Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is aimed at sponsorssponsors/hosts of guests who hold or(or previously heldheld) Homes for Ukraine permission and willhave be,applied, or have,will appliedbe applying, for permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.  

What is Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE)?

In February 2024, the Home Office announced that Ukrainians and their eligible family members in the UK who have already been granted permission under one of the other Ukraine Schemes would be able to apply for the UPE scheme before their existing permission expires.

The UPE scheme willcontinues continue to offer temporary sanctuary to Ukrainians and their eligible family members, and will:and:

• provideprovides up to 18 months permission to remain in the UK  
• provideprovides the same entitlements to work, study, rent and receive benefits 
• beis free to apply for  

The scheme willopened be open for applications on 4 February 2025. Further information about eligibility and entitlements can be found in Home Office guidance: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.

To ensure that Ukrainians who are still in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangements are supported as they transition to living independently, the government is extending thank you payments for 18 months to reflect the permission period granted under the UPE scheme. Sponsors/hosts will need to apply for thank you payments to continue when a guestguest’s movesHFU onpermission toexpires theor UPEis scheme.about expire. The eligibility criteria for payment are set out below. After this UPE period ends, thank you payments will discontinue.

There is separate guidance for councils and guidance for guests.

Guidance for sponsors/hosts

Advice on hosting arrangements for guests will remain the same as under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

To support guests still in sponsorship as they transition to living independently, the government have extended thank you payments for 18 months of the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme at a rate of £350 a month. This is in addition to the payment made for the entirety of a guest’s Homes for Ukraine visa permission, noting that all thank you payments are at the reduced rate of £350 a month from 1 April 2025.

Thank you payments will not be payable if there is a close family relationship between sponsor/host and guest. Sponsors/hosts who are related to their guests whoand are currently in receipt of thank you payments, and whose guest transfers to the UPE scheme, will no longer be eligible for thank you payments. This is in line with the changes we made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024. See more information on who is classified as a close family member.

When guestsa applyguest’s forHFU apermission UPEexpires, visa,or is about expire, sponsors/hosts should reapply to their council if they wish to continue to receive a monthly thank you payment. Sponsors/hosts of those previously on Homes for Ukraine visas will be eligible for thank you payments of £350 a month for the 18 months that guests are covered by the UPE visa. Some councils may pay more in some circumstances, but this is at their own discretion. Local arrangements should be set out in council guidance.

We do not want guests whose application is submitted late or is delayed for any reason to be at risk of homelessness or for sponsors/hosts to unnecessarily have a break in thank you payments whilst a visa application is being decided. Councils can therefore make thank you payments for a further six-month period once the guest’s Homes for Ukraine visa has ended but UPE permission has not yet been granted. This also applies to late UPE applications.

If, during this six-month period, a guest has had a decision on their UPE application, they should inform the council as soon as possible.  

After this six-month period, councils will cease making thank you payments if they have not received confirmation from the guest that the UPE visa has been awarded. 

Guests and/or their sponsor/host should inform the council when their UPE permission expires.