Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit

(asked on 8th December 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of foreign-born families who will claim universal credit or tax credits for more than 2 children and (b) the total cost of this.


Answered by
Stephen Timms Portrait
Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 22nd December 2025

No such estimate has been made.

Universal Credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK, and overall, the proportion of claimants in this country who are foreign nationals has fallen since October 2024.

But we want to go further which is why we have announced plans to double the standard time most migrants have to wait before they can access benefits to 10 years, reducing the burden on the taxpayer and making sure settlement rights are earned.

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