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Introduction

The UK government has resettled Afghans under several different schemes since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021. The schemes are known as the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP), the 'ex-gratia scheme' and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). These resettlement schemes differ from the asylum route where someone applies for asylum and is either recognised as a refugee under the UN Convention, given Humanitarian Protection or granted 'discretionary leave'. For the rights to benefits for those entering the UK under the asylum route, see benefits for new refugees. 

If you are an Afghan who has been admitted to the UK under one of these schemes, you have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. If previously admitted with limited leave to remain you are immediately eligible to apply for indefinite leave. Whether your leave is limited or indefinite, there is no restriction on accessing public funds under any of these schemes.

Claiming universal credit, pension credit and housing benefit

There are no restrictions on access to public funds if you are granted leave to remain in the UK under the Afghan resettlement schemes. So if granted such leave, you can claim the following benefits straight away if you meet all the other normal qualifying conditions:

  • universal credit (UC) if working age
  • pension credit (PC) if you, and your partner if you have one, are over state pension age
  • housing benefit (HB) to help pay your rent if over state pension age or if living in certain types of accommodation

Note that if you are a full-time student you usually cannot get UC – see universal credit and students.

One of the qualifying conditions for all these benefits is that you must pass the habitual residence test (HRT). However, if you are granted leave under any of the Afghan resettlement schemes you are exempt from the HRT and so do not need to pass it. 

To get UC, PC or HB, you need to have a low income. Only certain types of income, including earnings and some other benefits, are taken into account, and if they are may reduce the amount of benefit you get or mean you are not entitled at all. 

For UC, if the value of any capital you own (which includes savings, property and investments) is more than £16,000 you are not entitled to UC. If your capital is valued between £6000 and £16,000 it reduces the amount of UC you get. If less than £6000, it does not affect your UC entitlement. PC has no upper capital limit but if your capital is valued over £10,000 it reduces your PC entitlement. How capital affects HB entitlement depends on whether you also get UC or PC and your age. Note that how any capital is valued should reflect its current market value for a quick sale and whether it is accessible to the claimant – as such, while you may own capital in Afghanistan, it may not be accessible or have a low, or no, current market value.

Amounts for children who are part of your family should be included in awards of UC or PC. This includes some young people under 20 still in further education but not those in higher education - see Parents claiming for young people in further education or training. You do not need to be the biological parent of the child or young person to get these extra amounts. The presence of the same children or young people in your household can increase the amount of HB you are entitled to. There is no requirement to first get child benefit for them (see Child benefit below). However, larger families may have the 'two-child limit' applied to them and so only get UC amounts for the first two children, or only the first two children taken into account when calculating your HB - if this applies to you see Where to get advice and help below. 

A 'benefit cap' applies to UC and HB and is most likely to affect you if you have a large family and/or high rent. There are exemptions from the benefit cap if you or someone in your family gets a disability or carers benefit (see Disability and carer's benefits below), if you are over pension age or you work and earn enough. If the benefit cap is applied to you, in Scotland you should be entitled to a 'discretionary housing payment' from your local council to compensate you for any loss. If you need help with this, see Where to get advice and help below. 

If you have claimed UC or PC and need money to live on while waiting for your first payment, you may be able to get an 'advance'. If you do get an advance, you will have to pay it back out of future benefits. Alternatively, you may be able to apply for a grant from the discretionary fund run by the local council, for example in Scotland the 'Scottish welfare fund', which does not need to be paid back.

Child benefit

As there are no public funds restrictions on Afghans granted leave to remain under these schemes, if granted such leave you cannot be refused child benefit for that reason. 

You must have a qualifying 'right to reside' to get child benefit, but if you have leave to remain under these schemes you have such a right to reside. Usually, child benefit is paid for any child under 16 for whom you are responsible. It can also be paid for young people under 20 still in full-time further education but not higher education - see Parents claiming for young people in further education or training. There is no 'two-child limit' for child benefit.

Disability and carer's benefits

As there are no public funds restrictions on Afghans granted leave to remain under these schemes, if granted such leave you cannot be refused disability or carer’s benefits for that reason. 

Depending on your age, if you need help with your personal care or have mobility problems, you may be able to claim:

  • attendance allowance (AA), or in Scotland pension age disability payment (PADP), if over state pension age
  • in Scotland, adult disability payment (ADP) or child disability payment (CDP)
  • in England and Wales, disability living allowance (DLA) or personal independence payment (PIP)

If you are caring for someone getting AA, PADP, ADP, CDP, DLA or PIP, in Scotland you may be able to claim carer support payment, or in England and Wales carer’s allowance. 

To get any of these benefits there is a habitual residence requirement and a 'past presence test' (PPT). However, if you have been granted leave under any of the schemes covered here you are exempt from both the habitual residence requirement and PPT.

Other benefits

As there are no public funds restrictions on Afghans granted leave to remain under these schemes, if granted such leave you cannot be refused any other benefits for that reason. However, at first you may not be entitled to many of the other benefits that are available because they may be based on periods of paying national insurance or employment in the UK.

To get some benefits you must first get another 'passporting' benefit such as universal credit (UC). For example, in Scotland if you are responsible for a child under 16 years old and get UC, you can claim Scottish child payment (SCP) as UC 'passports' you to SCP entitlement. Therefore, if you are awarded any of the benefits described above get advice to check whether you are passported to any other benefits and help - see Where to get advice and help below.

The residence and presence rules for most other benefits have been amended to exempt resettled Afghans. In Scotland, this includes the rules for best start grants, council tax reduction and young carers grant. Read more information about Scottish benefits in the welfare rights section of CPAG's website.

Where to get advice and help

If you have been granted leave to remain under the schemes covered here you may be getting support from the local authority in which you are resettled. Local authority staff should be able to assist with benefit claims.

Independent benefits advice is available from other agencies such as a local Citizen Advice Bureau or law centre. If you are a housing association tenant, they often have their own support staff and specialist welfare rights officers who can help. You can also search the Advice Local website for other agencies who can offer advice in your area: https://advicelocal.uk/.  

Support with both benefits and other issues is provided by organisations that specialise in working with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. These include Scottish Refugee Council (https://scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/), the Refugee Council (https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/) and the British Red Cross (https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help) but also many other smaller agencies.

If you are an adviser and need help with any benefits issues affecting those you support, you can contact CPAG for advice. Note that CPAG cannot provide advice directly to you about your own benefit claims but see above for other organisations who may be able to help you.

For more detailed information about benefits and how immigration and residence conditions affect entitlement, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook and Benefits for Migrants Handbook (for subscribers). There are also other CPAG resources about benefits for migrants.