Residency for Young Carer Grant

If the client's address is not in Scotland, you should contact the client to confirm if they are ordinarily resident in more than one place and if they have an address in Scotland. If they do not have an address in Scotland, you can decline the application.

The client is ordinarily resident in Scotland if they:

• live in Scotland
• have a daily routine centred around their Scottish address, such as attending school or being registered with a doctor
• are only temporarily or occasionally absent from Scotland
• have a settled purpose, such as work or education in Scotland

A person can be ordinarily resident in more than one place.

Example of ordinarily resident

For example, a client could have a home in England and Scotland and have a settled purpose for each. They could have a family home in England and a home in Scotland where they live during the working week.

The client would be considered as ordinarily resident because they have a settled purpose for living in Scotland.

Ask the client for proof of their ordinary residence in Scotland if either:

• they have not provided this already
• the address on the application does not match the address on the system

You still need to ask for proof if the address on the application does match.

To be habitually resident the client must have:

• been resident in the country they're living in for one to three months
• a 'settled intention' to continue living there for a reasonable period of time. It does not have to be permanent

Confirm the client meets the residency criteria if the documents they sent prove both:

• 'ordinary residence'
• 'habitual residence'

Ask the client for more supporting information if the documents they sent do not prove both:

• 'ordinary residence'
• 'habitual residence'

Use the 'Further evidence request' letter to ask for a document that proves both 'ordinary residence' and 'habitual residence'.

You can accept a current Student Awards Agency Scotland letter as proof that the client is:

• ordinarily resident in Scotland
• habitually resident in the European Economic Area

Some people are exempt from meeting the habitual residence criteria.

They only need to show that they are ordinarily resident in Scotland.

Clients are exempt if any of the following apply:

• they’re a refugee
• they’ve been granted discretionary leave (a form of permission to live in the UK, granted by the Home Office) or leave under humanitarian rules
• they’ve been granted leave under a domestic violence concession
• they’re deemed to have been granted leave under regulations for temporary protection for displaced persons
• they are not subject to immigration control and have been deported, expelled or removed from another country to the UK
• citizens subject to the 'Afghan re-settlement scheme), Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), and Afghan Locally Employed Staff Relocation Scheme (LES).

If a client indicates they may fall into any one of these categories ask for evidence, like documentation from the Home Office.

Also ask for proof of their ordinary residence in Scotland.

A client may contact us to say that they fall into one of these categories but they do not have any of the documents listed. These cases should be escalated to your Line Manager.

If the client arrives under one of the Afghan Resettlement Schemes

Clients who arrive under the Afghan Resettlement Schemes should receive Indefinite Leave to Remain. However, there’ll be situations where they’ll receive a temporary status on arrival which will then be updated. As such, there are a number of types of proof we will accept.

Not all clients from Afghanistan will qualify for the Afghan Resettlement Schemes.

Potential evidence for proof of eligibility:

Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP)

Those arriving under the ARAP scheme will tend to have either:

• the vignette in their passport which will state ‘limited leave to enter’
• their biometric residency permit which will state ‘limited leave to enter’.

Previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (LES)

Those arriving under the LES scheme will provide a passport with an endorsement: "Settlement - AF".

Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)

Those arriving under the ACRS scheme should have either:

• a wet ink stamp on passport which will state “Leave to enter for 6 months”
• a wet ink stamp on form IS116 which will state “Leave to enter for 6 months”
• vignette in their passport or other travel document where a passport was not held which will state ‘Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (or ACRS) – Indefinite Leave to Enter’
• biometric residence permit which will state ‘Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (or ACRS) - Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain’.

Check if the client is part of a Ukranian Scheme

Background to the schemes

This guidance should be used in relation to changes made to legislation from 22 March 2022 where certain groups of people who have come to the UK as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 may have a special visa issued by the Home Office. This allows them to access the Scottish benefit system without having to satisfy the existing habitual residence and past presence tests.

This document is intended as an operational guide on how to process applications from someone in those groups.

In the case of Low Income Benefits, do not need to apply the past presence test. However, the habitual residence test usually applies to the following benefits:

• Best Start Grant
• Best Start Foods
• Young Carers Grant

Further reading:

• The Social Security (Residence Requirements) (Ukraine) (Scotland) Regulations 2022
• The Social Security Scotland policy note to explain the legislative changes and rationale
• UK Government Home Office information on the Ukraine Family Scheme
• UK Government Homes for Ukraine scheme information

At present there are two main government schemes the client could benefit from if they had to leave Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion of 24 February 2022. These are:

• The Ukraine Scheme, which allows applicants to join family members in the UK
• The Homes for Ukraine Scheme, which allows UK individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to sponsor Ukrainians to come to the UK.

To be eligible for the Ukraine Scheme, the applicant must:

• be applying to join or accompany their UK-based family member; and
• be Ukrainian or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national who is applying to the scheme; and
• have been residing in Ukraine on or immediately before 1 January 2022.

