Hosting guests under the Homes for Ukraine scheme
3. Welcoming your guests
As a sponsor, you’re here to support and help your guests to adapt to life in the UK.
Your guests will need you to share information with them about the area and help them to find places like:
- local schools
- doctors
- dentists
- shops
- churches
- community centres
- council offices
- activities
- local parks
Your guest might need you to help them find local services or explain how to access things like public transport, benefits or education. You might not have all the answers, but do think about who you can direct them to find the right information. You might also find the answer to their questions in the GOV.UK guest guidance.
You should try to help direct your guests to public services. For example, this could involve helping them contact and register with a local GP and NHS dentist.
Your local council handles support such as:
- registering children with local schools
- classes for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
- giving advice and referring guests to mental health or specialist services if needed
- advising on how to access local Jobcentre Plus services and explaining their role
We have more advice for helping your guests.
On arrival
Once your guests have arrived, we need you to complete the arrivals form:
This form tells us about your guests so we can provide immediate support to them, including:
- their welcome payment of £200
- laptop and bus pass
It will also confirm when your guest(s) arrived. You will be able to apply for the monthly host thank you payment once your guest(s) have been with you for 15 days.
Once your guests have settled in, we will contact you and them to arrange an in-person welfare visit. These visits are required by government and are to help you and your guests access any advice, information or support you may need. The visit will also identify any additional needs or issues you may have and help you with these.
When your guest is settled, talk to them about the basic arrangements for living together. You should talk about any agreements you need to make about:
- using shared areas of the house, like the kitchen and dining room
- sharing housework, like cleaning and cooking
- any rules you would like your guests to follow about things like smoking, drinking alcohol, or noise
You will receive a monthly payment as a thank you for hosting. You are not expected to use this money to pay for food for them, or other support.