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Introduction

The visas granted by the UK government to Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion in 2022 (the 'Ukrainian Scheme') are not part of the normal asylum process where someone is either recognised as a refugee under the UN Convention, given Humanitarian Protection or granted 'discretionary leave'. The information here is about benefit rights of those admitted under the Ukrainian Scheme rather than those who applied for asylum. For benefit rights of those with status in the UK under the asylum route, see benefits for new refugees.

The visas granted under the Ukrainian Scheme provide time limited leave to remain in the UK with no restrictions on accessing public funds, working, etc.. As such, if you are granted such leave there is no restriction on claiming any benefits, although all the other normal conditions of entitlement must be met including residence and presence rules. There is more information about this below. Note: if your period of leave under the Ukrainian Scheme is coming to an end you may be able to apply for an extension which if granted should be under the same conditions (eg, no restrictions on public funds or working) - seek specialist immigration advice if you need help applying for an extension of your leave.

The UK government launched a scheme to ‘host’ resettled Ukrainians. Hosts receive monthly 'thank you' payments. For how these payments and the presence of Ukrainians may impact the host’s entitlements, see below. Note that family members 'sponsoring' Ukrainians to join them are not covered by the hosting scheme.

Claiming universal credit, pension credit and housing benefit

There are no restrictions on access to public funds for resettled Ukrainians. 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 have been resettled under the Ukrainian scheme, 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 Ukraine, 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 those granted leave to remain under the Ukrainian Scheme, 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 the Ukrainian 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 those granted leave to remain under the Ukrainian Scheme, 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 the Ukrainian Scheme you are exempt from both the habitual residence requirement and PPT.

Other benefits

As there are no public funds restrictions on those granted leave to remain under the Ukrainian Scheme, 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 Ukrainians. In Scotland, this includes the rules for best start grants, council tax reduction and young carers grant. Resettled Ukrainians have also been added for council tax discount purposes in Scotland. Read more information about Scottish benefits in the welfare rights section of CPAG's website.

The benefits and entitlements of hosts

The monthly 'thank you' payments received by 'hosts' who take resettled Ukrainians into their homes do not count as part of the host's income for universal credit or pension credit. The payments also do not count as income for council tax reduction (other than working age council tax reduction in Wales which does not specifically disregard them).

If the host is getting other means-tested benefits, eg income-related employment and support allowance or housing benefit, there is no specific disregard of the ‘thank you’ payments as the rules have not been amended. However, the Government’s policy is that the payment should not affect the host’s benefits, and CPAG has been told that the payments are 'local welfare provision' (eg, the Scottish welfare fund) and so are disregarded. If the payments are taken into account, see Where to get advice and help below.

Having another person living with you can affect your benefits and other entitlements in various ways. For example, if you are normally a single occupier you may lose your 25 per cent council tax discount, or have a 'non-dependant deduction' made from your benefit, or you may no longer qualify for a 'severe disability premium'. The rules have been amended so resettled Ukrainians are 'discounted' for council tax purposes and therefore will not usually effect entitlement to a council tax discount. Resettled Ukrainians also do not count as non-dependants for council tax reduction in Wales and Scotland, or under the pension age rules in England. While no changes have been made to the specific rules for other benefits, the Government's policy is that the presence of resettled Ukrainians should have no impact on you as the host's entitlements as they are not normally living with you. However, that also means that the presence of resettled Ukrainians in your home as a host does not affect application of the bedroom tax. See the information about the host scheme Becoming a sponsor: Homes for Ukraine available on gov.uk. If a host loses out, see Where to get advice and help below. 

Note that if you 'sponsor' a visa for Ukrainian family members and they come and stay with you, this is not part of the hosting scheme and as such their presence may affect your benefits.

Where to get advice and help

Independent benefits advice is available from agencies such as a local Citizen Advice bureau or law centre. Housing association tenants often have access to 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. They should be able to provide advice to resettled Ukrainians and their hosts. 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 you with advice if you have a question about your own benefits, but see above for organisations who may be able to help.

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.