR
Morocco
USA
Philippines
Uganda
Romania
Kenya

35.58
29.22
20.03
18.71
15.64
14.57
14.38
13.03
12.02
10.35
9.33
8.85
7.75
6.84
6.83
6.57
6.45
5.98
5.79
5.56
5.46
5.26
5.17
5.12
5.02
4.41
4.02
3.39
3.39
3.23
3.19
3.04
2.96
2.67
2.66
2.65
2.52
2.49
2.48
2.43

Poland
Pakistan
Slovakia
Portugal
Somalia
Iran
Czech Rep.
Lithuania
Spain
Italy
Bangladesh
Latvia
Nigeria
Iraq
India
France
Eritrea
Rep. Ireland
Jamaica
Netherlands
Hungary
Zimbabwe
Sudan
Afghanistan
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Turkey
Sri Lanka
DR Congo
Congo
Ethiopia
Romania
Algeria
Syria
South Africa
Sweden
Sierra Leone
China PR
Angola

14.88
6.91
6.69
6.21
5.61
4.86
4.56
4.08
3.87
3.50
3.38
3.33
3.09
2.93
2.83
2.81
2.71
2.62
2.58
2.54
2.48
2.15
2.05
1.56
1.47
1.44
1.41
1.34
1.28
1.20
1.19
1.11
1.04
0.92
0.92
0.85
0.72
0.69
0.66
0.65

Pakistan
Rep. Ireland
India
Poland
Iran
Somalia
Turkey
Iraq
Bangladesh
Portugal
Nigeria
Jamaica
Italy
Netherlands
Afghanistan
Sri Lanka
Ghana
France
Algeria
Germany
Zimbabwe
Lithuania
Morocco
Slovakia
Spain
Sudan
South Africa
Ethiopia
USA
Kenya
Eritrea
Uganda
Czech Rep.
Croatia
Latvia
Vietnam
DR Congo
Egypt
Cyprus
Philippines

12.54
8.44
8.14
8.09
7.65
7.03
6.11
6.06
5.73
4.16
2.72
2.62
2.27
2.13
2.03
1.98
1.85
1.84
1.74
1.69
1.66
1.55
1.34
1.29
1.24
1.23
1.23
1.14
1.11
1.00
0.96
0.96
0.95
0.91
0.88
0.86
0.83
0.82
0.78
0.74

Source: NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to June 2014, DWP, 28
August 2014

Table 3b: Non-UK nationals at NINo registration: DWP working age benefits by client
group and top 20 nationalities, Feb 2011 and Feb 2013
Thousands of claimants
All DWP working age
benefits
country

total

ESA and incapacity

benefits

Jobseekers (JSA)
country

total

country

Somalia
Pakistan
Poland
Iran
Iraq
Portugal
Bangladesh
India
Nigeria
Zimbabwe
France
Rep. Ireland
Jamaica
Netherlands
Eritrea
Italy
Spain
Afghanistan
Turkey
Germany

7.66
6.45
6.39
5.36
5.30
5.17
3.97
3.57
3.50
3.45
3.42
3.28
3.05
2.94
2.80
2.76
2.34
2.28
1.96
1.90

Pakistan
Rep. Ireland
India
Somalia
Iran
Iraq
Turkey
Bangladesh
Poland
Portugal
Italy
Nigeria
Netherlands
Jamaica
Afghanistan
France
Sri Lanka
Germany
Algeria
Ghana

total

Income Support
country

total

Somalia
Pakistan
Jamaica
Turkey
Nigeria
Bangladesh
Congo
Zimbabwe
Portugal
DR Congo
Ghana
Iraq
Eritrea
India
Netherlands
Rep. Ireland
Angola
Ethiopia
China PR
Poland

7.92
4.93
2.39
1.80
1.79
1.69
1.57
1.47
1.45
1.43
1.22
1.21
1.17
1.02
1.01
0.96
0.92
0.88
0.81
0.80

February 2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Pakistan
Somalia
India
Rep. Ireland
Bangladesh
Iraq
Poland
Iran
Portugal
Turkey
Nigeria
Jamaica
Netherlands
Zimbabwe
France
Italy
Afghanistan
Sri Lanka
Eritrea
Ghana

33.06
25.48
19.38
15.63
15.45
14.52
13.94
13.69
11.65
11.25
8.66
8.22
6.94
6.93
6.82
6.03
5.76
5.38
5.24
5.11

