HAMPSHIRE RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT SERVICE

The service provision will be for refugees who have been resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programmes, and under the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS). The UKRS prioritises people requiring urgent medical treatment, survivors of torture and violence, and women and children at risk.

All applicants (including accompanying family members) are subject to the usual immigration checks and screening prior to a visa being granted. The ACRS scheme will prioritise those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and rule of law, and those vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups at risk (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBT+).

The ARAP scheme offers Afghan Nationals relocation to the UK who have worked for or alongside the UK Government and Ministry of Defence and meet the ARAP criteria. The objective of the project is to use the ringfenced government grant funding to welcome and support individuals and families entering the UK as refugees under these schemes, for 3-5 years.

HCC’s aim is to provide environments which allow the individuals to progress in language, employability and integration into their communities by working in partnership with contracted services, statutory partners, VCSEs and related connections. The project is in partnership with the Home Office to resettle individuals and families in Hampshire, who have been identified by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Ministry of Defence.

These individuals are identified for resettlement as there are no other solutions and their lives are in danger in the host country. Those who are accepted under the programme are granted humanitarian protection giving them leave to remain for 3-5 years (scheme dependent) with full recourse to public funds, rights to family reunion comparable to refugees or they are granted indefinite leave to remain on arrival to the UK.

They are required to enrol their biometrics in order that an eVisa can be issued. For individuals on the UKRS, if they have not been able to return to their country or origin, they may be eligible to apply for settlement in the UK or their indefinite leave to remain continues (scheme dependent).

The project has an agreement with the Home Office for funding each individual settled by HCC according to the Home Office Funding Instructions. The Service Provider of this service must provide a strengths-based and person-centred resettlement and integration support service for eligible individuals (Adult/Child) relocating to Hampshire, under the UK Government Resettlement Programme with a goal to enable individuals to independently live in the UK, develop their skills and access mainstream services themselves.

Support will be delivered by the Service Provider in partnership with core services and community groups who are actively involved in the resettlement of refugees into their area. The Service Provider will support the Council to safeguard vulnerable individuals, cultivate cultural awareness and develop independence of the individual during their integration journey. The Service Provider will provide support across all resettlement years of each individual’s stay in the UK, depending on individual need(s) and edibility.