Your Route Scotland What's different north of the border

Scotland runs some of this itself.

Your visa is decided in London. Your GP, your child's school, your housing rights and several of your benefits are decided in Edinburgh — and the rules are not the same as England's. Guidance written for "the UK" is often really written for England, which is how people in Scotland end up looking in the wrong place.

Which government decides what

This single distinction explains most of the confusion. Immigration is reserved to the UK government. Most of the services you use day to day are devolved to the Scottish Government.

Reserved — UK government

Use GOV.UK for these

  • Visas, settlement and citizenship
  • Asylum claims and asylum support
  • Right to work and right to rent checks
  • eVisas and share codes
  • Most working-age benefits, including Universal Credit
Devolved — Scottish Government

Use mygov.scot and NHS inform

  • NHS treatment and charges
  • Housing, homelessness and tenancy law
  • Schools, colleges and student funding
  • Some benefits, through Social Security Scotland
  • Crisis grants through your council

Devolved does not mean exempt

This catches people out. Scotland decides who gets these payments, but the UK government decides whether your visa lets you take them — and every Social Security Scotland payment is classed as public funds. So are social housing, council homelessness assistance and Council Tax Reduction.

That includes the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start and other family payments, Funeral Support Payment, the disability payments, and Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grants. If your visa carries a no recourse to public funds condition, these are closed to you, and claiming one you are not entitled to can damage a future immigration application.

Check your eVisa. If it says "No access to public funds", the condition applies. Links below marked Check your status first are affected. Links marked Open to everyone are not.

The official list of public funds NRPF explained in plain English Apply to have the condition removed

Housing emergency in Scotland

Shelter Scotland runs a free helpline. Scottish homelessness law differs from England's, so use a Scottish service rather than a UK-wide one.

0808 800 4444 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Closed on bank holidays.

Start here

Scotland has its own public services website. If you have been using GOV.UK for everything, this is the page you have been missing.

Moving to Scotlandmygov.scot

The Scottish Government's own guide for new arrivals — registering with a GP, schools, council services, money and what to do first.
Social Security Scotlandmygov.scot

The Scottish benefits agency, separate from the DWP. It delivers payments that do not exist elsewhere in the UK.

Health

NHS Scotland is a separate health service with its own website and its own charging rules. Several things that cost money in England are free here.

Registering with a GP practiceNHS inform

NHS inform is Scotland's health information service. Use it rather than nhs.uk, which covers England. An NRPF condition does not stop you registering with or seeing a GP.

Open to everyone
Register with a GP after moving heremygov.scot

What to do about your health records and details when you arrive in Scotland.
Help with health costs in ScotlandFree advice

Prescriptions are free in Scotland. Dental check-ups are free for everyone, and eye tests are free for UK residents, asylum seekers and refugees. The page sets out who else qualifies for free treatment.

Open to everyone

Housing

Scottish housing law is genuinely different. Tenancies, eviction rules and the council's duties to homeless people all work differently from England, so English advice can be actively wrong here.

If you're homeless or have nowhere safe to staymygov.scot

You can count as homeless while still having a roof — sofa-surfing, overcrowding and unsafe conditions can qualify. Every council must give homelessness advice to anyone. The duty to house you is different: homelessness assistance is public funds, so whether you get accommodation depends on your immigration status.

Check your status first
Renting from a private landlordmygov.scot

Scotland uses the private residential tenancy, which has no fixed end date and different eviction rules from an English tenancy.
Know your renting rightsScottish Gov

The Scottish Government's plain-language campaign site for tenants.
Applying for a council or housing association homemygov.scot

How the application works and who can join a waiting list. Social housing is classed as public funds, so not everyone can apply.

Check your status first
Shelter Scotland: get helpFree advice

Free housing advice under Scottish law, by phone and online. They can tell you what your status entitles you to before you approach a council, which is the safer order to do it in.

