Northern Ireland to achieve parity for Universal Credit recipients from December

Automatic entitlement to free sight tests, dental treatment and travel costs will be reinstated for 195,000 eligible Universal Credit recipients

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An older man sits at a table budgeting with a book an calculator

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Selina Powell

13 November 2025

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has announced that automatic passporting for the Help with Health Costs scheme will be reinstated from 1 December.

The announcement means that Universal Credit recipients under an earnings threshold will again be able to receive free sight tests in Northern Ireland – bringing the nation in line with the rest of the UK.

Since 2017, Northern Ireland Universal Credit recipients have needed to fill in a 22-page form in order to receive free eye care and dental care.

Northern Ireland health minister, Mike Nesbitt, highlighted that tackling health inequalities has been a key area of focus since taking office.

“The loss of automatic passporting for such a large number of people in Northern Ireland has been of considerable and understandable concern,” he said.

“I am delighted to say that work has completed to update the relevant legislation which now brings Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK in this area and will ensure that eligible Universal Credit recipients receive the automatic help they need to access these crucial healthcare services,” Nesbitt highlighted.

The same earnings threshold that is present in Great Britain will also apply in Northern Ireland. The details of the threshold are available in the Department of Health statement online.

Those who are outside of the threshold can continue to apply under a low-income scheme for Help with Health Costs.

Nesbitt highlighted that adopting the same threshold as Great Britain enables a UK-wide approach to be taken in any future changes to the threshold.

“My department will continue to work with counterparts across the UK nations on any potential revisions to the existing thresholds to ensure that these are reflected in Northern Ireland legislation,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor the impact of these changes. For those in receipt of Universal Credit who are not automatically passported as a result of these changes, we will seek to streamline the process of applying for Help with Health Costs,” Nesbitt added.

OT has previously reported on General Ophthalmic Services data that illustrates how the number of benefit recipients accessing free eye care in Northern Ireland plummeted following the removal of automatic access in 2017.

Between 2017–2018 and 2023–2024, the number of people on legacy benefits who accessed free sight tests dropped by 32,676.

After accounting for an increase in the number of people who applied for Help with Health Costs, there remained a shortfall of 23,910 patients.