Parents who are working and have a child who is age 11 or under may be able to benefit from the government's Tax-Free Childcare scheme depending on their earnings. This scheme is available UK-wide and also applies to disabled children under 17.
The parent who applies will need to meet a residence requirement.
The residence requirement will be met if a parent has one of the following:
When person has leave to remain that is subject to the 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF) condition, the residence requirement will not be met. Therefore if a single parent or both parents in a household have leave to remain with NRPF, the family will be unable to access tax-free childcare.
In two-parent households, both parents must meet the requirements relating to employment and earnings but only one parent needs to meet the residence requirement. For example, if one parent is a British citizen and the other parent has leave to remain with NRPF, the British parent can make the application. As government funded early education and childcare is not a 'public fund' for immigration purposes, a parent who has no recourse to public funds can be included in an application.
See the government information about the full eligibility requirements that the parent(s) must meet.