11.49
8.92
8.65
7.37
6.37
6.26
5.95
5.10
4.39
3.71
2.22
2.18
2.04
1.98
1.96
1.95
1.83
1.64
1.64
1.52

February 2013
35.25
1 Pakistan
Poland
14.61 Pakistan
12.37 Somalia
5.12
26.54
2 Poland
Pakistan
7.66 Rep. Ireland
8.62 Pakistan
3.59
22.52
3 Somalia
Somalia
7.12 India
8.49 Jamaica
1.79
19.46
4 India
Portugal
5.86 Somalia
7.36 Nigeria
1.51
16.14
5 Bangladesh
Slovak Rep
5.86 Iran
6.96 Poland
1.43
14.82
6 Rep. Ireland
Iran
4.94 Poland
6.76 Eritrea
1.29
13.86
7 Iran
Bangladesh
4.33 Iraq
6.31 Bangladesh
1.17
13.38
8 Iraq
Iraq
4.13 Turkey
6.24 Congo
1.17
12.44
9 Portugal
Lithuania
4.06 Bangladesh
5.52 Turkey
1.08
10.94
10 Turkey
Czech Rep
3.78 Portugal
3.92 Ghana
1.08
9.25
11 Nigeria
Nigeria
3.62 Nigeria
2.61 Zimbabwe
1.05
8.49
12 Jamaica
India
3.54 Jamaica
2.47 Iraq
1.05
7.98
13 Slovak Rep
Jamaica
3.29 Italy
2.27 Portugal
1.03
6.82
14 Netherlands
France
3.12 Netherlands
2.14 DR Congo
0.91
6.37
15 France
Rep of Latvia
3.09 Afghanistan
2.06 India
0.66
6.36
16 Lithuania
Italy
2.99 France
1.94 Ethiopia
0.66
6.29
17 Italy
Rep. Ireland
2.95 Sri Lanka
1.93 Rep. Ireland
0.64
6.15
18 Zimbabwe
Netherlands
2.88 Ghana
1.75 China PR
0.63
5.59
19 Ghana
Zimbabwe
2.78 Algeria
1.71 Netherlands
0.61
5.49
20 Czech Rep
Spain
2.61 Germany
1.68 Uganda
0.57
Sources:
DWP ad-hoc analysis 20 Jan 2012 - National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants
NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to March 2013, DWP, 29 August 2013

Child and Working Tax Credits

In addition to the DWP analyses of the working-age benefit caseload, HM Revenue and
Customs (HMRC) have produced data on the number of families in receipt of tax credits
where at least one adult in the family was a non-UK national at the point of registration for a
National Insurance number (NINo).
Based on a snapshot of the tax credit caseload as of March 2014, the figures show:

738,900 families containing an individual who was a non-UK national at the point of NINo
registration were in receipt of tax credits 15.9% of the total tax credit caseload of
4.6 million;

Within the non-UK category, more were from outside the EU (421,100 families) than from
within the EU (317,800 families);

As regards single recipients of tax credits, individuals from elsewhere in the EU

outnumber those from outside the EU. This is especially true in the case of single people
without children and in receipt of Working Tax Credit 11.2% of claimants in this
category were nationals of another EU member state at the point of NINo registration,
compared to 3.8% who were from outside the EU;

Among out-of-work couples receiving Child Tax Credit, 56,800 families (15.0% of the total
in the category) contained an individual who was a non-EU national at point of NINo
registration, while 19,100 (5.0%) contained an individual from another EU member state.2

HMRC have estimated the annual tax credits entitlements of families containing a non-UK
national at the point of NINo registration:

4.9 billion in 2012/13, or 16.6% of the total 29.6bn tax credits paid that year,3

5.2 billion in 2013/14,4 or 17.4% of the total 29.7bn.5

Of the 5.2 billion in 2013/14, 1.2 billion was paid to out-of-work families, 3.8 billion to inwork families with children and 0.2 billion to in-work claimants without children.6
Table 4a (below) sets out the March 2014 tax credit caseload broken down by tax credit
award type, singles/couples and world area of origin based on NINo registration.
Table 4b shows the equivalent data for the previous year (March 2013).
Both of these sets of figures were obtained from HMRC by means of Freedom of Information
requests placed by Michael OConnor (and Jonathan Portes of the NIESR).