Open to everyone

Find out where you stand before you apply

Housing eligibility depends on your immigration conditions, and the rules are genuinely complicated — some people are eligible, some are not, and some are eligible for less than they expect. Shelter Scotland's advice is free and open to anyone. Getting your position checked first costs you nothing and avoids a claim you were not entitled to make.

Money and crisis support

Scotland has payments that exist nowhere else in the UK. All of them are classed as public funds, so read the section above before applying for any of them.

Benefits in Scotlandmygov.scot

What exists here, including Scottish payments alongside UK-wide ones. Benefits you have paid National Insurance for are not public funds; almost everything else on this page is.

Check your status first
Help with money if you have a childmygov.scot

The Scottish family payments, which have no equivalent in England. Scottish Child Payment and Best Start are public funds.

Check your status first
Urgent help with food, fuel or moneymygov.scot

Where to turn if you have nothing coming in. Some of what this page lists is public funds and some is not — food banks and charitable help are not. Check before applying for the funded schemes.

Check your status first
Scottish Welfare Fundmygov.scot

Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants, applied for through your council. Welfare Fund payments are named on the official public funds list.

Check your status first
Contact Social Security Scotlandmygov.scot

Webchat, phone and post. Scottish payments are applied for here, not through the DWP. If you are unsure whether a condition on your visa blocks a payment, ask them before you apply.

If you have no money and no recourse to public funds

Support that is not public funds still exists. Councils can help families with children in need, and adults with care needs may be able to get an assessment. Food banks and charitable help are not public funds. If your circumstances have changed, you can ask the Home Office to remove the NRPF condition from your permission — there is no fee, though removal is not automatic. A regulated adviser or Citizens Advice can help you work out which of these applies to you.

Travel

Scotland's biggest practical advantage for families, and one many people do not know applies to them.

Free bus travel for everyone under 22Transport Scotland

Everyone aged 5 to 21 living in Scotland travels free on the bus. Transport Scotland states that young people seeking asylum and refugees aged 5 to 21 are eligible on the same basis as anyone else. Under-5s already travel free and need no card. This is a national statutory scheme, not a pilot, and it is not public funds.

Open to everyone

How to apply

Most people apply online at getyournec.scot, which needs a mygov.scot myaccount. Some councils and schools also take applications through parentsportal.scot. A parent, guardian or carer applies for a child under 16; anyone 16 or over applies for themselves. You will need proof of identity and age, proof of address, and a recent photo.

If you are applying with an Application Registration Card, go through your local council instead. Councils accept a wider range of proofs than the online service. Allow about two weeks for the card either way.

Adults seeking asylum: the separate scheme has ended

A £2 million pilot gave free bus travel to adults seeking asylum in Scotland. It ran from 1 December 2025 and was funded only to 31 March 2026. No extension has been announced, and next steps depend on the pilot's evaluation. The under-22 scheme above is unaffected and continues. If the adult scheme returns it will be announced by Transport Scotland.

Asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland

The asylum claim itself is handled by the Home Office. The services around it — housing advice, health, schools, integration support — are Scottish.

Scottish Refugee CouncilFree advice

The main independent organisation for people seeking protection in Scotland.

Open to everyone
Finding a legal representative in ScotlandFree advice

A list of Scottish firms doing asylum and protection work, all registered with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Legal Aid Board. Firms are often full, so expect to contact several. The page stresses getting advice early, because evidence deadlines are short.
New Scots refugee integration strategyScottish Gov

Scotland's approach to integration from the day someone arrives, delivered with COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council. Useful for understanding what local services are meant to provide.
Funded support servicesScottish Gov

Which organisations the Scottish Government funds to support refugees and people seeking asylum.
Asylum helplinesFree advice

The UK-wide list, including who to contact in Scotland.

English and education

Schooling and further education are devolved, and ESOL provision in Scotland is funded differently.

English classes for New ScotsScottish Gov

Scottish Government funding for ESOL provision. Your council and local college are the places to ask about classes near you.
Schools and childcare after moving heremygov.scot

School places are arranged through your council. A child's place at a state school is not normally affected by a parent's immigration status or an NRPF condition.

Open to everyone