Extra money for mothers and children

This page explains how much extra money is available to asylum applicants who qualify for help with living costs and who are pregnant or have children under the age of three. For information on who can receive help with living costs and how it is paid, see Cash support.

If you are a woman who is pregnant or with children under three, you can receive extra money to help you buy healthy food.

A baby under the age of 12 months receives an extra £5 a week. Pregnant women and children aged between one and three years receive an extra £3 a week.

If you are pregnant, you may be able to receive a £300 maternity payment, if you meet certain requirements. This money is to help you with the costs of having the baby. You can receive it only once.

You must apply for the maternity payment very close to the time when the baby is born. This must be 8 weeks (or less) before the baby is due to be born, or within 6 weeks after the birth. Your application must include one of the following:

• an original, full birth certificate;
• an original MAT B1 form (ask your case owner about this - it is a form provided by a doctor or midwife as evidence of your baby's birth or expected birth); or
• other original, formal evidence of the birth.