3
4
5
6

Sourced from: M OConnor (Nov 2014) Tax Credits and migrant families 2014, data obtained from HM
Revenue and Customs via Freedom of Information requests
HC Deb 1 May 2014 vol 579 cc799-800W | PQ 190311
M OConnor (Nov 2014) Tax Credits and migrant families 2014
HMRC Tax and NICs receipts: statistics table
M OConnor (Nov 2014) Tax Credits and migrant families 2014

Table 4a: Nationality at NINo registration: families receiving Child Tax Credit (CTC) and/or Working Tax Credit (WTC) as of March
2014, by world area of origin, UK
Thousands of families and percentages
Total tax credit
caseload,
March 2014

of whom:
out-of-work
families on CTC

in-work families
on tax credits

of whom: in-work families receiving:

WTC and CTC

CTC only

WTC only (no

children)
% of
number
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

All families: total

of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

4,644.2

100.0

1,355.7

100.0

3,288.5

100.0

1,887.8

100.0

840.1

100.0

560.6

100.0

3,905.5
738.9
317.8
421.1

84.1
15.9
6.8
9.1

1,175.9
179.9
51.1
128.8

86.7
13.3
3.8
9.5

2,729.6
559.0
266.7
292.3

83.0
17.0
8.1
8.9

1,528.7
359.2
156.0
203.2

81.0
19.0
8.3
10.8

721.0
119.1
56.5
62.6

85.8
14.2
6.7
7.5

479.9
80.7
54.2
26.5

85.6
14.4
9.7
4.7

Singles: total
of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

2,557.3

100.0

977.0

100.0

1,580.3

100.0

1,039.3

100.0

139.3

100.0

401.7

100.0

2,249.8
307.4
149.9
157.5

88.0
12.0
5.9
6.2

873.0
103.9
31.9
72.0

89.4
10.6
3.3
7.4

1,376.8
203.5
118.0
85.5

87.1
12.9
7.5
5.4

910.3
129.1
68.1
61.0

87.6
12.4
6.6
5.9

124.9
14.3
4.9
9.4

89.7
10.3
3.5
6.8

341.6
60.1
45.0
15.1

85.0
15.0
11.2
3.8

Couples: total
of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

2,087.2

100.0

378.8

100.0

1,708.4

100.0

848.6

100.0

700.8

100.0

159.0

100.0

1,655.6
431.5
167.8
263.7

79.3
20.7
8.0
12.6

302.8
75.9
19.1
56.8

80.0
20.0
5.0
15.0

1,352.8
355.6
148.7
206.9

79.2
20.8
8.7
12.1

618.4
230.2
88.0
142.2

72.9
27.1
10.4
16.8

596.1
104.7
51.5
53.2

85.1
14.9
7.3
7.6

138.3
20.7
9.2
11.5

87.0
13.0
5.8
7.2

Sources:
Note (a):

M OConnor (Nov 2014) Tax Credits and migrant families 2014, data obtained from HM Revenue and Customs via Freedom of Information requests,
Families are assigned to non-UK if the sole adult in a single claim or either adult in a joint claim is identified by a NINo issued to them when they were not a UK national.

10

Table 4b: Nationality at NINo registration: families receiving Child Tax Credit (CTC) and/or Working Tax Credit (WTC) as of March
2013, by world area of origin, UK
Thousands of families and percentages
Total tax credit
caseload,
March 2013

of whom:
out-of-work
families on CTC

in-work families
on tax credits

of whom: in-work families receiving:

WTC and CTC

CTC only

WTC only (no

children)
% of
number
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

number

% of
total

All families: total

of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

4,705.1

100.0

1,442.4

100.0

3,262.8

100.0

1,853.4

100.0

850.4

100.0

559.0

100.0

3,989.1
715.9
302.3
413.5

84.8
15.2
6.4
8.8

1,252.8
189.5
50.1
139.4

86.9
13.1
3.5
9.7

2,736.3
526.3
252.2
274.1

83.9
16.1
7.7
8.4

1,521.7
331.7
143.4
188.3

82.1
17.9
7.7
10.2

738.5
111.8
51.7
60.1

86.8
13.1
6.1
7.1

476.1
82.8
57.1
25.7

85.2
14.8
10.2
4.6

Singles: total
of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

2,587.2

100.0

1,028.3

100.0

1,558.9

100.0

1,017.6

100.0

138.3

100.0

403.0

100.0

2,283.4
304.0
157.6
146.4

88.3
11.7
6.1
5.7

919.4
108.9
30.7
78.2

89.4
10.6
3.0
7.6

1,364.0
195.1
115.7
79.4

87.5
12.5
7.4
5.1

899.4
118.2
62.9
55.3

88.4
11.6
6.2
5.4

124.6
13.8
4.5
9.3

90.0
10.0
3.3
6.7

340.0
63.1
48.3
14.8

84.3
15.7
12.0
3.7

Couples: total
of whom: world area of origin
UK
non-UK (a)
non-UK: EU
non-UK: other

