Apply to Change Your Permission to Access to Public Funds

: Written by: Arshad Mahmood; Last Updated: 25 January 2026

You can apply to change the conditions attached to your permission to stay in the UK if you have permission granted on the basis of your family or private life or if you hold a British National (Overseas) visa, and your financial circumstances have adversely changed since the grant of your last leave to remain.

If you have permission in another category, you can apply on discretionary grounds to change the conditions attached to your permission. If your application to change the conditions attached to your permission is refused, consideration may be given as to whether you continue to meet the requirements of the route for which your permission was granted and whether that permission should be cancelled. If your permission is cancelled, you may be required to leave the UK.

An application to allow success to public funds is made to the Home Office UKVI online. There is no priority or super-priority service for an application seeking access to public funds, and the application can only be submitted through the standard service.

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representation on a fixed-fee basis regarding your application to the Home Office UKVI to allow access to public funds.

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Applying for Permission to Allow Access to Public Funds When You Have an Outstanding Application

You can apply within the Immigration Rules for access to public funds if:

you had permission granted on the basis of your family or private life or as a British National (Overseas) visa holder when you made your application
you have not yet received a decision
you are in urgent need of access to public funds
you are destitute or at imminent risk of destitution
there are reasons relating to a child’s welfare which mean you need access to public funds, or
you are facing exceptional circumstances affecting your income or expenditure

You can also apply on discretionary grounds if you meet the above criteria and have leave under another immigration route, and there are particularly compelling circumstances which mean you need to access public funds.

Applying for Permission to Allow Access to Public Funds After the Grant of Leave to Remain

You can apply within the Immigration Rules for access to public funds if:

you have permission granted on the basis of your family or private life or as a British National (Overseas) visa holder
you are destitute or you are at imminent risk of destitution
there are reasons relating to a child’s welfare which mean you need access to public funds, or
you are facing exceptional circumstances affecting your income or expenditure

Eligibility Requirements

You are eligible to apply to the Home Office UKVI for a change of conditions to allow access to public funds if you meet the following requirements:

You have leave to remain under the 10-year partner, parent or private life route, where the applicant claims that refusal of that application for leave to remain would breach their rights (or the rights of other specified persons) under ECHR Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life)
You have leave to remain on the basis of other ECHR rights
You have leave to enter or remain as a British National (Overseas)

You can also be eligible to apply if you have leave to remain under the 5-year partner/parent route. If your application to allow access to public funds is accepted by the Home Office UKVI, you would be considered to have moved on to the 10-year route to settlement.

You will qualify for an amendment to your conditions of leave to allow access to public funds only if:

You are destitute
There are particularly compelling reasons relating to the welfare of your child on account of your very low income
There are exceptional circumstances in your case relating to your financial circumstances
You are at risk of becoming destitute

Definition Of Destitute

A person is destitute if:

They do not have adequate accommodation or any means of obtaining it (whether or not their other essential living needs are met)
They have adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it, but cannot meet their other essential living needs
They are at risk of destitution if either or both of the above are imminent

Evidence Required

In order to make the request for an amendment to the conditions of your leave to allow access to public funds, you must:

Complete your application online
Provide your existing Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) where relevant, or passport (including your Leave to Remain vignette where relevant)
Include documentary evidence that you meet the policy on granting recourse to public funds

It is up to you to provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the Home Office UKVI caseworker that you meet the eligibility requirements. If sufficient evidence is not provided with the application, the conditions of your leave will not normally be changed to allow you access to public funds.

You should provide evidence of your financial circumstances and living arrangements. This should include documents that are applicable to your individual circumstances, which could include the following:

6 months' bank statements for all accounts held by all members of your household, even those belonging to children or ones that are rarely used. These should be fully annotated to explain significant/regular transactions
Recent pay slips accounting for the last 6 months
Breakdown of monthly income and expenditure
Recent tenancy agreement or mortgage statement
Recent utility and other relevant bills
Recent P45 / P60
Letter confirming duration of employment, the hours worked and salary (the person writing should state their position in the company and provide contact details)
A recent letter from the Local Authority, confirming that support is being provided
A recent letter from a registered charity or other organisation providing support
Recent letters from family or friends who are providing support, giving full details regarding the extent of this and how often it is provided
A recent letter confirming that you, your spouse, or partner is in receipt of public funds

To succeed in your application, you will need to explain in detail your current financial circumstances, how these may have changed, and how you are currently maintaining yourself.

If Your Application for Permission to Access to Public Funds is Successful

If your request to access public funds is successful, your conditions of stay will be amended to allow you to receive them.

You can only change the conditions attached to your permission with this request. If you currently have permission to stay under the 5-year partner or parent route and you are granted access to public funds, you will remain on the 5-year route. Your circumstances will be reassessed when you apply for further permission, and to remain on the 5-year route, you will need to meet all requirements of the relevant rules at that time, including any financial requirements.

If you successfully apply to change the conditions attached to your BNO visa, it will not affect your ability to apply for settlement through the BNO route after 5 years of living in the UK.

If you are granted recourse to public funds on a discretionary basis, you will remain within the same immigration route as when you were granted permission. Your circumstances will be reassessed when you apply for further permission, and to remain on that route, you will need to meet all requirements of the relevant rules at the time you apply, including any financial requirements.

Application Processing Time

No service standards apply to the assessment of whether the applicant qualifies for a change of condition code to allow access to public funds, but Home Office UKVI caseworkers will normally make reasonable efforts to decide such requests promptly, especially those involving a child or an applicant who is street homeless, disabled or otherwise in vulnerable circumstances.

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Our immigration solicitors are specialists in applications to allow access to public funds. As one of the best immigration solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping clients obtain permission to access to public funds. Our highly experienced and fully qualified immigration solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and legal representation for your application to allow access to public funds.

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