Jobseeker
Which benefits?
If you have a right to reside as a jobseeker, you can claim Child Benefit.
Am I a jobseeker?
You can only have a right to reside as a jobseeker if you were already living in the UK on 31 December 2020.
You may have a right to reside as a jobseeker if you:
- Have been in the UK for more than three months
- Are looking for work
- Have a genuine prospect of work
If you have been a retained worker, retained self-employed, a self-sufficient student or a self-sufficient person, you cannot have a right to reside as a jobseeker without leaving the UK for some time and giving compelling evidence that you meet the conditions.
How long am I a jobseeker?
You are only a jobseeker if you are likely to work. This is called a “genuine prospect of work”.
You can be a jobseeker for 91 days. You will only continue to be a jobseeker if you can give compelling evidence that you have a “genuine prospect of work”.
If your right to reside as a jobseeker ends and you don’t have another right to reside, your benefit claims will stop. You can check whether you have another right to reside on our Types of Rights to Reside page.