More than a million migrants are now claiming Universal Credit – the majority of whom are unemployed.
New official statistics show the number of foreign nationals receiving the benefit has risen from 883,470 in 2022 to 1.26million last month.
The majority of migrants being paid Universal Credit are not in work – a situation campaigners described as ‘unsustainable’.
Today is the first time the immigration status of people claiming Universal Credit has been published following pressure from opposition MPs.
Around four in five (83.6%) of those on the benefit as of last month were British, Irish, or those who live or work in the UK without any immigration restrictions.
The next largest group were people with EU Settlement Scheme settled status who have a right to reside in the UK, accounting for 9.7% (770,379), while 2.7% (211,090) of the total had indefinite leave to remain.
Refugees accounted for 1.5% (118,749) of people receiving the benefit, while 0.7% (54,156) had come by safe and legal humanitarian routes – including under the Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes.
A total of 75,267 people – making up one percent of the total on Universal Credit – had limited leave to remain in the UK, covering those with temporary immigration status.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘These are staggering figures and are clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system.’
‘Under Kemi Badenoch, we’ve set out a clear, common-sense position. Universal Credit should be reserved for UK citizens only. This is about fairness, responsibility and protecting support for those who’ve contributed to this country.’
‘We’re calling on Keir Starmer to stop the drift and take action. British taxpayers should not be working hard to subsidise immigrants, many of whom have only recently arrived.
‘Taxpayers deserve a system that prioritises them, not one that continues to fund an unsustainable open-door policy.’
Tory MP Neil O’Brien argued the figures were proof the welfare system was failing.
He said: ‘There are 757,000 people claiming and not working. And Universal Credit is only half of working age welfare spending.
‘This is not a sensible immigration policy.’
Universal Credit is a payment to help with living costs and is available for people on low incomes or those who are out of work or cannot work.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it had published the statistics ‘following a public commitment to investigate and develop breakdowns of the UC caseload by the immigration status of foreign nationals in receipt of UC’.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The latest universal credit statistics should send a shiver down the spine of government ministers.
‘Britain is sleepwalking into a culture of worklessness, with millions of Brits effectively dumped onto the welfare pile, all the while the system appears as a treasure chest for foreign nationals.’
People can only access Universal Credit if they have an immigration status that provides recourse to public funds.
Those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) cannot claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state.
The total number of people on Universal Credit has risen from 6.8 million in June 2024 to 7.9 million a year later.
Rob Bates from the Centre for Migration Control said: ‘Over one million migrants are claiming benefits in Britain.
‘An unsustainable situation which lays bare the very real consequences that mass migration has inflicted on the British public.
‘Indefinite Leave to Remain must be scrapped if we are to have any hope of turning the tide.’
Independent MP Rupert Lowe, an ex-member of Reform UK, claimed the immigration system was ‘broken’ and failing to ‘serve the British taxpayer’.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We have been clear both in relation to the welfare system but also immigration, we want both to see a reduction in net migration through a system that is controlled, selective and fair and we want to reform the welfare system such that it genuinely supports those who can work into employment…
‘As we set out in the immigration white paper, we want to tighten up the system further, that is why we are doubling the current length of time it takes to apply (for settled status) once the legal status is awarded, from five years to a new starting point of 10 years under a new contributions based model.
‘This will place more emphasis on an individual’s contribution to the economy and society before settlement can be granted.’
The figures come after Keir Starmer capitulated to a backbench rebellion and failed to secure reforms to sickness benefits that would have saved £5billion.
Labour’s climbdown leaves a bungling hole in the public finances which it is feared Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have to plug with a wealth tax.
Shortly after the climbdown, new analysis revealed that living on sickness benefits will soon pay £2,500 a year more than a minimum wage job.
Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice found that a Universal Credit claimant who is not working and takes the average housing benefit and Personal Independence Payment for ill health will receive £25,000 in 2026-27.
