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Written Question
Pension Credit: Foreign Nationals
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-UK nationals have received Pension Credit for the following financial years a) 2024/25 b) 2025/2026, and what was the total value of Pension Credit paid to those non-UK nationals in each of those financial years.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The requested statistics are not held by the Department.

Entitlement to Pension Credit depends on a person’s residence or immigration status, including the requirement to have the right to reside and to be able to be treated as factually habitually resident in Great Britain. Foreign nationals must also have an immigration status that gives access to public funds, which most will not have until they have lived in the UK for at least 5 years.

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