-even if they have never stepped foot in Britain
Taxpayers are funding child benefit for more than 50,000 children of migrant workers - even though the youngsters still live in their home countries.
Treasury figures show that Poles make up the vast majority of the payments made under a loophole in EU legislation.
Benefits are paid to 37,941 children in the former Eastern Bloc country, who have one or both parents working in the UK.
Migrant workers in Lincolnshire.They are paid child benefit, even if their children have never set foot in Britain
The cost is estimated at more than ?24million a year.
The number of Polish children being subsidised by British taxpayers has jumped by 6,542 in two years despite a slowdown in immigration because of the recession.
Under 'social responsibility coordinating regulations' drawn up in Brussels, EU migrant workers who pay taxes in their host country are able to claim benefits and tax credits as soon as they start work, even if they have left their families behind.
The tax credits could produce an additional ?100 a week to a migrant with children.
Workers from Poland and seven other Eastern European countries who joined the EU in 2004 are entitled to out-of-work benefits only after 12 months of taxed work.
Philip Hammond, Conservative Treasury spokesman, said it 'beggared belief'
However that requirement will be scrapped in 2011.
British handouts are much higher than many other countries' payments - particularly in Eastern Europe.
In some EU countries, such as Poland and France, child benefit is means-tested.
Migrants living and working in the UK claim the benefit in their home country, but if that works out to be less than the UK allowance, the Treasury tops up the difference.
Where a family is ineligible for child benefit in their homeland - possibly because they earn too much - they can claim the full UK rate of ?20 a week for the first child and ?13.20 for others.
In Poland, the equivalent of child benefit amounts to between ?3 and ?5 a week.
The Treasury has refused to put a figure on the total cost of supporting youngsters abroad through child benefit and tax credits.
But even if most of the Polish claimants are not getting the full rate from Britain, the total cost of the payouts to Polish families alone is estimated at more than ?24million a year.
The total for all 50,586 EU children would come to around ?33million.
Other children receiving the support include 2,573 in Slovakia, 2,346 in France and 1,818 in Ireland. Only 529 received the support in Germany.
The Treasury figures emerged in reply to a Commons question submitted by Labour MP John Mann.
Philip Hammond, the Tory Treasury spokesman, said: 'With Britain facing a debt crisis and the Government's child poverty strategy in tatters, it beggars belief that Gordon Brown is continuing to send millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to children who don't even live in this country.
'It's yet more evidence that he is completely out of touch with the concerns of ordinary families struggling to make ends meet.'
Ania Heasley, who runs a website which helps Poles settle in Britain, said: 'Originally people were surprised and said "This is great", but now there is so much information in Poland about the benefits that they all know about it. They are so happy about the welfare system.'
A spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs said the payments to foreigners accounted for a only a tiny fraction of the 7.5million child benefit recipients.
He added: 'The purpose of these rules is to help guarantee rights of free movement for workers throughout the European Economic Area.'
Taxpayers are funding child benefit for more than 50,000 children of migrant workers - even though the youngsters still live in their home countries.
Treasury figures show that Poles make up the vast majority of the payments made under a loophole in EU legislation.
Benefits are paid to 37,941 children in the former Eastern Bloc country, who have one or both parents working in the UK.
Migrant workers in Lincolnshire.They are paid child benefit, even if their children have never set foot in Britain The cost is estimated at more than ?24million a year.
The number of Polish children being subsidised by British taxpayers has jumped by 6,542 in two years despite a slowdown in immigration because of the recession.
Under 'social responsibility coordinating regulations' drawn up in Brussels, EU migrant workers who pay taxes in their host country are able to claim benefits and tax credits as soon as they start work, even if they have left their families behind.
The tax credits could produce an additional ?100 a week to a migrant with children.
Workers from Poland and seven other Eastern European countries who joined the EU in 2004 are entitled to out-of-work benefits only after 12 months of taxed work.
Philip Hammond, Conservative Treasury spokesman, said it 'beggared belief' However that requirement will be scrapped in 2011.
British handouts are much higher than many other countries' payments - particularly in Eastern Europe.
In some EU countries, such as Poland and France, child benefit is means-tested.
Migrants living and working in the UK claim the benefit in their home country, but if that works out to be less than the UK allowance, the Treasury tops up the difference.
Where a family is ineligible for child benefit in their homeland - possibly because they earn too much - they can claim the full UK rate of ?20 a week for the first child and ?13.20 for others.
In Poland, the equivalent of child benefit amounts to between ?3 and ?5 a week.
The Treasury has refused to put a figure on the total cost of supporting youngsters abroad through child benefit and tax credits.
But even if most of the Polish claimants are not getting the full rate from Britain, the total cost of the payouts to Polish families alone is estimated at more than ?24million a year.
The total for all 50,586 EU children would come to around ?33million.
Other children receiving the support include 2,573 in Slovakia, 2,346 in France and 1,818 in Ireland. Only 529 received the support in Germany.
The Treasury figures emerged in reply to a Commons question submitted by Labour MP John Mann.
Philip Hammond, the Tory Treasury spokesman, said: 'With Britain facing a debt crisis and the Government's child poverty strategy in tatters, it beggars belief that Gordon Brown is continuing to send millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to children who don't even live in this country.
'It's yet more evidence that he is completely out of touch with the concerns of ordinary families struggling to make ends meet.'
Ania Heasley, who runs a website which helps Poles settle in Britain, said: 'Originally people were surprised and said "This is great", but now there is so much information in Poland about the benefits that they all know about it. They are so happy about the welfare system.'
A spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs said the payments to foreigners accounted for a only a tiny fraction of the 7.5million child benefit recipients.
He added: 'The purpose of these rules is to help guarantee rights of free movement for workers throughout the European Economic Area.'
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