2,117.9

100.0

414.1

100.0

1,703.8

100.0

835.8

100.0

712.0

100.0

156.0

100.0

1,705.8
412.1
156.0
256.1

80.5
19.5
7.4
12.1

333.4
80.7
19.4
61.3

80.5
19.5
4.7
14.8

1,372.4
331.4
136.6
194.8

80.5
19.5
8.0
11.4

622.3
213.5
80.5
133

74.5
25.5
9.6
15.9

613.9
98.0
47.2
50.8

86.2
13.8
6.6
7.1

136.2
19.9
8.9
11.0

87.3
12.7
5.7
7.0

Sources:
Note (a):

M OConnor (Jul 2014) Tax Credits and migrant families, data obtained from HM Revenue and Customs via Freedom of Information requests,
HC Deb 1 May 2014 vol 579 cc799-800W | PQ 190311
Families are assigned to non-UK if the sole adult in a single claim or either adult in a joint claim is identified by a NINo issued to them when they were not a UK national.

11

Child Benefit

As of August 2012 Child Benefit was being paid to 990,000 families noted as a non-UK
national when they registered for a National Insurance number (NINo).7 This amounted to
12.5% of the 7.9 million families in receipt of Child Benefit in August 2012.8

UK family benefits for children resident elsewhere in the EEA

Under provisions in EU law on social security coordination within the European Economic
Area (EEA), Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit may be payable to EEA migrants in the
United Kingdom in respect of their dependent children resident in another Member State.
The provisions relating to payment of family benefits for children resident in another
Member State are in EC Regulation 883/2004.
Tables 5 and 6 show figures provided in response to Parliamentary Questions. These HMRC
figures do not record the nationality of the recipient, only the country where the children live,
so these figures may include Child Benefit awards paid to UK nationals with children living in
other EEA countries. These figures also include Switzerland, which is not in the EEA but is
covered by the same social security regulations.
The 20,400 families in receipt of Child benefit in respect of children living elsewhere in the
EEA in December 2013 accounted for around 0.3% of the total 7.55 million families receiving
Child Benefit.9

HMRC Freedom of Information response FOI 1976/13, published in M OConnor (Sep 2013) Fiscal effects of
migration to the UK: Working Tax Credit claimant numbers
HMRC Child Benefit statistics geographical analysis. Note that the total number of families receiving Child
Benefit subsequently fell to 7.55 million by August 2013 as a result of the implementation of the higher-income
tax charge from January 2013 onwards.
ibid

12

Table 5: Child Benefit claims under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of children

living in another EEA member state (or Switzerland)
October 2009

July 2010

June 2011

September 2012

December 2012

December 2013

No. of
No. of
awards children

No. of
No. of
awards children

No. of
No. of
awards children

No. of
No. of
awards children

No. of
awards

No. of
children

No. of
awards

No. of
children

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Rep. Ireland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

29
153
45
..
51
197
13
17
16
1,256
311
51
96
2
175
259
0
747
14
17
185
45
22,858
222
883
36
1,483
5
741
57
104

52
297
70
..
82
340
24
30
29
2,346
529
81
172
4
300
346
0
1,093
26
26
373
92
37,941
329
1,818
53
2,573
7
1,230
107
216

29
159
79
..
55
175
18
19
16
1,266
337
57
80
3
187
295
0
710
15
17
197
42
17,212
233
957
75
1,180
6
796
65
113

45
310
113
..
89
295
32
29
30
2,343
578
88
130
5
316
404
0
1,012
28
25
390
79
28,760
346
1,972
130
2,051
9
1,322
130
235

34
155
142
..
61
168
18
28
20
1,257
339
57
103
3
199
536
0
982
12
19
205
40
16,230
246
1,086
158
1,077
6
832
60
117

52
303
186
..
87
277
33
39
38
2,320
583
85
157
5
336
732
0
1,342
25
27
410
73
27,018
368
2,251
264
1,870
10
1,386
114
244

