Buying a house can be complicated. Knowing what to expect and how to go about it the right way is crucial. You can look at house prices and what is available in your area by searching estate agent websites or visiting them in your local town or city.

There is lots of information available for people who are thinking of purchasing a home including on the UK Government website and the Welsh Government website.

You may need to get a mortgage to buy a property in the UK. It will help if you are in full-time employment. Having at least 2 years left on your visa will also be important. You may need to provide a deposit of 25% of the value of the property. You may wish to speak with a specialist foreign nationals mortgage broker.

Rented housing can be found through local lettings agents and on property listings websites. The types of privately rented housing available is different across the country.  

When you rent a property you should receive a tenancy agreement. This is the legal agreement between you and the person who owns the house (the landlord). The agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities between the two of you. It should contain information such as the length of the agreement, the rent payable and any restrictions, such as on keeping pets. The agreement will allow you to stay in the property provided you do not break any of the terms. A private landlord may need a reference, a deposit and one month of rent to be paid in advance of you moving into the property. Tenancy agreements are usually 6 or 12 month periods.

You can find out about your renting a property on the Welsh Government website.  

Any pet travelling to the UK must meet strict health requirements. This is to ensure they are not bringing diseases which do not exist here and could be very serious. These include, but are not limited to, rabies.

Cats, dogs and ferrets traveling to the UK from an unlisted third country are compliant. Ukraine is an unlisted third country. They can enter and move freely across the UK if they:

• have been microchipped

• have a pet passport and an official veterinary animal health certificate (AHC)

• have had tapeworm treatment

• have been vaccinated against rabies

• have successfully passed a blood test 30 days after rabies vaccination, and

• have completed a three-month waiting period in the country of origin after the satisfactory blood test

It is extremely important the pet meets all those requirements. If not, owners or sponsors will need to contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency to apply for a license to bring their pet to the UK. Find out more at Bringing your pet to the UK from Ukraine (on www.gov.uk).

If a pet arriving in Wales does not meet all these requirements, it will need to enter quarantine in authorised facilities for up to 4 months.

Most of the rules are the same across the UK, although some are different in Wales.

Non-compliant pets destined for Wales must undergo quarantine in an authorised facility.

We understand how important your pet is to you. We want to do everything we can to ensure people seeking refuge in Wales are reunited with their pets safely and as quickly as possible.

But, we have concerns about how we can monitor and enforce the home isolation process adopted in England and Scotland.  

This is why we have taken the decision to uphold quarantine in authorised facilities. It is the safest option to protect both animal and public health.

This is not a decision taken lightly.

We have to act on the evidence available to us. We must protect and care for animals coming from Ukraine. We must also protect animal and human health in Wales. To do this, we need to reduce the risk of exposing them to diseases such as rabies.

We will continue to assess different options so that pets are in quarantine for as short a time as possible.

Your pet will be cared for in quarantine. Animal welfare is very important to us. We will also provide any veterinary treatment they need to comply with health entry rules. 

Pets will be individually assessed to check what actions need to be taken before they can be released to their owner. These actions take into consideration:

• vaccination and treatment history

• blood test results, and

• time since leaving Ukraine

The longest quarantine time will be 4 months but the period will vary from case to case. It will depend on what steps we need to take to achieve full compliance with UK entry requirements.

We will pay for this.