Guidance

A5/2026: Housing Benefit eligibility and the situation in the Middle East 2026

Updated 9 April 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-adjudication-circulars-2026/a52026-housing-benefit-eligibility-and-the-situation-in-the-middle-east-2026

Who should read

All Housing Benefit colleagues and wider if appropriate.

Action

For information.

Subject

Housing Benefit eligibility and the situation in the Middle East 2026.

Guidance Manual 

The information in this circular affects the content of the HB Guidance Manual. Please annotate this circular number against Chapter A3: paragraphs 3.450 to 3.470 and 3.590 and Chapter C4: paragraph 4.40 and paragraphs 4.64 to 4.70. 

Queries 

For queries about the:

Extra copies of this circular and copies of previous circulars can be found at Housing Benefit for local authorities: adjudication circulars.

Crown Copyright 2026.

Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.

Housing Benefit eligibility and the situation in the Middle East 2026

1. Following the increased violence and airstrikes in the Middle East in March 2026, the United Kingdom (UK) Government has arranged for the evacuation of British nationals and eligible persons out of the Middle East to the UK.  

2. Therefore, the Habitual Residence Test exemption and extended temporary absence provisions in The Social Security (Habitual Residence and Past Presence, and Temporary Absence) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/884) have been activated for the following countries:

  • Israel  

  • Bahrain  

  • United Arab Emirates (UAE)  

  • Saudi Arabia  

  • Qatar  

  • Kuwait  

  • Oman  

  • Lebanon 

  • Palestine 

  • Iraq 

  • Iran 

  • Jordan 

  • Yemen

3. All British nationals and individuals with recourse to public funds arriving in the UK from these countries are exempt from the Habitual Residence Test (HRT) provided they were residing in these countries immediately before Wednesday 4 March 2026. The HRT decision should be made between 4 March 2026 and 3 September 2026 for the exemption to apply. The HRT exemption will no longer apply from 4 September 2026.  

4. Existing claimants currently stranded in these countries are eligible for an extended temporary absence period up to a period of six months in total if they were present in the country immediately before Wednesday 4 March 2026 and they meet the requirements for claimants stranded abroad.  

5. Decision makers must apply this guidance alongside circular HB A12/2025, which sets out the full conditions for the Habitual Residence Test exemption and the extended temporary absence provisions under SI 2025/884.

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