Application process
I cannot praise Refugees at Home highly enough. The home visitor was very thorough, the guests we hosted were a good match. We and our guests all received attentive support and advice throughout the process.
Hosting is a big step and we have provided information here so that you can discuss it with everyone else in your household. For a placement to be successful, it’s essential that everyone is fully on board with hosting.
The information on this page applies to all hosts. If you are hosting through Homes for Ukraine, please also read our Ukraine sponsorship information sheet which outlines the guidance that must be followed under the government-led scheme
There is a link to our host application form at the bottom of this page. Once you have submitted your form, a member of our Outreach Team will contact you to arrange the next steps in your application; this may be to ask a few further questions, answer any queries you have at this stage and to connect you with one of our Home Visitors to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet with you either in person or online.
If there are multiple family members in the home and one person is obviously very keen and steering it, you might get a hint that another person is more hesitant, and I can’t ignore that because they’re also going to be part of this placement. For it to be a success, everyone needs to get on board.
The home visit
The home visit is an important part of hosting with us. It’s a chance for you to ask questions and talk through the practicalities of hosting, and for us to know more about who you might be able to host and the accommodation you can offer.
You can find out more about the home visit in our Home visit information sheet, or read our interview about ‘The home visit – what to expect’, with one of our experienced volunteers.
References
After the home visit we will contact your referees to provide a character reference for you. Once these are collected, you will be approved as a host. If you can let your referees know in advance that we will be in touch, this can help speed up the process.
What happens next
After your application to host has been approved, our Placement Team will be informed. They are responsible for liaising between guests and approved hosts, and they will help match you with a suitable guest.
It’s hard to say how long this will take; it will depend on your location, hosting preference and the needs of our guests but you can contact us at any time to let us know your availability.
Before we make a placement, we will ask you to sign in to our portal. This is used to share details about guests with hosts, and provide a way in which you can keep your details and host preferences up to date. We will send you an invitation to join the portal and you can find out how to access this in our portal information sheet.
Making a placement
Once we have fully assessed a guest, we will begin to look for a host as quickly as possible. We match the guest’s preferred location and needs against your availability and preferences as a host. Location and access to support and networks is often the most important aspect of hosting to a guest so we begin with this. We keep in mind the nature of the host’s household and who they would like to host and for how long, and we also have some rules we follow, for example, we never place a single female guest in a male-only household.
If we think you could be a suitable match for a guest, our placement team will contact you with some background information about them, when hosting is needed and for what duration. If you are available and comfortable to proceed, we will then share more information about the guest via our secure portal. We recommend that you talk to everyone in your household about the potential guest. If you would like to know more information at any stage, just ask your Placement Coordinator.