The first steps to taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme are to read the information on the following GOV.UK webpage, and register your interest in becoming a host.
FAQs for Hosts and Sponsors
If you have been unable to find the information you are looking for in the topic-specific sections of our website, please see our frequently asked questions below.
If your question is not covered here, please contact us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
The first steps to taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme are to read the information on the following GOV.UK webpage, and register your interest in becoming a host.
The three main ways of finding guests on the Homes for Ukraine scheme are:
- Sponsoring the visa applications for a Ukrainians who have not arrived in the UK.
This is best done through the official organisations listed on the following website: Homes for Ukraine matching using recognised providers.
We do not recommend finding guests to sponsor privately through social media, as some hosts have had their details shared without their permission when arranging a match this way.
- Accepting a match suggested by our team.
These are guests who have already entered Gloucestershire on a Homes for Ukraine visa, but are in need of a follow-on placement.
After expressing your interest, we would contact you to suggest potential matches that come up in your area. If you think it might be suitable, you would then have the opportunity to meet potential guests before deciding whether to go ahead with hosting or not.
Please contact us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk if you would like to hear about potential matches in this way.
- Finding a match privately for a guest who has already entered the UK on a Homes for Ukraine visa.
If you find a possible match who is already in the UK and needs a follow-on placement, please let us know as soon as possible and we will contact the local authority of the area they first arrived to check their records and facilitate the match.
The three main ways of finding guests on the Homes for Ukraine scheme are:
- Sponsoring the visa applications for a Ukrainians who have not arrived in the UK.
This is best done through the official organisations listed on the following website: Homes for Ukraine matching using recognised providers.
We do not recommend finding guests to sponsor privately through social media, as some hosts have had their details shared without their permission when arranging a match this way.
- Accepting a match suggested by our team.
These are guests who have already entered Gloucestershire on a Homes for Ukraine visa, but are in need of a follow-on placement.
After expressing your interest, we would contact you to suggest potential matches that come up in your area. If you think it might be suitable, you would then have the opportunity to meet potential guests before deciding whether to go ahead with hosting or not.
Please contact us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk if you would like to hear about potential matches in this way.
- Finding a match privately for a guest who has already entered the UK on a Homes for Ukraine visa.
If you find a possible match who is already in the UK and needs a follow-on placement, please let us know as soon as possible and we will contact the local authority of the area they first arrived to check their records and facilitate the match.
The Homes for Ukraine team provide wrap-around support and advice both before and throughout hosting. The Homes for Ukraine scheme would not be possible without the generosity of our hosts, and we are keen to ensure that hosting is mutually beneficial experience.
Each guest receives £200 upon arrival to cover immediate expenses, and a bus pass to help with travel during their first few months in the UK. Ongoing support is provided in key areas including employment, education, and housing.
All hosts in Gloucestershire receive £600 per month to cover additional household expenses.
Please contact us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk with any questions.
The Homes for Ukraine team provide wrap-around support and advice both before and throughout hosting. The Homes for Ukraine scheme would not be possible without the generosity of our hosts, and we are keen to ensure that hosting is mutually beneficial experience.
Each guest receives £200 upon arrival to cover immediate expenses, and a bus pass to help with travel during their first few months in the UK. Ongoing support is provided in key areas including employment, education, and housing.
All hosts in Gloucestershire receive £600 per month to cover additional household expenses.
Please contact us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk with any questions.
Once we have received details of the visa application from the Home Office we will reach out to you by phone and email to discuss your and your guests’ plans.
Following this conversation we will initiate the local checks required; a DBS check for you and each member of your household over the age of 16, and a brief housing inspection.
Please be reassured that the local checks are separate from the national process by which visas are issued and will not slow down the visa process.
Please keep us up to date on your plans and tell us when an arrival date is planned with your guest(s). Following their arrival, we will book a welcome visit with you and your guest(s) to provide further local information and contacts, discuss any questions you have, and verify that your guest(s) have arrived so that we can approve host payments.
Once we have received details of the visa application from the Home Office we will reach out to you by phone and email to discuss your and your guests’ plans.
Following this conversation we will initiate the local checks required; a DBS check for you and each member of your household over the age of 16, and a brief housing inspection.
