Party says citizenship-based welfare rules could save £21 billion a year, but the plan would require major legal changes and fresh negotiations with the European Union.
Reform UK has proposed preventing most foreign nationals from receiving welfare payments if the party wins the next general election, in one of its most significant policy announcements on benefits and immigration.
The proposed restriction would apply not only to temporary migrants but also to people with indefinite leave to remain and European Union citizens holding settled status. Both new and existing claimants would be affected.
Under the plan, access to most benefits would be reserved for British citizens. Foreign residents who had made the UK their permanent home would generally need to obtain British citizenship before becoming eligible again.
However, this remains a political proposal. No benefit rules have changed, and foreign nationals who currently qualify can continue making claims under the existing system.
What Reform UK is proposing
The policy appears in Reform UK’s 52-page welfare document, Making Welfare Work. It would introduce a citizenship requirement across a wide range of income-related, disability and family payments.
| Benefit or service | Position under Reform’s proposal |
| Universal Credit | Restricted to British citizens |
| Housing Benefit | Restricted to British citizens |
| Pension Credit | Restricted to British citizens |
| Child Benefit | Generally restricted, but retained for British-citizen children |
| Disability and carer benefits | Restricted to British citizens |
| Taxpayer-funded free childcare | Restricted to British citizens |
| Contributory State Pension | Retained where contribution requirements are met |
| Armed Forces compensation | Retained |
| War Widows Pension | Retained |
| Free school meals | Reform says no child would lose eligibility |
| NHS services | Access would remain, although the party proposes a higher Immigration Health Surcharge |
In a household containing a British citizen and a foreign spouse, only the British adult would remain eligible for welfare. The income and assets of the foreign spouse would still be considered when calculating the household’s entitlement.
The party’s document says the restriction would also cover Personal Independence Payment, Carer’s Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and several legacy benefits. Reform UK’s policy paper says the rules would apply to existing recipients as well as future applicants.
Reform forecasts £21 billion in annual savings
Reform estimates that the policy would save £21 billion a year by 2029–30, including approximately £13 billion from Universal Credit.
The party says more than 1.3 million foreign nationals currently receive Universal Credit and predicts that the figure could reach 1.5 million by 2029. Its wider welfare programme aims to reduce annual spending by more than £50 billion.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, presented the proposal as a matter of fairness for British taxpayers. The party argues that the welfare system should primarily support citizens and that permanent residents who want access should apply for citizenship. However, the projected savings have not been independently guaranteed.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the final amount would depend partly on how many affected residents became British citizens in response. It also warned that withdrawing support could cause immediate and substantial income losses for households that currently depend on benefits.
What the official figures show
Department for Work and Pensions data provide a more detailed picture of Universal Credit claims.
In January 2026, 84.5% of claimants were British or Irish citizens, or people holding a right of abode. EU Settlement Scheme residents accounted for 9%, while people with indefinite leave to remain outside the EU scheme represented 2.6%.
Another 1.6% were refugees, 0.9% held other forms of limited permission, and the remaining claimants were recorded in smaller immigration categories.
The figures also show that receiving Universal Credit does not necessarily mean a person is unemployed. In December 2025, 46.5% of Universal Credit recipients covered by the EU Settlement Scheme were working. The employment rate among the overall Universal Credit caseload was 32%. These figures include people receiving income support because their earnings are below the relevant threshold. Official DWP statistics describe the immigration data as statistics still in development.
Many visa holders are already excluded
The proposal does not mean that every foreign national living in Britain can currently claim benefits.
Many temporary visas carry a “no recourse to public funds” condition. This normally prevents the holder from receiving Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit and most other state-funded support.
Access generally becomes available after a person receives indefinite leave to remain, settled status or another protected immigration status, although ordinary benefit conditions must still be satisfied. Eligibility is not automatic simply because someone has permission to live in the country. Government guidance on public funds explains the current restrictions.
EU settled status creates a major legal obstacle
The inclusion of EU citizens with settled status is likely to be the most difficult part of the proposal.
People protected by the post-Brexit Withdrawal Agreement have rights to equal treatment in areas including employment, social security and access to services. Reform acknowledges that it would need to renegotiate the agreement and remove its equal-treatment provision from welfare eligibility.
Such negotiations would require the cooperation of the EU and could place equivalent protections for British citizens living in European countries at risk. UK government guidance confirms that eligible British residents in the EU are also protected against nationality-based discrimination.
Reform has set aside a £500 million contingency in case British citizens lose benefit rights in EU countries and return to the UK. Its calculations assume that around 10% of the estimated 1.3 million British citizens living in the EU, excluding Ireland, could return and immediately require support. Whether that estimate would prove sufficient remains uncertain.
Labour and Conservatives question the plan
Labour has argued that most migrants already have no access to public funds and said the proposal could remove support from people who have lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain for many years.
The Conservatives have also questioned the practicality of reopening Brexit negotiations, describing the proposal as lacking sufficient detail. Reform maintains that its approach would deliver substantial savings and protect support for British citizens who need assistance. ITV News reported that the policy forms part of a much wider restructuring of the welfare system.
What happens next?
The announcement is not a change to UK law. For the policy to take effect, Reform UK would first need to enter government, pass new legislation, rewrite benefit eligibility rules and address the UK’s international commitments.
Negotiations would also be needed with the EU before protections held by settled-status residents could be altered lawfully.
For now, foreign nationals should continue to follow existing government rules. Current benefit awards and immigration statuses have not been cancelled by the announcement.