ONE in four settled status migrants from outside the EU are claiming benefits, analysis reveals.
It has led Tories to warn that Britain must not remain a “cash machine for the world”.
There were 179,482 with indefinite leave to remain, excluding the EU Settlement Scheme, on Universal Credit in December 2024, Department for Work and Pensions data shows.
The Migration Observatory, using Home Office figures, estimated there were 720,500 non-EU citizens with settlement status at the end of 2024.
That suggests about a quarter of non-EU immigrants with indefinite leave to remain are taking handouts.
It comes as Home Office forecasts suggest a further 1.6 million people will be granted settled status between 2026 and 2030.
If current claimant patterns continue, nearly 400,000 of them would be on Universal Credit by the end of the decade. By 2030, that group could cost close to £5.5billion a year in welfare payments.
The Tories vowed to reform indefinite leave to remain status to end automatic access to benefits.
They have also pledged to double the qualifying period for settlement from five to ten years — a move the Home Office is currently consulting on.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Sun: “Those with ILR should not be able to claim benefits at all, unless under the EU settlement scheme or entitled by treaty.”
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately added: “People who come to the UK should be contributing, not drawing benefits.”
A Government spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary recently set out new conditions to get indefinite leave to remain, including being in work, and having no criminal record.
“We are also planning to double the standard time for migrants to settle in the UK to ten years and increasing the period of time it takes to access benefits.”
