Family members of British and Irish citizens
This page covers the whole of the UK
Contents:
Applications for housing and claims for benefit made by you
If you are the partner or child of a British or Irish citizen and you apply for housing or claim benefits, your rights depend on your immigration status.
If you are the partner of a British citizen or person with settled status and have experienced domestic abuse, you may be able to apply to change the conditions of your leave so you can access housing and benefits: see here for details. If you have been allowed to return to the UK because your spouse or former spouse deliberately stranded you overseas, you are usually entitled to access housing and benefits as soon as you arrive in the UK: see here for details.
If you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and have EU pre-settled status:
- as the family member of a British citizen who lived in an EU member state before 1 February 2020 (‘Surinder Singh’ rights), you have the same rights to housing and benefits as an EEA family member
- as the family member of a person
from Northern Ireland:
- except in Wales, you are eligible for housing if the family member you accompany is a worker or self-employed person
- you are eligible for benefits, if the family member you accompany is a worker, self-employed person, student, self-sufficient person, long-term resident or if you have a retained right of residence as a former family member
- as the parent of a British child (‘Zambrano’ rights), you are not entitled to benefits or, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, housing.
In each case, once you have acquired EU settled status, your rights to housing and benefits are the same as those of a British citizen.
Applications for housing and claims for benefit made by your family member
If you have leave with access to public funds and the British or Irish citizen you accompany applies for housing or claims benefit on your behalf, you are counted as part of their household. However, if you have recently arrived in the UK, you may not be counted as part of their household for up to three months, until you are habitually resident. For example, if you are their partner and they claim state pension credit, they will receive the single person rate for the first three months.
If you are a family member of a British or Irish citizen, do not have access to public funds, and the person you accompany applies for housing or benefits on your behalf, the following rules apply:
- Housing: you cannot be offered a joint tenancy. If you are homeless, the authority disregards this but must consider your housing conditions, for example if your home is unfit to live in, when deciding what priority their application should receive.
- Homelessness assistance: you are a 'restricted person'. The authority must disregard you when deciding whether the applicant is homeless or has a priority need. If the applicant is not homeless or does not have a priority need for another reason, the authority may only offer a private rented tenancy.
- Benefits: if you are a couple and your partner claims universal credit
or state pension credit, they will receive the single person’s rate. Your partner should get advice
from an approved professional or registered immigration adviser before
claiming if:
- you are a couple, and your partner claims housing benefit but does not receive universal credit or state pension credit
- you are a child, and they claim universal credit, state pension credit or housing benefit.
In these situations, any extra amount your family member receives because you are included in their claim counts as public funds and could put your right to remain in the UK at risk.
