Twaddle

I will try to keep this long story as short as possible. I was born in 1998 and when I was 3 (2001) my dad divorced my mother and he took me with him to Ukraine (of all places). Now that I am older, 21 to be exact, I want to change my life around for the better. I have family in the UK on my dad's side but they have no interest in helping me or being in contact with me. Same as my dad, he is not too keen on helping me get back to England, in fact, we are not too close either. As for my mother, she is long gone. We have no contact with her side of the family (at this point I am not even sure if they know I exist).
So my question is: Can the UK government help me in any way possible to settle back in? I have a British passport, I am a citizen of the country. I know that I may be asking too much, but I still figured it's worth a shot to at least ask some people who are knowledgeable on the matter. If I explain my situation to the government may they help me in any way? I would really like to change my life for the better while I am still young.
Thank you for reading and any answers that can help me in any way are welcome!

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

You've not actually said, but presume you are a UK citizen? Is your Dad British? Do you have a British passport?

What do you mean by helping 'settle back in'? What specifically are you looking for assistance with? If you can give us a bit more info we can try and help.

Twaddle

Yes, my dad is British. My whole family is. By "settle in" I mean, where would I stay? I would have enough money to get there but what next? Getting a job I can handle. But sleeping outside on park benches ain't the best option. Is there some housing benefit maybe? Sorry if this is a silly question, as I said I don't know too much.
Thanks for the welcome.

christmasoompa

Ah, thanks for clarifying. You'd need to make sure you have enough money/savings to support yourself and find somewhere to live at least to start with, there's a waiting period for most benefits (I think it's 3 months?). So get saving, and hopefully you can head back in time once you're in a better financial position, unless of course you can convince one of your relatives or friends to let you stay with them for a while.

There are various other threads on the subject that will give you more detailed info, have a search of the forums and hopefully you'll find some.

Best of luck.

Twaddle

Okay then, thanks a ton for answering! I'll check out the forums.

christmasoompa

No probs. And here's some info on claiming benefits when returning from abroad - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/cy...-for-benefits/

HTH.

Twaddle

Okay that link is useful. Thanks a million. I'll give it a read.

spouse of scouse

As a British citizen you'll be able to access the NHS as soon as you arrive, so that's at least your health care sorted out. You'll need to register with a local GP, complete a form and they'll sort out your NHS number (I'm guessing that you would have been issued one at birth, but if not you'll be allocated one).

jjmb

maybe contacting UK expats in Ukraine might help. There doesn't appear to be an forums on this site but checking google, I came across this site https://www.internations.org/ukraine-expats/british.

It will be hard, no doubt about that. My son lived in Edinburgh for nearly 3 yrs and for the first 3 months, he and his ex girlfriend did multiple temporary jobs. They found a flat share pretty quickly as its a university City so lots of students. It would be helpful to know what your work experience is or the type of employment you are looking for. Also, which part of the UK did your father come from.

Good luck with your journey.

Britishbitz

As a citizen/passport holder you can just walk in to the UK no issue there. Finances you will need at the very least enough money to secure accommodation, having never lived in the UK before you have zero credit rating, so to rent a place some agents/landlords will require a few months paid in advance. You can 'open' a bank account the day you arrive, but you won't be able to use that account until you have gone into the bank with an appointment and with required documents eg: passport, lease, proof of address etc this is due to the UK's anti money laundering laws. Once that is done you can use your account/card/deposit/withdraw etc. This can take a few weeks. (I have opened a HSBC global account as there are no fees etc for using your money in the UK you can change between home currency and pounds) so will use that until UK account sorted then transfer over.

You will have to get one of those poor credit/high interest credit cards and start using it and paying it off in full each month to build a good credit rating, which takes a long time. You may or may not be able to get a mobile phone contract.

Jobs well, usually not to hard to find one depends on what you do?

It's not impossible but in reality at the very minimum you will need to be able to support yourself for at least 6 months to a year initially. I'm moving myself, my mum and two kids in Jan, we have been out of the UK for 26 years, but I do have the financial means to support us for the first year, and obviously as soon as we land and get sorted will be looking for a job etc and doing the bank account/GP/Credit card etc thing. So get saving

dean350

As someone with a UK passport you can just walk straight in. Practically you would be in the same position as many young EU migrants who come to the UK each year. First thing is to get a UK NI number, arrange some temporary accomodation. You will need some cash behind you for the first few weeks. Maybe contact Ukrainians in UK when you arrive through churches, clubs etc as they will know where jobs are. If you have an education then so much the better. Get registered with labour agencies - take any job to start. I had a friend who walked into the UK and got a job at Amazon Rugeley within days of turning up. Tough - but if you are young and fit not a problem. Work as hard as you can and save as much as you can for a year. You'll then be able to get a car, better place to live etc etc.

Twaddle

Okay, thanks for the useful answers guys. I have another question though. I was doing some more research and I came across the term "council housing". Can someone please explain to me in more detail what is this?

christmasoompa

Council housing is when the local council gives people in need a home, again it's not something you'd be eligible for straight away though. Usually long waiting lists, and you would be fairly low down on the list as a young single bloke (for example, a homeless parent with young children would get priority over you). You can read more here - https://www.gov.uk/council-housing

What do you do for a job and what qualifications do you have?

Shard

Doesn't your British side of the family want to help you?

Probably more likely that you would receive housing benefit than council housing (if no kids). The problem is the benefit is quite low compared to rental rates, so it might be better to consider lower cost regions of the UK than the big cities (initially). As noted you will need 3 months before being eligible to claim any benefits. You could also consider working at hotels (especially rural) as they often offer accommodation as part of the employment. Many Europeans do that, and many are leaving now because of Brexit.

Twaddle

Thanks for the suggestion Shard, that's not a half-bad idea actually. Working in a hotel, for the time being, is the best option I've had this whole time. As for my family... No, they are not interested in helping at all. They live their own life and I live my own. I'm not complaining. Many other people have it worse than me and still manage. I would just like to gather as much information as possible before moving out.
Well if I won't get housing how about help with rent? I've read online that half my rent can be paid by the government, it's another form of benefits, I think? Did I get something wrong?

So christmasoompa I have a profession as a welder. To be fair, I am not really interested in this profession. I was forced by my dad to go study it for 3 years. Maybe I should study while I am still young in the U.K? I am not sure what would be the best option for me.
P.S: If my English is bad I am sorry, I never really studied it in school, everything I know I picked up from my dad.