If you’ve recently moved or returned to the UK, there are extra rules about whether you can get most benefits. The rules mean you might have to pass a ‘residence test’ by showing certain information about where you’ve been living. The rules apply even if you’re a British citizen.

You might have to pass one of the following tests:

• habitual residence – this means showing that the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands is your main home

• past presence – for adults this means showing you’ve been in Great Britain for 2 of the last 3 years

• 3-month living in – if you applied for Child Benefit before 27 October 2023

If you’re not a British Citizen, you should also check if your immigration status lets you get benefits and help with housing.

If you’re applying for Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit

You need to show you’re habitually resident. This means showing that your main home is the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

If you’re making a joint Universal Credit claim with someone else, both of you need to show you’re habitually resident.

You’ll usually need to show you’ve been in the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 1 to 3 months – this is called an ‘appreciable period of time’.

If you lived in the UK before you went abroad, this usually makes it easier to show you’re habitually resident now. You might never have stopped being habitually resident – it depends on your situation.

If you have pre-settled status or you’re waiting for a decision from the EU Settlement Scheme

You don’t need to show you’re habitually resident if you have a right to reside because:

• you’re a worker – this includes if you’ve retained worker status

• you’re a self-employed person – this includes if you’ve retained self-employed status

• you’re the family member of a worker or self-employed person

• you’ve retired – or you’re the family member of someone who retired

• you’ve had to permanently stop working because of illness or an accident at work – or you’re the family member of someone in that situation

You still have to show you’re habitually resident if you have another type of right to reside, for example a permanent right to reside based on 5 years in the UK.

If you’re not sure what type of right to reside you have, you can check the rules about the right to reside for benefits.

If you’ve been told you didn’t pass the ‘habitual residence test’

The habitual residence test checks both:

• if you’re habitually resident

• if you have a ‘right to reside’ – this depends on things like your work, family and personal situation

Check the decision letter – it should say why you didn’t pass the test. If it says you didn’t pass because you don’t have a right to reside, check if you have the right to reside for benefits.

If you’re applying for a disability benefit

You need to pass the past presence test. This applies if you claim:

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance

If you’re over 16 years old, you need to show you’ve been in Great Britain for 2 of the last 3 years to pass the past presence test. 

Great Britain is England, Wales and Scotland. It doesn’t include Northern Ireland.

The time spent in Great Britain doesn’t need to have been in one go. For example, if you lived in England for 1 year, the USA for 1 year, and Wales for 1 year, you pass the test.

If you applied for Child Benefit before 27 October 2023

You needed to pass the ‘3-month living in test’ if you applied for Child Benefit before 27 October 2023. This means you had to show you’d been living in the UK for 3 months before applying for Child Benefit.

If you had pre-settled status or were waiting for a decision from the EU Settlement Scheme when you applied

You didn’t need to pass the 3-month living in test if you had a right to reside because:

• you were a worker – this includes if you’d retained worker status

• you were a self-employed person – this includes if you’d retained self-employed status
• you were the family member of a worker or self-employed person

You still had to show you were habitually resident if you had another type of right to reside, for example a permanent right to reside.

If you’re not sure what type of right to reside you have, you can check the rules about the right to reside for benefits.

Check what evidence you’ll need

The evidence you’ll need depends on the test you need to pass.

How you send your evidence depends on the benefit you’re claiming. The benefit provider will tell you how to send your evidence when you make your claim.

If you’re refused benefits because of one of the tests

If you think the decision was wrong you can make a new claim or challenge it. You should try to provide more evidence to support your new claim or challenge.

You can make a new claim whether you challenge the decision or not and it might mean you get benefits sooner.

If you’re refused benefits because of the past presence or the 3-month living in test, it’s usually best to challenge the decision. You should then make a new claim when you definitely pass the test.

If you’re refused because you can’t show you’re habitually resident, it’s usually best to:

• make a new claim each week – until they agree you’re habitually resident

• challenge each decision that you’re not habitually resident

Keep doing this until they agree you’re habitually resident.