A MIGRANT becomes eligible for Universal Credit payments every 43 seconds, according to bombshell new figures.
The number of foreign nationals entitled to claim benefits has nearly doubled in the past two years – hitting 734,200 in the year ending September 2025.
This equates to just over 14,000, or 2,000 a day.
Critics slammed the explosive figures and said it is outrageous British taxpayers are having to pay for soaring benefits for migrants.
Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control (CMC) think tank which unearthed the status, said: “It is absurd that current rules mean the British taxpayer is forced to make welfare payments to migrants.
“It is time to end the right for migrants to claim welfare and ensure that British benefits only go to deserving British citizens.”
Some 734,200 migrants passed the Habitual Residence Test (HRT) – making them eligible for benefits like Universal Credit – between October 2024 and September 2025.
This is up from 411,700 between October 2022 and September 2023 – an increase of 78 per cent in two years.
Between March 2022 and September 2025 nearly 2 million migrants (1,953,400 people) became eligible for the benefits.
The government stats were unearthed via Freedom of Information requests.
Earlier this year, the Department for Work and Pensions admitted that 1.3 million migrants – or nearly 500 a day – actually claimed Universal Credit.
But today’s figures reveal that number could balloon even higher because hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals are eligible for it.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to curb immigration and impose tough new rules forcing people to “earn” the right to stay in Britain.
Migrants who claim benefits for up to a year will have to wait 15 years to get Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in Britain. – up from the current five years.
Migrants on benefits for more than 12 months face a 20-year wait for settlement.
A Government spokesman said: “Universal Credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK, and overall, the proportion of claimants in this country who are foreign nationals has fallen since October 2024.
“But we want to go further which is why we have announced plans to double the standard time most migrants have to wait before they can access benefits to 10 years, reducing the burden on the taxpayer and making sure settlement rights are earned.”
ROBERT BATES: Benefits handouts to migrants absurd
By Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control
It is absurd that current rules mean the British taxpayer is forced to make welfare payments to migrants.
The economy is in the gutter, public services are falling apart, the Chancellor has hiked up taxes, and yet the government is happy to give over £10bn in Universal Credit payments to non-Brits every year.
We are told that mass migration helps grow the economy. But how can this be true if nearly 1.3 million foreign nationals are having their lifestyles subsidised by hardworking Brits?
Lax borders have brought millions into the country who will end up being a long term drain on the country’s balance sheet.
New research by the Centre for Migration Control reveals that, since March 2022, 1.9 million Universal Credit claims made by migrants passed the first stage of the DWP’s application process.
The data, obtained via Freedom of Information request, shows the numbers passing the Habitual Residence Test, a requirement for migrants looking to claim benefits, increased by 78% between 2022/23 and 2024/25.
This is a fiscal ticking time bomb. In the last twelve months a foreign national was given permission to claim Universal Credit every 43 seconds.
Not all sign on immediately, but by undertaking the HRT they clearly intend to at some point in the near future.
In September 2025, there were an average of 1,856 HRT applications made by migrants every single day. (Note: 55,700 HRT applications, divided by 30).
Whilst we only have limited data on other benefits being claimed by migrants, the figures we do have clearly show that the Home Office has not been granting visas to the best and brightest.
Too many allowed into the country have no desire to make a contribution and are happy to take state handouts.
It is time to end the right for migrants to claim welfare and ensure that British benefits only go to deserving British citizens.