Please be reassured that the local checks are separate from the national process by which visas are issued and will not slow down the visa process.
Please keep us up to date on your plans and tell us when an arrival date is planned with your guest(s). Following their arrival, we will book a welcome visit with you and your guest(s) to provide further local information and contacts, discuss any questions you have, and verify that your guest(s) have arrived so that we can approve host payments.
All accommodation will be different and while there is no set expectation, your accommodation must be free from serious health and safety hazards.
You should also consider how many people you can accommodate so they have sufficient space. Two people should not be in one room unless they are: adult cohabiting partners; a parent and young child; two siblings of the same gender if aged over 10; two siblings regardless of gender if aged under 10. Individuals who didn’t previously know each other should not be given the same room.
We request that accommodation:
- Be kept clean and in a reasonable state.
- Have adequate kitchen and bathroom space.
- Have access to drinking water.
- Have a working smoke detector on each floor of the property and other fire safety precautions suitable for the building e.g., fire doors or escape routes as appropriate (Find out how to make your home safe).
- Have a working carbon monoxide detector in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (e.g., a coal fire, wood burning stove).
- Have sufficient heating to keep the property at a comfortable temperature.
- Have safe gas appliances, fittings and flues and have undertaken a Gas Safety check within the last year (see more information).
- Have safe and working electrics, which a qualified electrician can help with if you are unsure.
- Be free of damp or mould.
- Have doors and windows at entry level that lock properly.
- Be easy and safe to move around in.
All accommodation will be different and while there is no set expectation, your accommodation must be free from serious health and safety hazards.
You should also consider how many people you can accommodate so they have sufficient space. Two people should not be in one room unless they are: adult cohabiting partners; a parent and young child; two siblings of the same gender if aged over 10; two siblings regardless of gender if aged under 10. Individuals who didn’t previously know each other should not be given the same room.
We request that accommodation:
- Be kept clean and in a reasonable state.
- Have adequate kitchen and bathroom space.
- Have access to drinking water.
- Have a working smoke detector on each floor of the property and other fire safety precautions suitable for the building e.g., fire doors or escape routes as appropriate (Find out how to make your home safe).
- Have a working carbon monoxide detector in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (e.g., a coal fire, wood burning stove).
- Have sufficient heating to keep the property at a comfortable temperature.
- Have safe gas appliances, fittings and flues and have undertaken a Gas Safety check within the last year (see more information).
- Have safe and working electrics, which a qualified electrician can help with if you are unsure.
- Be free of damp or mould.
- Have doors and windows at entry level that lock properly.
- Be easy and safe to move around in.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows children and minors under the age of 18 to come to the UK without a parent or guardian, subject to strict sponsor checks. As part of a robust safeguarding process, extensive sponsor checks will be carried out by local authorities ahead of any visa being granted, with councils able to veto any sponsor arrangements they deem unsuitable.
Applicants must also have notarised parental consent, and the sponsor should be personally known to the parents, except in exceptional circumstances.
In recognition of the need to give children greater security, sponsors will be asked to commit to hosting for up to three years, or until they are aged 18 and the sponsorship has lasted six months - in line with the existing commitment for sponsors of adults or parents with their children.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows children and minors under the age of 18 to come to the UK without a parent or guardian, subject to strict sponsor checks. As part of a robust safeguarding process, extensive sponsor checks will be carried out by local authorities ahead of any visa being granted, with councils able to veto any sponsor arrangements they deem unsuitable.
Applicants must also have notarised parental consent, and the sponsor should be personally known to the parents, except in exceptional circumstances.
In recognition of the need to give children greater security, sponsors will be asked to commit to hosting for up to three years, or until they are aged 18 and the sponsorship has lasted six months - in line with the existing commitment for sponsors of adults or parents with their children.
If a visa application has been submitted and you have not been contacted by the HFU team within 5 working days, please reach out to us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
If a visa application has been submitted and you have not been contacted by the HFU team within 5 working days, please reach out to us on HFUTeam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
You can sponsor any family member but you will not qualify for ‘thank you’ payments. A close family member is defined as:
- A spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner.
- A parent or parent-in-law.
- A son or daughter.
- A son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
- A stepson or stepdaughter.
- A sibling.
- A grandparent.
- The spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner of any of the above.
