Universal Credit Migration Notice - Migration Notices

People getting legacy benefits are having the claims closed and are being invited to make a new claim for Universal Credit. This is called managed migration .

Legacy benefits are Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit for working-age people, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and Income Support.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been sending Migration Notices to people getting the legacy benefits listed above. 

By the end of 2024, all Tax Credit claimants will have received a Migration Notice. Tax Credits will finish on the 5 April 2025 and will not be paid after this date. People who get ESA only, or ESA with housing benefit have already started to receive their Migration Notices, and the DWP will continue to send them throughout 2025. All Migration Notices will be sent by the end of December 2025 and legacy benefits will end on 31 March 2026.

Look out for a letter called a ‘Universal Credit Migration Notice’ from the DWP. Tax Credit claimants will receive this letter from the DWP with a HMRC logo or from the Department for Communities if they live in Northern Ireland. This notice letter is important as it will tell you that your existing benefits are stopping, and you need to make a claim for Universal Credit. It will also tell you what you need to do and by when.

You might get a leaflet telling you to get ready for Universal Credit – if the letter you get doesn't have a deadline on it, it isn't your migration notice. Wait until you get a proper migration notice.