UK IMMIGRATION NEWS

Immigrant workers collect 28 million GBP in child benefits

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

Since entering the European Union in 2004, Poland and seven other eastern European states have collected 28 million GBP in Child Benefit money for children not living in the UK.

Most of the 34,000 children in question live in Poland, and come from families of migrant workers in the UK who have arrived since the country’s entrance into the European Union.

The welfare benefit allows UK migrant workers to collect 18.10 GBP a week for their first born child, and 12.10 GBP for their younger children, even if those children are not living in the UK.

It is estimated that some 21,000 child benefit awards are issued for the 34,000 children falling under this category, according to the most recent data.

The percentage of migrant workers in the UK who are claiming this benefit has risen by some 50% since June 2007.

Children from Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Lithuania are all benefiting from the child welfare program.