Your council might ask you to house a guest or group of guests that have left their first sponsor/host, either because their previous sponsor/host were no longer able to support them, or the initial sponsorship period has come to an end.

Sign-up to sponsor/host a Ukrainian in your local area

It is useful for councils to have a selection of potential sponsors/hosts available should a rematch in your local area be needed quickly.

You can register your interest to become a sponsor/host for someone already in the UK. This is a service for people who haven’t found a Ukrainian guest to sponsor/host yet.

Things to consider before sponsoring

You should think about what you need to know before you take in a guest.

Guests already living in the UK and wanting to ‘rematch’ usually need less support than someone just arriving in the country. Many guests have already found work and are settling into the area, making them more self-sufficient.

If you are asked through social media or a community group to sponsor/host a guest or family who is already in the UK, you need to contact your local council to make sure that they can make the necessary checks. You can search for your local council.

If you don’t do this, the rematch won’t be recognised as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, and you won’t be eligible for the ‘thank you’ payment until the checks have been completed. Make sure you think about the potential risks if you sponsor/host a guest without any checks.

When guests transfer to new visas under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, at the end of their Homes for Ukraine visas, rematches will only be available where councils assess there is a material risk that a homelessness duty will arise.

Thank you payments

UntilEligible 1sponsors/hosts can claim Aprilthank 2025,you sponsors/hostspayments. Until are31 eligibleDecember to2026, receive thank you payments ofwill £350be perpaid householdat duringa therate firstof 12£350 monthsa ofmonth aper guest’shousehold. arrivalFrom in1 theJanuary UK,2027, this increasesrate will change to £500£100 a month onceper guestshousehold. haveThis beenchange inwill theapply UKto forpayments 12made months.

Afterafter 1 AprilJanuary 2025,2027. sponsors/hostsIt will beaffect eligiblesponsors/hosts towho receiveare £350already ain monthreceipt per household, irrespective of howthank longyou guestspayments haveas beenwell inas thenew UK.claimants.  

Eligible sponsors/hosts ofof guests thosewho previouslyhave onmoved from a Homes for Ukraine visasvisa to a Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) visa can claim thank you payments for up to 18 months from the date the guest first moves onto a UPE visa. After this point, thank you payments will beend.  

In some cases, sponsors/hosts may ablecontinue to claimreceive thank you payments ofwhile £350their guest is on a month,second forUPE theextension. 18This monthsis thatbecause guests arecan coveredapply for a further UPE extension up to 90 days before their current permission expires, while eligibility for thank you payments is determined by the Ukrainedate Permissionthe Extensionguest visa.first moved onto a UPE visa and is capped at 18 months.

See further guidance if your guest is on the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.

There can only be one payment per residential address and in England it will be administered through your council. 

As of 1 October 2024, close family members of Homes for Ukraine visa holders are not eligible to start claiming thank you payments. This applies to new arrivals and those who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member.

Sponsors/hosts who are closely related to their guests and are currently in receipt of thank you payments will no longer be eligible for thank you payments when the guests move to a Ukraine Permission Extension visa. This is in line with the changes we made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024.