What is Child Benefit and who qualifies?

In this section:

What is Child Benefit?
Child Benefit - do you qualify?
Child Benefit if you adopt or foster a child
Child Benefit if your child is in care
Child Benefit for children in hospital or residential care
New arrivals to the UK and Child Benefit
Child Benefit if you're living or working abroad
Child Benefit if your child lives with someone else

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New arrivals to the UK and Child Benefit

New arrivals to the UK and Child Benefit

If you've come from another country to live in the UK you may be able to get Child Benefit for your child. But to qualify for it you'll have to satisfy some 'residency' rules.

Who qualifies for Child Benefit?

To get Child Benefit you'll normally need to:

be physically present in the UK - together with your child
be 'ordinarily resident' in the UK - so your main home is here
have a 'right to reside' in the UK
be responsible for the child who's living with you

Being present in the UK

To get Child Benefit both you and your child must be physically present in the UK. But you'll still be able to get it if you're out of the country for short, temporary stays, like on holiday.

Being 'ordinarily resident'

To get Child Benefit you, but not your child, have to be ordinarily resident. You'll usually be ordinarily resident if:

your main home is in the UK
you've chosen to live and settle here
you only go abroad for short periods - like on holiday

The Child Benefit Office will decide whether or not you're ordinarily resident by looking at all your circumstances - the following examples may help to show whether you are or not.

Example one

Anisha and her children are from India and are staying with her sister’s family near London. They are not classed as ordinarily resident in the UK and so can’t claim child benefit.

Example two

Aleksy and his wife and son have moved permanently to the UK from Poland. Aleksy works as a self-employed property developer and his son is registered at the local school. As the Aleksy family’s main home is in the UK and they have chosen to live and settle here, they are classed as being ordinarily resident and can make a claim for Child Benefit.

Having a 'right to reside' in the UK

You've got the right to reside in the UK if you're:

a UK national or from the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland
someone from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland and you're working for an employer or are self-employed in the UK
someone from the EEA or Switzerland and you’re actively looking for work and registered with Jobcentre Plus
from outside the EEA but you've got permission to remain in the UK

If you’re from the EEA or Switzerland and you’re not working or actively looking for work you may not have a right to reside in the UK – unless you can support yourself.

Countries in the European Economic Area

EEA countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Countries that have joined the European Union since 2004

There are also some special rules about the right to reside if you come from a country that has joined the European Union since 2004.

If you’re from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia you have the right to reside if one of the following applies:

you are working and your employment is registered with the Home Office Worker Registration Scheme
you are looking for work and have enough money to keep yourself above the level of Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or income-based Jobseekers Allowance
you are looking for work and were in registered employment with the Home Office for at least twelve months before becoming unemployed

If you’re from Bulgaria or Romania you have the right to reside if one of the following applies:

you get a worker authorisation document before you start work
you have come to the UK under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme and hold a registration certificate
you are looking for work and have enough money to keep yourself above the level of Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or income-based Jobseekers Allowance
you are looking for work and have been in registered employment with the Home Office for at least twelve months before becoming unemployed

People from the EEA who aren't looking for work may not have the right to reside in the UK, unless they can support themselves.

There are also some special rules about the right to reside if you come from a country that has recently joined the European Union. For example, if you're from:

the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia you will generally need to register your employment with the Home Office Worker Registration Scheme to have the right to reside
Bulgaria or Romania you will need to get a Worker Authorisation document before you start work to have the right to reside

If you're subject to 'immigration control'

You may not be able to get Child Benefit if you're subject to 'immigration control'. Immigration control means either:

the Home Office says you have permission to stay in the UK (known as ‘leave to enter or remain’) but this permission is given to you on the grounds that you don’t claim some benefits, tax credits or housing help paid by the UK government (known as ‘recourse to public funds’)
you need permission to stay in the UK – again known as ‘leave to enter or remain’ - but you don't have it

Sometimes if you’re subject to immigration control you might still be able to claim Child Benefit, for example if you're from a country with which the UK has a social security agreement that covers Child Benefit.

When you're not subject to 'immigration control'

You're not subject to immigration control if any of the following applies:

you’re a UK national
you’re from the EEA or Switzerland
you’ve claimed asylum and you have been told by the Home Office that you can stay in the UK as a refugee
the Home Office has told you that you are allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely

If you're from a Commonwealth country and serve in the British Forces

If you're from one of the Commonwealth countries and you serve in the British Forces in the UK, you are not subject to immigration control. This means you would usually be able to get Child Benefit.

You might serve in the British Forces in the UK and then are posted back overseas. You can usually carry on getting Child Benefit even if you're outside of the UK.

If you've come to the UK but your child has stayed behind

There are different arrangements for Child Benefit depending on whether you are working and have come from an EEA country or not. You will still however need to be responsible for your child.

If you have come to the UK from a country that is outside the EEA or Switzerland you can only qualify for Child Benefit once your child actually arrives in the UK.

If however you have arrived from an EEA country or Switzerland, you can usually get Child Benefit even if your child doesn't come to the UK.

Still unsure?

If you need advice you can call the Child Benefit Helpline on Tel 0845 302 1444 or textphone Tel 0845 302 1474. The Helpline is open between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, seven days a week, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

If your preferred language is Welsh you can contact us on Tel 0845 302 1489, or if you're calling from outside the UK you can ring on Tel + 44 161 210 3086.