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Scottish Super Sponsor Scheme – what to expect after arrival

What to expect when you come to Scotland with the Scottish Government as your sponsor. This information was compiled by the Help Ukraine Scotland and Scot Host groups, the information is current at the beginning of July 2022.
Useful resources:
● Opora Scotland Telegram Page
● Opora UK Announcement Telegram page
● HUS Telegram Page
● Scottish Refugee Council information website
● Guide for Ukrainian Arrivals to Scotland
● Fuse Employability Hub - Fuse Employability Hub - a weekly employment support meeting in Edinburgh from the Association of Ukrainians in the UK https://facebook.com/events/s/edinburgh-fuse-employability-h/995178024693131/
● Apprenticeship system in Scotland - everything about this type of work combining education and paid work in Scotland https://www.apprenticeships.scot

After arrival in Scotland
● you will be directed to one of the Hubs - Edinburgh Hub, Glasgow Welcome Desk, Aberdeen Welcome Desk
● In the Hub or Welcome Desk, you will fill in your details and a questionnaire that will help the Scottish Government and find you a sponsor/host.
● After your visit to the Hub/Welcome Desk, you will be taken to a temporary accommodation in a hotel. At the moment, the residence time in these hotels is from 2 to 8 weeks. Please note that due to the summer season all hotels in Edinburgh and Glasgow are full at the moment. For example, Ukrainian visitors were settled in these small cities in June 2022: Aviemore, Aberdeen, Ayr, Dunblane, Fife, East Kilbride, Bellshill.
● Hotels will either provide food or access to a kitchen and the ability to buy ingredients for cooking.. If you are in a catering hotel, please notify the hotel of your dietary requirements, if any - feel free! Hotels and their kitchens usually cater for a wide range of dietary requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, dairy free.

Permanent settlement (within the framework of the sponsorship program):
● Scotland has 32 district councils (MAP). The Council where you are located will contact you and offer more permanent accommodation with a sponsor/host. Please note that there is only a VERY small amount of social/public housing available. The vast majority of Ukrainians will be settled in sponsor families. These are private sponsors/hosts - the Scots gladly opened their homes for the Ukrainians; all required security and housing checks are carried out by the council, for the safety of you and your family.  
● You will have time to decide if you would like to live with a specific (proposed) sponsor. You will be provided with their location, the type of house and accommodation you have, and their description (for example, a family of 4 with a dog). If for some reason the council asks you to move in to the sponsor without delay, or if you are not provided with enough information, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE. If your English is not good enough to explain - contact HUS (HUS Telegram Page) or Opora (ku.aropo%40pleh) for support.
● Schools and work - most of the sponsors in Edinburgh and Glasgow have already been distributed. It is most likely that your accommodation in Scotland will be in other cities and towns. Scotland has an excellent, free education with a focus not only on academic achievement but also on emotional development, self-confidence and support for children with special needs. If you are offered housing in a small town, take into account that education for children and work there will also be available. It is important to add that if you have more than 1 child, it is more likely that your children will be in the same school than in Glasgow and Edinburgh where this is not guaranteed.
● Also note that although Scotland offers 6 months of sponsored accommodation, you are free to go wherever you wish within the UK. If you decide to find your own accommodation, that's absolutely OK, just let the council or host (if you already live with a sponsor) know. 

About living with sponsors:
● You will be living with a sponsor/host for 6 months. In some cases, you may be able to stay longer, but this is a highly individual situation; so, it's important to talk to your sponsor about what your expectations are and what they have.
● If for any reason you or your sponsor are no longer able to live together, you will return back to the hotel and you will be looking for a new sponsor / host.
● After you have lived with the sponsor for the agreed time, you will start looking for your own home, rent or buy.

If you have found a sponsor in advance:
in some cases, Ukrainians, having received a Super Sponsor visa, find a possible sponsor/host themselves. In this case, our advice is to head to Scotland and notify the Warm Scottish Welcome line of your travel plans (phone +44 808 175 7230). When you arrive in the country, let the Hub/Welcome Desk know that you have already had a sponsor/host in Scotland. They will tell you if this sponsor passed the test as a host. If these checks are not completed at the time of your arrival, you have the choice of either going to the hotel until the checks are completed, or to the sponsor. 
If you are not sure about something or you have questions, be sure to talk about it. Scotland is a very hospitable country and people around you will not be offended to know that something does not suit you. On the contrary, they support it!
IMPORTANT! - you always have support. If at some point you find yourself in a situation where you have nowhere to live - call this number 0808 1967 274 and ask for an interpreter by saying "Can I have a Russian/Ukrainian translator please". For less urgent cases, you can get support from HUS help/Opora Scotland Scotland in Ukrainian and Russian.

Opora is a registered charity (1199760)Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee (company number 13964425)128 City Road London EC1V 2NX

Contact us:
ku.aropo%40pleh

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Opora is a registered charity (1199760)Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee (company number 13964425)128 City Road London EC1V 2NX

Contact us:
ku.aropo%40pleh

Disclaimer

Complaints Policy || Donor's Charter || Code of Conduct || Cookies Policy || Privacy Policy