Who we help

We are dedicated to supporting the whole Armed Forces community. This includes:

• Currently serving and ex-service personnel who have received one day of pay.
• Those who are currently serving or have served as a Reserve or Auxiliary personnel.
• Those who have served with the Mercantile Marine afloat in hostile waters.
• Currently serving or previous full-time members of Allied Civil Police Forces.
• Those entitled to the campaign medal issued to the Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force to those giving them direct support or under their command.
• Any member of Voluntary Aid Societies who has served full-time and in uniform in direct support of the United Kingdom Armed Forces.
• Any British subject (by birth or otherwise) who has served one day in the Forces of an Allied nation during hostilities and received one day of pay from that nation.
• Any British subject (by birth or otherwise) who served in a resistance organisation of an Allied nation during hostilities in which the United Kingdom Armed Forces were engaged.
• Any person who served in the Home Guard for at least six months, or in a Bomb and Mine Disposal Unit for at least three months.
• Any person who was awarded the Defence Medal in respect of service in the Home Guard or in a Bomb and Mine Disposal Unit.

Additionally, anyone who is a dependent of eligible beneficiaries listed above could also receive help and support from the Royal British Legion.

A dependent is defined as, but not limited to:

• Any spouse of a beneficiary.
• Any person who is financially dependent on a beneficiary.
• Any person who is dependent for care from a beneficiary, or the spouse of a beneficiary. This includes adults or children.
• Any person whom a beneficiary is dependent on for care.

If you live in Scotland you may be eligible for support from PoppyScotland.

The charity provides a range of support to the Armed Forces community in Scotland, including financial, employment, mobility, housing and mental health.

Learn more about PoppyScotland on the RBL Knowledge Base.

Visit the Poppy Scotland website to contact their team.

Past and present members of the Brigade of Gurkhas and their families are eligible for help from the RBL in the same way as any other member of the UK Armed Forces.

You must be a legal resident of the UK, so you may be asked for evidence, such as a visa or other documentation from the UK Border Agency.

We can help you if you are waiting the outcome of an appeal for residency, but again, documentation may need to be provided to prove your circumstances.

United Kingdom Residency

You are eligible for UK residency if you are a former member of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and you served for more than four years. You can apply for 'Indefinite leave to enter the UK' through the Gurkhas Settlement Office in Nepal. They will provide you with a National Insurance number before moving to the UK. This will give you access to public funds and services on your arrival.

If you have already arrived in the UK and do not have a National Insurance number there are ways that you can recover it.

Learn more about recovering your lost National Insurance Number online on the GOV.UK website.

As a Gurkha, you do not have to satisfy the usual Habitual Residence Test when you move to the UK. Therefore, you have immediate access to income-related benefits providing you meet their general entitlement conditions.

Getting Help from the Royal British Legion

Contact us directly or talk to the Brigade of Gurkhas Welfare Support Office who will put you in touch with the relevant services.

The Brigade of Gurkhas can arrange for a Nepalese speaker to visit you if necessary to help with communication, so you get the help you need.

Visit the Gurkhas Welfare Trust website to contact their team.

The eligibility criteria for those living overseas is the same as for those living in the UK. However, you will need to ensure that any legal registrations required by your new country of residence have been satisfied. This registration process will often qualify you for state health or social services.

For example in Spain, residents are required to register with their local police station within three months, and register with their local padron for access to public services.

Our assistance cannot be provided in cases where legal registration requirements have not been met. This is to ensure that access to public services can be maximised before resorting to charitable funds.

Find out more about our support programmes for those who are overseas here on our website.

If you have served in one of the Voluntary Aid Societies listed below, you may be eligible for support from the Royal British Legion. You must have served full time and in uniform, in direct support of the UK Armed Forces.

• British Red Cross
• St John Ambulance Association
• St Andrew's Ambulance Association
• Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs)
• First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY)
• YMCA
• Expeditionary Forces Institutes
• Naval Canteen Service (Afloat)
• Salvation Army
• Society of Friends Field Ambulance Service
• Sea Transport Service
• Air Transport Auxiliary
• Royal Observer Corps - have to be in uniform and full-time employment
• Unexploded Bomb Units (for at least three months)
• Home Service Force
• Women’s Voluntary Service
• Home Guard (for at least six months)
• Polish Resettlement Corps (naturalised British citizens living in the UK)

If you are from a Commonwealth country and working for the UK Armed Forces, you are eligible for support from the Royal British Legion in the same way as any other member of the UK Armed Forces.

However, we cannot help if you are not a legal resident in the UK. Caseworkers will ask to see a valid visa, or documentation from the UK Border Agency to support your residency in the UK.

We can help while you are waiting the outcome of an appeal related to residency, but again, documentation will need to be shown to prove this.

You are eligible for support from us if you are serving or have served in one of the reserve and auxiliary services listed below. You must have received a days' pay and be 16 years or over.

• Royal Naval Reserve
• Women's Royal Naval Reserve
• Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
• Women's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
• Royal Marine Reserve (formally Royal Marine Forces Volunteer Reserve)
• Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve
• Royal Naval Special Reserve (RNSR and Special List)
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Reserve
• Royal Naval Emergency Reserve
• Royal Marine Emergency Reserve
• Territorial Army
• Army Emergency Reserve
• Territorial Army Emergency Reserve
• Supplementary Reserve of Officers
• Supplementary Reserve
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corp (TA)
• Auxiliary Territorial Service
• Women's Royal Army Corps (TA)
• Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (AVR)
• Women's Royal Army Corps (T&AVR)
• Royal Auxiliary Air Force
• Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, or
• Military Hospitals Reserve (Ex-Home Hospital Reserve).

Until 2003, RBL’s Royal Charter stated that eligibility for support would be open to "any man or woman who has previously received 7 days' pay as a regular, reserve or auxiliary member of the Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force, who has obtained an honourable discharge and is aged 16 years or over.

In 2003 the wording was amended to remove the words “who has received an honourable discharge”, officially allowing those who had been dismissed in an alternative manner due to their LGBTQIA+ status eligible for RBL services and support.

Read the Royal British Legion's Royal Charter on our website.