# Foreign Nationals and Benefits in the UK 2025

> **Key finding:** **1.26 million foreign nationals** on Universal Credit (16.4% of claimants). **£10.1bn** paid in 2024. Social housing: **89%** of new lettings to UK nationals.

Sources: DWP Stat-Xplore, MHCLG Social Housing Lettings, Home Office.

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## Universal Credit Claimants

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total UC claimants (June 2025) | 7,900,000 |
| Foreign national claimants | 1,260,000 (16.4%) |
| Monthly payment to foreign nationals (Mar 2025) | £941,000,000 |
| Annual total (2024) | £10.1 billion |
| Year-on-year increase (Mar 2024 → Mar 2025) | 29.6% |

### By Nationality Group

| Group | Claimants |
|---|---|
| EU nationals | 770,379 |
| Non-EU with indefinite leave to remain | 211,090 |
| Refugees | 118,749 |
| Humanitarian visa holders | 54,156 |
| Time-limited visa holders | 75,267 |
| Other/unknown | 33,240 |

### By Original Immigration Route

| Route | Claimants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Arrived to work | 663,000 | 35.0% |
| Arrived as dependant or family | 580,000 | 30.0% |
| Arrived to study | 179,500 | 9.4% |
| Arrived as asylum seeker/refugee | 140,000 | 11.0% |
| Other/unknown | 140,000 | 11.0% |

> Asylum seekers with pending claims CANNOT claim Universal Credit. They receive Section 95 support: £49.18/week.

## Social Housing

New social housing lettings in England 2024/25 (source: MHCLG):

| Lead tenant nationality | Lettings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| UK nationals | 233,000 | 89.0% |
| EU nationals | 10,000 | 4.0% |
| Non-EEA nationals | 20,000 | 8.0% |
| **Total** | **262,000** | **100%** |

### Homelessness Assessments 2024/25

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total assessed homeless | 330,410 |
| Non-UK head of household | 71,580 (22.0%) |
| EEA citizen head | 7.0% |
| Refugee status head | 6.0% |

## Asylum Support

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Section 95 weekly rate (2025) | £49.18 |
| Total in Home Office accommodation (Sep 2025) | 111,651 |
| In hotels/contingency | 36,273 (32%) |

## Related Pages

- [Asylum Statistics](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum/) | [asylum.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum.md)
- [Asylum Accommodation Costs](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation/) | [accommodation.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation.md)
- [Policy Timeline](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline/)

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## All Pages

- [Returns & Deportation](https://www.deported.co.uk/returns/) | [returns.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/returns.md)
- [Foreign National Offenders](https://www.deported.co.uk/foreign-national-offenders/) | [foreign-national-offenders.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/foreign-national-offenders.md)
- [Why People Are Not Deported](https://www.deported.co.uk/not-deported/) | [not-deported.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/not-deported.md)
- [Cost of Deportation](https://www.deported.co.uk/costs/) | [costs.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/costs.md)
- [Asylum Statistics](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum/) | [asylum.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum.md)
- [Foreign Nationals and Benefits](https://www.deported.co.uk/benefits/) | [benefits.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/benefits.md)
- [Asylum Accommodation Costs](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation/) | [accommodation.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation.md)
- [Labour Market](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market/) | [labour-market.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market.md)
- [Returns by Nationality](https://www.deported.co.uk/nationality/) | [nationality.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/nationality.md)
- [Sponsor Register](https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers/) | [sponsored-workers.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers.md)
- [Policy Timeline](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline/) | [policy-timeline.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline.md)
- [Party Policies](https://www.deported.co.uk/party-policies/) | [party-policies.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/party-policies.md)
- [2025 Annual Review](https://www.deported.co.uk/2025/) | [2025.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/2025.md)
- [2024 Annual Review](https://www.deported.co.uk/2024/) | [2024.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/2024.md)

- [llms.txt](https://www.deported.co.uk/llms.txt) | [sitemap.xml](https://www.deported.co.uk/sitemap.xml)

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