Advice for potential hosts

Thank you for considering supporting the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Here we outline the scheme and what it might mean for you. If you have any questions please contact us.

Ukrainians without any family ties to the UK may be able to come to the UK. The government's Homes for Ukraine scheme:

  • Offers a route for Ukrainians who want to come to the UK and have someone here willing to provide them with a home.
  • Enables individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to offer accommodation and provide a safe route for Ukrainians and their immediate family members, forced to escape Ukraine.
  • Provides accommodation via sponsors for a minimum period of six months.

Someone is eligible if they are Ukrainian nationals, or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national and were a Ukrainian resident before 1 January 2022.

People arriving under this scheme will be able to:

  • Live and work here for up to three years.
  • Access healthcare, benefits, employment support, education and English language tuition.

If you have a spare room in your home, or separate, unoccupied self-contained accommodation and it is available rent free for a minimum of six months, you can register your interest. You don’t need to provide meals, but you can offer them. In return, you will receive £350 per month.

If you would like to sponsor someone you know, you should contact them and prepare to fill in a visa application with them. 

If you don’t know anyone to sponsor, please get in touch with charities, faith groups or local community organisations who are starting to make these connections.

You can register your interest in the scheme as:

Before offering your support and for more information, please read the sponsor guidance which covers:

The frequently asked questions includes more information on how to support guests on arrival and permissions required for mortgages, insurance, landlords and leaseholders.

Please let us know too

To help us plan and provide support in the best way,  please contact us if you have registered with either of the national schemes to host Ukrainian guests or welcome family members.

We will be inspecting all accommodation for suitability. We will contact the host to arrange the initial visit and we will make regularly visits once the guests have arrived.

The Home Office will conduct standard security checks on all adults aged 18 and over who will be living in the same household as the guests. This includes checks against government records and those of other third parties such as the Police National Computer, or its equivalent in Northern Ireland. The Home Office will make these checks when considering the visa application. There will be no cost to host families for these checks.

We will carry out a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) background check on everyone aged 16 and over who will be living in the same property as the Ukrainian guests.

You have the option to receive a monthly payment of £350 for up to 12 months, paid in arrears, for as long as you are hosting your guests and the accommodation provided is of a suitable standard. You will be eligible for the first monthly payment once the accommodation you are providing has been checked.

  • For sponsors who receive benefits, the government is ensuring thank you payments do not affect your benefit entitlement. 
  • Thank you payments will not affect any council tax discounts for single occupancy. 
  • They will be tax free.
  • If your guest moves out of your home for any reason, you must let us know as you will no longer be eligible for the monthly payments.
  • The method for claiming and receiving thank you payments is currently being setup. 

People fleeing Ukraine and arriving in the UK can claim Universal Credit immediately. They may also be eligible for other benefits.

Ukrainians arriving in the UK can also access jobs support immediately. The Department for Works and Pensions is putting together support through the Jobcentres to help people:

  • Find work.
  • Provide advice on benefit eligibility.
  • Support them to claim benefits.