Training

Migrants Rights courses

All Migrants Rights courses are 2.5 hours long and cost £80 per person (£50 for members of Positive Action in Housing) for open courses. They can also be delivered in-house. 

No Recourse To Public Funds

While the Immigration Rules are more complex than ever, housing providers accommodate people with a very wide range of immigration statuses, from EEA nationals, to refugees with limited leave to remain, to people with work visas. Some tenants have full access to welfare benefits, some have limited access and some have “No Public Funds” stamps, but it is not always obvious which and circumstances change. As the economy suffers the lasting effects of the cost of living crisis, people with complicated immigration statuses will be more vulnerable than ever.

Maintaining tenancies in these circumstances can be difficult for everyone involved. Our No Recourse to Public Funds workshop will help frontline workers identify a tenant’s current status, clarify what this means in terms of access to public funds and plan effective support where difficulties arise. 

Rights and Entitlements of EEA Nationals

Outside of the European Union, many EEA nationals living in the UK find their rights more complex than ever and the cost of living crisis taking a tighter and tighter grip. For housing providers, local authorities and 3rd sector organisations it will be more important than ever to be able to offer EEA tenants and service users excellent advice at the earliest stage, to help prevent unnecessary poverty, rent arrears and evictions. You will be briefed on fundamental issues of housing, homelessness and welfare entitlements of EEA nationals and we will look at how your service users might prepare themselves for an economy in recession and cost of living spiralling. 

Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Successive legislation has pushed people seeking asylum in the UK further and further from the mainstream, making life for people waiting for decisions of asylum applications and people with status increasingly difficult. The New Immigration Plan, effects of Covid lockdowns, social distancing, recession and stretched public finances threaten to make this worse. It’s vital that people working in public and 3rd sector services understand why they should and how they can counter these effects. This course explores how the asylum system works from the perspective of a claimant and the process involved in making a claim for asylum. The course also explores the journeys and barriers faced by both refugees and asylum seekers reaching and building a new life in Scotland and their respective entitlement to services.