Benefits

Pre-settled status and pending EUSS applications

This section provides general information about when people with pre-settled status, their family members, and people with pending EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) applications may qualify for benefits.

Establishing eligibility for benefits can be complex, especially when the person must demonstrate that they have a right to reside. Advice may need to be obtained from a benefits adviser, for example where entitlement is unclear or a refusal decision may need to be challenged.

Benefits that require a right to reside

Most means tested benefits require a person with pre settled status to demonstrate a qualifying right to reside. A person who meets this requirement may be able to claim:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Child Benefit
• Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support

When a person has a qualifying right to reside

A person will have a qualifying right to reside where they can demonstrate that they are:

• an EEA national who is working, or who has retained worker status (for example, during pregnancy)
• an EEA national who is self employed, or who has retained self employed status
• a person with a permanent right to reside
• the family member of an EEA national exercising a qualifying right to reside
• a family member with a retained right to reside (for example, following divorce or bereavement)
• the primary carer of a child in education, where that child’s parent is an EEA national who has worked in the UK

Where a person relies on worker or self employed status, they will usually need to show that they meet a minimum earnings threshold, or their work is genuine and effective. Further information is available in the EU Rights Hub adviser toolkit.

A person whose right to reside is based only on one of the following will not have a qualifying right to reside for the purposes of most means tested benefits:

• jobseeker status  
• self sufficient status  
• student status  
• an initial right of residence  
• a Zambrano right to reside  

In these cases, the person will generally be treated as not eligible for most means tested benefits, although they may still be able to access non means tested benefits such as Child Benefit, depending on the specific eligibility criteria.

When a person does not have a qualifying right to reside

In most cases, a person who does not have a qualifying right to reside will not be eligible for means tested benefits. However, they may still be able to make a claim and should seek advice, particularly where there is a risk of destitution.

The AT judgment (SSWP v AT)

Case law has established that, in certain circumstances, people with pre settled status who do not have a qualifying right to reside may still be able to access benefits.

In SSWP v AT (Aire Centre and IMA Intervening) [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC), the courts found that benefits may need to be provided where a refusal would breach a person’s right to dignity under Article 1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. To rely on this judgment, a person would need to demonstrate that they cannot live in dignified conditions, for example:

• they are unable to meet basic needs such as food, hygiene or accommodation
• they are at risk of destitution
• they are unable to work or access alternative support

DWP guidance confirms that this approach applies to EU citizens and their family members. Nationals of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, and their family members, may need to seek advice to establish how this may apply to them.

The judgment is relevant to the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Credit

Where alternative support is available (including local authority support), this is likely to be taken into account when assessing whether a person’s right to dignity is at risk. Further information is available from the Child Poverty Action Group and DWP guidance for decision makers. Individuals who may be affected can raise concerns with the Independent Monitoring Authority if they experience difficulties accessing benefits.

Disability and carer benefits

A person with pre settled status can rely on that status to meet the residence requirement for:

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance

A qualifying right to reside is not required for these benefits. However, these benefits are not intended to cover basic living or housing costs.

Pending EU Settlement Scheme applications

A person with a pending EUSS application may be able to access means tested benefits where they can demonstrate both:

• a valid pending application, appeal or administrative review, and
• a qualifying right to reside

A person who cannot show that they had a right to reside on 31 December 2020 will not qualify for means tested benefits while their application is pending.

A person with a pending EUSS application may still qualify for:

• Personal Independence Payment
• Disability Living Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance

A qualifying right to reside is not required for these benefits.

A person will need to provide a Certificate of Application to confirm that they have a valid pending application.

EUSS family permits

Non EEA nationals joining a family member with settled or pre settled status may enter the UK with an EUSS family permit. They must apply to the EUSS within 3 months of arrival. Benefit eligibility will depend on the status and circumstances of the EEA national they are joining.They will not usually qualify for benefits in their own right until they have made an EUSS application. Entitlement may become particularly complex if the relationship breaks down, and benefit advice should be sought where this arises.

Page updated: 19 May 2026