This does not affect a guest’s visa status or eligibility to enter the UK.
You will be asked to confirm if they are a close family member. You will not need a DBS check, but we may still conduct a housing inspection to avoid overcrowding households. Your guest will still be entitled to their £200 welcome payment and free bus pass.
You can sponsor any family member but you will not qualify for ‘thank you’ payments. A close family member is defined as:
- A spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner.
- A parent or parent-in-law.
- A son or daughter.
- A son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
- A stepson or stepdaughter.
- A sibling.
- A grandparent.
- The spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner of any of the above.
This does not affect a guest’s visa status or eligibility to enter the UK.
You will be asked to confirm if they are a close family member. You will not need a DBS check, but we may still conduct a housing inspection to avoid overcrowding households. Your guest will still be entitled to their £200 welcome payment and free bus pass.
Your guest can apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme which will allow them to stay in the UK for a further 18 months. They should already have an HFU eVisa before switching to a UPE visa.
All information on the UPE scheme visa switch is here: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme
Your guest can apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme which will allow them to stay in the UK for a further 18 months. They should already have an HFU eVisa before switching to a UPE visa.
All information on the UPE scheme visa switch is here: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme
Thank you very much for considering offering employment for people arrived in the UK from Ukraine.
Government guidance asks employers who have vacancies to fill out a form so that job opportunities can be shared across the DWP Jobcentre Plus network and with the Refugee Employment Network (REN); a charity which works with organisations across the UK to support refugees into work.
Please also see; Guidance for businesses offering work to people coming from Ukraine
Thank you very much for considering offering employment for people arrived in the UK from Ukraine.
Government guidance asks employers who have vacancies to fill out a form so that job opportunities can be shared across the DWP Jobcentre Plus network and with the Refugee Employment Network (REN); a charity which works with organisations across the UK to support refugees into work.
Please also see; Guidance for businesses offering work to people coming from Ukraine
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has produced a range of Ukrainian language anti-trafficking resources which you may find useful. This includes a checklist poster, a know your rights poster and a leaflet on the issue of workers’ rights.
Resources available in multiple languages:
Poster - know your rights checklist
The anti-trafficking charity Hope for Justice has also collated a suite of materials that will support organisations working with new arrivals from Ukraine.
And as part of their ‘STAY SAFE, WORK SAFE’ campaign, Stop the Traffik have produced a helpful resource providing guidance on anti-trafficking and a series of wider issues, available in English, Ukrainian and Russian:
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has produced a range of Ukrainian language anti-trafficking resources which you may find useful. This includes a checklist poster, a know your rights poster and a leaflet on the issue of workers’ rights.
Resources available in multiple languages:
Poster - know your rights checklist
The anti-trafficking charity Hope for Justice has also collated a suite of materials that will support organisations working with new arrivals from Ukraine.
And as part of their ‘STAY SAFE, WORK SAFE’ campaign, Stop the Traffik have produced a helpful resource providing guidance on anti-trafficking and a series of wider issues, available in English, Ukrainian and Russian:
Cash donations can be made to registered charities enabling humanitarian agencies to get assistance to affected people.
If you wish to send goods directly, we advise using registered charities who have an agreed plan for what is required and where the goods will go.
The Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator have urged the public to ‘give safely’ to registered charities helping and supporting those affected.
If you wish to donate to support refugees locally in Gloucestershire, please consider Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS).
Cash donations can be made to registered charities enabling humanitarian agencies to get assistance to affected people.
If you wish to send goods directly, we advise using registered charities who have an agreed plan for what is required and where the goods will go.
The Charity Commission and Fundraising Regulator have urged the public to ‘give safely’ to registered charities helping and supporting those affected.
If you wish to donate to support refugees locally in Gloucestershire, please consider Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS).
Please contact the HFU team at hfuteam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
It is a requirement of the Homes for Ukraine scheme to provide a minimum of 2 months notice. We will speak with you about your concerns, offer mediation where appropriate, and help you handle the situation with your guests.
Please contact the HFU team at hfuteam@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
It is a requirement of the Homes for Ukraine scheme to provide a minimum of 2 months notice. We will speak with you about your concerns, offer mediation where appropriate, and help you handle the situation with your guests.