The University of Sheffield
Welcome to Sheffield

Welfare Benefits

1. Can I claim welfare benefits?

For more detailed information please see the following link,

www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/info_sheets/welfare.php

a. It is a condition of international students´ (including EU) entry to the UK that they can support themselves financially `without recourse to public funds´.

b. You and your dependants must not claim nor apply for:

  1. Council Housing
  2. Child Benefit
  3. Income Support or Job-Seeker’s Allowance (for unemployed people)
  4. Housing Benefit (help with rent)
  5. Housing as a Homeless Person (from the local council)
  6. Council Tax Benefit (help with Council Tax payments)
  7. Disability Benefits
  8. Working Tax Credit
  9. Child Tax Credit

c. You must not accept them if they are offered.
The Immigration Regulations supersede the authority of any officials advising on welfare benefits. Applying for these can jeopardise the right of an international student or their dependant(s) to remain in the UK.

d. You can claim:

  1. Free National Health Service (NHS) treatment if you are registered at the University on a course lasting six months or more or you come from an EEA country or from a country with reciprocal agreements.
    Countries with reciprocal arrangements for free health care are: Anguilla, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bosnia & Herzegovina, British Virgin Islands, Caicos Islands, Croatia, Falkland Islands, Georgia, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montserrat, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, St Helena, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turks, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
  2. EEA national students please note: EEA nationals on courses of less than 6 months with pre-existing conditions must obtain a European Health Insurance Card from home health authority before coming to the UK.
  3. Free health care. Your spouse and children here on dependants’ visas in UK will also be able to get free NHS treatment provided they are here for six months or more.
  4. Free prescriptions if you are under 19 and in full-time education, or if you are pregnant, or if you have had a baby within the last twelve months.
  5. Free or reduced prescriptions if you are on a low income. Application forms (HC1) are available from the Student Advice Centre in the Students’ Union.
  6. Dental treatment on NHS for minimum charge (if dentist is willing to treat you under NHS and you are registered with a doctor). Help with cost of treatment if you are on low income.
    Dental treatment is free if you are under 19 and in full-time education.

    • Charges for complex work can cost £200+ on NHS
    • Have a dental check-up before you leave home.

    (See the following link for information about NHS dentists)

www.shef.ac.uk/welcome/medical/dentists.html

  1. Sight testing for a minimum charge (free if you are under 19 and in full-time education). You will have to pay for spectacles or contact lenses. Help with the charges relating to eye treatment if you are on a low income.
    Application forms (HC1) are available from the Student Advice Centre, Students’ Union.
    Remember, you will not be able to fund yourself from public funds and should not build any benefits into your budget plans. There are very few exceptions to these rules. In rare and exceptional cases, temporary assistance may be available. Ask advice from SSiD or the Student Advice Centre - see the following link,

www.shef.ac.uk/welcome/ssd