27
146
175
..
54
179
20
37
15
1,155
368
53
132
3
202
822
0
1,212
10
15
194
37
15,251
236
1,242
197
1,105
7
776
64
121

41
290
227
..
78
293
34
57
33
2,146
647
79
203
5
350
1,109
0
1,710
21
21
384
72
25,623
355
2,529
334
1,953
12
1,291
112
242

29
138
174
..
53
176
20
43
16
1,080
366
51
132
3
193
853
0
1,276
10
14
192
14
15,499
239
1,281
196
1,083
7
756
66
122

47
274
238
..
80
282
35
63
30
2,003
641
76
203
5
330
1,117
0
1,772
21
21
379
65
25,659
364
2,609
328
1,881
13
1,275
122
238

23
75
186
5 (a)
39
124
13
45
12
789
283
44
136
5 (a)
156
797
0
1,215
7
15
142
30
13,174
202
1,231
230
692
11
600
49
77

37
140
245
5 (a)
61
203
23
65
23
1,429
495
69
196
5 (a)
273
1,091
0
1,712
14
22
288
61
22,093
309
2,505
392
1,232
21
1,019
96
150

Totals

30,068

50,586

24,393

41,296

24,190

40,635

23,855

40,251

24,082

40,171

20,400

34,268

Sources:

HC Deb 6 Sep 2010 c190W [PQ 11051]

HC Deb 6 Sep 2011

c400-1W [PQ 68533]

Note (a):

For the purposes of Data Protection Act compliance, in the Dec 2013 data the number is withheld where it is fewer than 5 and greater than 0.

13

HC Deb 22 Oct 2012

c619W [PQ 123449]

HC Deb 28 Jan 2013

c619W [PQ 138991]

HC Deb 14 May 2014

c676-7W [PQ 181673]

Table 6: Child tax credit claims under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of children
living in another EEA member state (or Switzerland)
Country

September 2012

December 2012

Number of awards

Number
of
children

Number of awards

Number
of
children

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

3
4
47
0
20
1
8
2
82
37
3
36
0
14
153
320
1
2
6
5
1,925
20
508
42
135
1
67
3
2

5
11
59
0
31
1
10
3
171
58
5
53
0
28
206
467
2
2
12
10
3,250
38
973
73
247
1
129
15
2

3
4
52
2
25
1
9
2
95
38
5
43
0
13
178
339
1
2
10
6
2,278
22
611
45
141
1
79
3
3

4
11
66
6
38
1
9
3
203
60
11
65
0
21
243
484
2
2
22
18
3,829
40
1,207
68
256
2
153
10
4

Totals

3,447

5,962

4,011

6,838

Sources:

HL Deb 22 Oct 2012 cWA6 [PQ

HL2417]

14

HC Deb 28 Jan 2013 c619W [PQ

138991]

Asylum support

Asylum seekers i.e. persons waiting for a decision on an asylum application are not
entitled to mainstream means-tested social security benefits. Instead, they may be eligible for
accommodation and/or financial support (asylum support) from the Home Office. Cash
support for asylum seekers is less generous than social security benefits and is administered
entirely separately from the mainstream social security system.10
The number of destitute asylum seekers receiving subsistence cash support and/or
temporary accommodation from the UK Border Agency under section 95 of the Immigration
and Asylum Act 1999 is shown below:
Asylum seekers in receipt of Section 95 support

Quarter

Total supported
under Section
95

2004 Q3
2005 Q3
2006 Q3
2007 Q3
2008 Q3
2009 Q3
2010 Q3
2011 Q3
2012 Q3
2013 Q3
2014 Q3

64,410
51,498
46,128
47,218
30,891
29,071
22,985
20,639
19,366
22,022
27,815

of whom:
In receipt of
subsistence only

In dispersed
accommodation

Disbenefited

22,937
16,212
11,590
10,160
6,600
4,900
3,541
2,932
2,505
2,715
3,249

40,347
34,919
34,464
37,039
24,281
24,165
19,444
17,707
16,861
19,307
24,566

1,126
367
74
19
10
6
..
..
..
..
..

Source: Home Office Immigration Statistics quarterly release, table as.16

Further reading

Library briefings
People from abroad: what benefits can they claim? (SN06847)
Measures to limit migrants access to benefits (SN06889)
Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit for children resident in other EEA countries (SN06561)

10

The support available to asylum seekers in the UK is set out in a separate Library note, Asylum: Financial
support for asylum seekers (Standard note SN01909).

15