No Recourse to Public Funds
Contents
Mixed NRPF Households
Overview
You will have no recourse to public funds when you are ‘subject to immigration control’, as defined at section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
If you are a person who is subject to immigration control, you cannot claim public funds (benefits and housing assistance), unless an exception applies. If you believe that a partner's claim might include you, you should seek specialist immigration advice as soon as possible.
Types of Immigration Controls
Leave to enter or remain, which is subject to the 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF) condition, such as:
Leave to enter as a visitor
Leave to remain as a spouse
Leave to remain as a student
Leave to remain granted under family or private life rules
Leave to enter or remain that is subject to a maintenance undertaking, such as:
Indefinite leave to remain as the adult dependent relative of a person with settled status (five year prohibition on claiming public funds)
Leave to enter or remain as a result of a pending immigration appeal: This could apply when you have section 3C leave whilst an appeal against a refusal of leave to remain is pending
No leave to enter or remain when you are required to have this, such as:
- A visa overstayer
- An asylum seeker
- An appeal rights exhausted (ARE) asylum seeker
When you have leave to enter or remain that is subject to the NRPF condition, the term ‘no public funds’ will be stated on your residence permit, entry clearance vignette, biometric residence permit (BRP), or digital status.
Mixed NRPF Households
Benefit eligibility rules can be particularly complex when family members in the same household have different nationalities or types of immigration status. For example, when a British citizen has a partner who has leave to remain that is subject to the 'No Recourse to Public Funds' condition (leave to remain with NRPF).
When you have access to public funds, you will be able to claim any benefits that you would normally be entitled to. However, when you are claiming a benefit that is classed as a public fund, you will not usually be able to claim additional amounts for a partner or other members of the household who have no recourse to public funds.
Exceptions to this rule are summarised below and are set out in the Home Office guidance on public funds.
Universal Credit - Mixed Households
If you are a British Citizen and you live with a partner who has NRPF, you can make a sole claim for universal credit. The online application for universal credit does not make this clear, but you can make a sole claim in this circumstance.