On this page
- Responsibility for homelessness
- Applying for help as a homeless person
- Threatened with homelessness
- Eligibility test
- Habitual residence
- Eligibility of British and Irish citizens
- Eligibility of European Economic Area nationals
- Review of a homeless decision
- Temporary accommodation
- Additional duties to homeless persons
- Eligibility of other nationalities
- Eligibility on grounds of behaviour
- Priority need
- Restricted cases
- Intentionally homeless
- Helping a destitute person with homelessness
- Homelessness help for young people
- Emergency help for homelessness
- Discharging the full duty to accommodate
This information is for professionals working in housing and homelessness.
Determining if someone is subject to immigration control
A person who is subject to immigration control needs permission to enter the UK. A person is subject to immigration control unless they:
- Are a British or Irish citizen
- Have a right of abode
- Are an EEA national who entered the UK under EU freedom of movement rights before 31 December 2020
- Are the family member of an EEA national who entered the UK under EU freedom of movement rights before 31 December 2020
Right of abode
A person with a right of abode can claim benefits if they are habitually resident. British citizens have a right of abode. Other types of British nationals do not have this right.
Irish citizens have a right of abode in the common travel area.
Some Commonwealth citizens have a right of abode but this depends on when they were born and their family history.
Legislation about eligibility for persons subject to immigration control
The Persons subject to Immigration Control (Housing Authority Accommodation and Homelessness) Order 2000 describes who is subject to immigration control and eligible for assistance.
- Article 5 includes eligibility for offers of housing
- Article 8 includes eligibility for help with homelessness
Persons entitled to housing and help with homelessness
The following categories of persons can receive offers of housing and help with homelessness.
Refugees – Class A
Granted humanitarian protection or discretionary leave – Class B, BA
Indefinite leave to remain – Class C
Person leaving Montserrat – Class D
Family member of relevant person from Northern Ireland – Class FB
Limited leave to remain as a stateless person – Class FC
Restrictions on accessing public funds
A person can have a right to enter or remain in the UK but not have access to public funds. This is usually referred to as having ‘no recourse to public funds’ and this person is not eligible for benefits.
A person usually has no recourse to public funds if they are:
- An EEA national who entered the UK after 31 December 2020
- In the UK under a work, spousal or student visa
- Seeking asylum
- Undocumented and entered the UK unofficially
The person’s visa or travel documents should state if this condition applies. Most people who are granted limited leave to remain cannot access public funds.
Lifting the no recourse to public funds condition
A person can apply to have the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition lifted if their leave to remain was granted:
- As a partner or parent on the 10-year settlement route
- Under the private life 10-year settlement route
- Based on another European Convention on Human Rights right
The Home Office can lift this condition if the person:
- Is destitute or at risk of imminent destitution (meaning, they have no accommodation and no means of finding accommodation)
- Does not have sufficient income to meet a child’s particular and essential need
- Faces exceptional financial circumstances
Contact the Law Centre NI for advice on lifting this condition.
Entered under sponsorship or maintenance undertaking
A person who entered the UK under a sponsorship or maintenance undertaking is not usually eligible for benefits. They are eligible for assistance if:1
- they’ve lived in the UK for at least five years, starting with the date of entry or of the undertaking, or
- their sponsor who signed their affidavit of support has died
People arriving from conflict zones
People arriving from Ukraine
A person is exempt from the habitual residence test and is eligible for help with housing and homelessness if they:
- left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion on 24 February, and
- were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022
People arriving from Palestine, Israel and Lebanon
A person is exempt from the habitual residence test and is eligible for help with housing and homelessness if they:
- were living in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights or Lebanon immediately before 7 October 2023, and
- left any of the above areas on, or after, 7 October 20232
Asylum Seekers – Class Q, R, T
An asylum seeker is only eligible for help with housing and homelessness if they:3
- Claimed assistance on their arrival in the UK before 3 April 2000, have remained in the UK, and their asylum claim has not yet been decided or abandoned
- Claimed asylum on or before 4 February 1996 and were entitled to Housing Benefit at that date
- Were in Northern Ireland when the Home Secretary declared their home country was subject to a fundamental change in circumstances, claimed asylum within three months of that declaration, and their claim has not yet been decided or abandoned
Domestic violence concession
A person can get exceptional temporary leave to remain and access to public funds if:
- They were admitted to the UK as the partner of a British citizen, settled UK resident or serving or discharged member of HM Forces (with at least 4 years’ service) and
- Their relationship has broken down due to domestic violence and
- They are destitute
This leave is for three months. During this time the Home Office will consider if they can get indefinite leave to remain.4
Footnotes
- [1]The Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, Schedule, Part I(2 and 3).
- [2]The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility)(Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023
- [3]The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, 3(2), 4(2).
- [4]Home Office, 2024, 'Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (formerly the destitute domestic violence concession (DDVC))' Version 2.0. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65cb36b273806a000cec772c/MVDAC_160224.pdf. (Accessed 20 February 2024).