The number of non-UK nationals out of work has hit a record high, with nearly 1.3million foreign nationals now claiming Universal Credit.
Foreign nationals accounted for 21.5 per cent of all unemployed individuals between January and March 2025.
The ONS figures, based on the Labour Force Survey, show that between the three months, 346,000 non-UK nationals were unemployed – the highest number on record.
In July 2025, there were 1.298 million foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Of these, 524,598 were receiving in-work Universal Credit, while 759,375 were out-of-work claimants.
The figures include 174,299 people with refugee or humanitarian status and 770,213 who have been granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Another 213,666 had Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
Three years earlier, in July 2022, there were 927,837 migrants claiming Universal Credit across different immigration routes – meaning the number has risen by 370,539, or 40 per cent.
Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, said: “We were promised that mass migration would bring unbridled prosperity to Britain. Instead, the taxpayer is being expected to financially support 1.3million foreign national universal credit claimants, with one in five of those now unemployed being non-Brits.
“The costs of this open-border experiment are becoming clearer every day and it is time we end, once-and-for-all, the flow of low wage, low skilled foreign nationals into Britain.”
The figures come against a backdrop of falling job vacancies and slowing recruitment, adding further pressure to the UK’s labour market and public finances.
Last month, figures revealed that more than a million migrants are now claiming Universal Credit, with most not in work.
Official statistics show the number of foreign nationals receiving the benefit has climbed from 883,470 in 2022 to 1.26 million in July 2025.
The majority of these claimants are unemployed – a situation campaigners have warned is “unsustainable” for the benefits system.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “These are staggering figures and are clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system.
“Under Kemi Badenoch, we’ve set out a clear, common-sense position. Universal Credit should be reserved for UK citizens only. This is about fairness, responsibility and protecting support for those who’ve contributed to this country.
“We’re calling on Keir Starmer to stop the drift and take action. British taxpayers should not be working hard to subsidise immigrants, many of whom have only recently arrived.
“Taxpayers deserve a system that prioritises them, not one that continues to fund an unsustainable open-door policy.”
Asked whether Sir Keir wants to see the number of foreign nationals claiming benefits while unemployed reduced, his official spokesman said: “Absolutely, we both want to see the overall numbers of immigration reduced and we’ve set out plans for that through the Immigration White Paper.
“Within that, we also want to see people making a contribution to the UK, and that’s why in the White Paper we set out that we will be doubling the amount of time it takes to apply for settled status.
“That actually means that typically you can only access universal credit after you’ve lived here currently for five years, and we’re doubling that to a starting point of 10 years, so that will obviously reduce those numbers.”
The DWP said it had published the statistics “following a public commitment to investigate and develop breakdowns of the UC caseload by the immigration status of foreign nationals in receipt of UC”.
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