Family member includes:

• immediate family members,
• extended family members, such as grandparents, siblings, adult children, parents
• immediate family members of those extended family members.

People arriving under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme will be either:

• Ukrainian
• the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national who is applying to the scheme.

This means it’s possible the client could be of any nationality.

People arriving under either scheme will:

• be granted a UK visa for between 6 and 36 months
• have the right to work (where applicable to children over 13)
• have access to public funds during this time.

These schemes currently operate on a concessionary basis. Leave to remain is granted outside of the Immigration Rules on compelling compassionate grounds, with the intention of adding the schemes to a new appendix in the Immigration Rules in the near future.

British citizens and those with right to abode in the UK

British citizens and people who have right of abode in the UK who:

• left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion of 24 February 2022, and
• were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022,

will also be exempt from having to satisfy the Habitual Residence and Past Presence Test.

An individual can be considered “resident” in Ukraine at that date even if they were living in another country at the time.

For example, a student resident in Ukraine was living and studying in another country immediately before 1 January 2022. They returned to Ukraine after 1 January 2022 but then left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24 February 2022.

In this situation, the student can be considered resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022, as required, despite living in another country at the time.

Clients with right of abode in the UK will have either:

• a UK passport describing them as a British citizen; or
• a UK passport describing them as a British subject with the right of abode in the UK; or
• a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. This is only valid for the validity period of the passport that it is attached to.

It will be harder to identify British individuals as they do not have to show immigration documentation in order to qualify for benefits in Scotland.

You only need to consider this if the child has failed the Habitual Residence Test or Past Presence Test.

In this scenario you should:

• ask the applicant about details of their arrival in the UK.
• confirm whether the client was resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022.

Not every individual who qualifies under these schemes will arrive directly from Ukraine. The country listed in ‘Moved to UK from?’ is likely to be Poland or neighbouring countries.

Potential evidence for proof of eligibility

On arrival from Ukraine, non-UK nationals will have either:

• a passport which is stamped
• an IS116 document provided to them by Visa immigration.

If citizens do not have a current passport, they will be issued with an IS116 document. This includes all children, who will have individual IS116 documents.

You can see examples of an IS116 document in the section titled ‘The IS116 document received on arrival in the UK’.

If an applicant has a passport

Their passport should be stamped by Home Office Immigration to confirm their leave to remain status and entitlement to access to public funds, known as Recourse to Public funds.

A vignette will also be inserted into an individual’s Ukrainian passport. A visa vignette is a sticker that is added to a passport or travel document when an entry clearance application is approved.

It will be endorsed ‘Ukraine Scheme’ and ‘Recourse to public funds’. You can view examples of UK visa vignettes.

Applicants with a valid Ukrainian passport are able to make their visa application online.

After applying, applicants will be given 6 months Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR). They will need to contact the Home Office to request their biometric residence permit within 90 days of arrival in the UK.

Passports incorrectly stamped

Some passports have been stamped incorrectly, stating that the individual does not have Recourse to Public Funds. This only relates to stamps issued after 24/02/2022.

In most cases a Code 1A stamp is used, which confirms Leave to Enter the UK until a given date.

In some cases where Code 1A stamps were not available, Code 1 stamp were used with the ‘no recourse to public funds’ scored out in ink.

For Code 1 stamp cases, we are in the process of establishing an escalation route into the Home Office to confirm cases where the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPC) is not crossed out. In the meantime if you come across one of these cases, please refer to the Decision Support Team for support.

If the applicant does not have a passport

If an applicant does not have a passport, they will have been issued a paper version of the visa vignette at the Visa Application Centre. Their Biometrics will have been confirmed there, along with the IS116 document.

The Home Office will send a letter once their biometric residence permit is ready to be collected from a Post Office.

These individuals get 36 months Leave to remain when their biometrics are confirmed.

The IS116 document received on arrival in the UK

The IS116 document is issued to individuals arriving from Ukraine without a passport.

All individuals will be issued this document, including children of all ages.

The front of the document will detail:

• the individual’s personal information,
• leave to remain status
• port information.

The reverse of the IS116 document will detail the:

• Immigration Officers’ stamp
• date of arrival
• ID code
• port of arrival.

Residency exemptions under these schemes

Individuals arriving in the UK under any of the routes listed in this guidance do not have to satisfy the past presence test and the habitual residence test if they meet the following criteria:

• they were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022
• they left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion of 24 February 2022.

An individual can be considered “resident” in Ukraine at that date even if they were living in another country at the time.

For example, a student resident in Ukraine was living and studying in another country immediately before 1 January 2022. They returned to Ukraine after 1 January 2022 but then left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24 February 2022.

In this situation, the student can be considered resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022, as required, despite living in another country at the time.

This is so that they can access disability benefits from when they arrive in the UK.

You should have already confirmed that the client is Ordinarily Resident in Scotland.