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Undocumented Migrants: Health Services and Social Security Benefits

Asked by Lee AndersonReform UKHome OfficeTabled Answered 2 December 2024UIN 15501

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent (a) undocumented and (b) illegal migrants in the UK workforce from accessing (i) NHS and (ii) welfare services.

Answered by Dame Angela Eagle

The UK has in place a framework of laws, policies and administrative arrangements to regulate migrant access to work, benefits and services. These measures ensure only those who are lawfully present and with the right to access are able to do so, whilst preventing access for those not entitled.

Migrants in the UK without lawful status are subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which prevents them from accessing most publicly funded benefits and services. An individual’s immigration status is checked prior to administering benefits and service. Benefits are either denied or terminated where an individual is subject to an NRPF condition.

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