The Homes for Ukraine scheme is overseen by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). They provide funding to local authorities who provide support to Ukrainians arriving in the UK and their sponsors and make the monthly ‘thank you’ payment available to hosts.  In order to do this, the local authority carry out additional checks on sponsors as set out by MHCLG in addition to the checks Refugees at Home have carried out.  Hosts who are matched with our assessed guests will receive our support and guidance throughout their placement.

Ukrainian routes to the UK 

Ukraine Family Visas This visa route has now closed, ending the reunification of Ukrainian families in the UK through this option.

Ukraine Extension Scheme This route, designed for people working in the UK, was closed in 2024.

Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme (UPE) The government have announced that the UPE will be open in early February 2025.

• The UPE visa will allow Ukrainians who arrived through the Ukraine Family Visa or Homes for Ukraine scheme to stay in the UK for a further 18 months.
• The UPE scheme is free to apply for, but applications can only be made no more than 28 days before existing visas expire, and it will take up to eight weeks for the Home Office to make a decision on the visa application.
• Sponsors will be eligible for the £350 ‘thank you’ payments for the 18-month period of the visa extension so long as the guest continues to live with them. They must reapply to their council for this payment to continue.

We are contacting all our hosts and guests who will be affected by this change and providing signposting for assistance and help to understand these changes.

Some Local Authorities are topping up the ‘thank you’ payments, and it’s worth contacting your local authority to find out what they are doing.

MHCLG have made guidance available for sponsors and guests about the changes to the programme on gov.uk.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Visa length: Ukrainians arriving on this route will be provided with an 18-month visa, at the end of which they will be able to apply for a further 18 months extension under UPE. People who arrived before February 2024 received a 3 year visa to stay in the UK. 

Sponsor eligibility: In February 2024, MHCLG changed the criteria for sponsors so that you can only sponsor Ukrainian guests if the sponsor holds British or Irish citizenship or have settled status in the UK. This represents a significant change from the previous eligibility where anyone who could prove their right to be in the UK was able to sponsor.

Thank you payments: From 01 April 2025, the government will be reducing the funding for all payments to £350 per household.  Some local authorities will be topping up these payments, but this will differ across the UK, so do check with your local authority on what they will make available.

The government guidance for Ukrainians wishing to come to the UK has been updated to reflect these changes.

We continue to make matches between Ukrainians wishing to come to the UK, and sponsors willing to host them, and offer our support through the matching and placement periods. If you are interested in hosting Ukrainians with our support, you can request a call back with one of our team to discuss this further.

Homes for Ukraine sponsors – how we will support you

Thank you for supporting Ukrainians arriving to the UK through the Homes for Ukraine programme.  As this is part of a Government-led programme, and local authorities receive funding to support hosts and guests alike, we do approach these placements slightly differently than when we host other guests who do not have access to this support.

Introducing you to a potential guest

We’ll introduce you to guests who have been through our self-referral process.  We ask potential guests about their situation, their preferences, location requirements, needs and expectations for arriving in the UK.

Once we have found a guest whose situation matches your hosting arrangements, our Placement Coordinators will contact you to check your availability and whether you feel this might be a suitable match for you.  We’ll talk to you about what the guests have told us, and share pertinent information through our portal with you.  We respect your decision about who you believe it is suitable for you to host, this is a big decision.

If you decide the match is suitable, we will connect you to one another.  It’s really important, and we strongly recommend, that you correspond directly with the guest before accepting to sponsor them.  If you meet online, or talk to one another, and it doesn’t feel right, you can just let us know.

After accepting your guest

Once you have met and you have both confirmed you’re happy to proceed, it will be time to apply for the visa.  Refugees at Home will not be involved in this process, as we’re not able to give immigration advice, however, there are some excellent organisations who can assist in this process:

Ukraine Advice Project: https://www.advice-ukraine.co.uk/home/en/

Here for Good have guides on their website on the visa process: https://www.hereforgoodlaw.org/ukraine

Due to the exchange of your personal data, we strongly recommend that the host leads the visa application process, asking for the personal details of their guests rather than the other way around.

R@H does not have any input or influence on the visa processing times or process, this is all at the discretion of the Home Office.  If your guest is experiencing long delays in their visas being issued, please contact your Placement Coordinator who can advise what you can do.

Planning for arrival

It is your guest’s responsibility to arrange travel to the UK. You should arrange their arrival date between you – remember to be clear about when you can welcome them at a time convenient to you.  They are most likely to need support in the first few weeks following their arrival.

Please check our Information for hosts for advice about preparing for your guest’s arrival and guidance on how to help ensure the placement is a success.

When we will contact you

We want to strike the right balance of being here to support you and not getting in your way, so we check in with our hosts as outlined below.  Remember that you can contact your Placement Coordinator outside of these times for any questions you have.

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