Guest eligibility, application process and checks: Homes for Ukraine  

Eligibility for the scheme

This scheme is open to people from Ukraine who were residents there before 1 January 2022, and to their immediate family members (for example spouse or partner and children under 18). They do not have to be Ukrainian citizens to be eligible.

For applications submitted after 3pm on 19 February 2024, eligible applicants may be sponsored by people who are British or Irish Citizenscitizens or settled in the UK (which means having the right to live in the UK permanently). As of 31 January 2025, if the applicant is a child, they may also be sponsored by a parent or legal guardian who holds permission under any of the Ukraine Schemes.

The number of people who can access this scheme is uncapped and is dependent on the capacity of the sponsors who come forward.

Guests will be able to live and work in the UK until their permission to stay expires and access benefits, healthcare, employment, and other support.

Those arriving need to meet standard security checks prior to being issued with a visa.

Sponsors and all adults in sponsors’ households will also be subject to initial Police National Computer (PNC), criminal records and Warnings Index checks by the Home Office. Guests arriving from Ireland should only travel to the UK once they have a visa. If a sponsor is a Ukraine scheme visa holder, there may be some delays to applications while further checks are undertaken.

Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales

Guests arriving from Ireland should only travel to the UK once they have a visa.

In Scotland and Wales, people from Ukraine can also enter through the Devolved Government Sponsorship route. New applications to both the Scottish Government and Welsh Government as a sponsor are paused at present but all existing applications to both schemes are continuing to be processed, and existing visa holders continue to travel to Wales and Scotland and be supported.

Application process

Sponsors must be named individualsindividuals, at this stage of the scheme, not groups or organisations. Either a guest or a sponsor will be able to complete a single application for a visa. The form will ask the person completing it to name both parties.

Sponsors and guests will find each other and match themselves externally. There is no single route to matching, and both the sponsor and guest can use several ways s to find a match. They could for example already have a relationship in place with a friend in the UK or Ukraine, they could be friends of friends, or could find a sponsor or guest through a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), charity, or another channel.

Process to apply

The process for most applicants is:

1. Sponsor and guest find each other and agree to a match.
2. Either the sponsor or the guest fills out the single visa application form online using both parties’ details.
3. Passport numbers (alongside completion of eligibility questions and other personal details) for both guests and sponsors will be required to complete the application online. The guest will also need to upload a scan of their passport.
4. As of 7 December 2023, all new applicants will need to book an appointment to have their photograph and fingerprints taken at a visa application centre (VAC) as part of their application. Security checks on both the sponsor and guest are commissioned from the name data declared in the application form. There is no requirement to upload a copy of identity documents for any other member of the sponsor household.
5. The government will conduct several central government checks on the applicant, the sponsor, and adults in the sponsors household, to ensure their eligibility and suitability for the scheme. These checks must be completed before a visa can be issued. If a sponsor is a Ukraine scheme visa holder, however, there may be some delays to applications while further checks are undertaken.
6. Once the visa is issued, the guest can then travel to the UK and should coordinate their arrival with the sponsor.
7. Local councils will be alerted as soon as an application is made and will be required to conduct accommodation and safeguarding checks, These are in addition to the checks carried out by central government. These should be conducted as soon as possible, but the issuance of a visa is not contingent on these checks being completed.
8. Specific councils will provide welcome arrangements for guests, with additional immediate support provided to guests where it is required (see initial reception role of councils below).
9. A lead sponsor will be needed for each household. For example, where a couple has applied to sponsor, one of them should be designated as ‘lead sponsor’.

There is separate guidance about children applying to be sponsored by a parent or legal guardian.

Applications linked to non-consenting sponsors

If a local authority suspects that a sponsor has been named on a visa application without their consent, local authorities should take all possible steps to verify if the application is genuine by:

• attempting to contact both guest and Sponsor via telephone
• completing accommodation checks

If the local authority is unable to contact the guest and sponsor and the accommodation check has failed, please record as soon as possible on the case management system (CMS). If the visa has yet to be issued, failed checks will prevent the application progressing and prevent further visas associated with that sponsor from being issued.

Local authorities are also advised to report broader concerns or emerging patterns with regards to non-consenting sponsors to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and raise with the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre at Action Fraud.

What to do in suspected cases of fraud

If the local authority identifies cases where guests have been asked to pay for their visa, travel or immigration documentation by an individual or third-party group they should refer the case to Action Fraud.

If the local authority identifies cases in which a person’s information has been used without their permission, or duplicated across multiple applications, they should ensure the sponsor is marked as unsuitable, and each guest attached to that sponsor amended to show accommodation fail. As much information as possible should be supplied when updating the case in this way.

If a local authority identifies a case where a Ukrainian guest possesses forged, false or counterfeit visas or travel documentation, they should contact the Home Office. Local authorities are also advised to report broader concerns or emerging patterns with regards to non-consenting sponsors to MHCLG via JIRA.

Checks for guests arriving in the UK

Guests need to meet central government’s standard security checks prior to being issued with a visa. Sponsors and all adults (18+) within their household will undergo central-government eligibility and suitability checks prior to any visa being issued.

Prior to arrival in the UK, the guest and sponsor are required to complete the online application form which gives authorisation for personal data to be shared to help support the sponsor arrangement.

To enable visa and security checks to be completed, sponsors will also need to provide evidence of their identity (see details in the application and process section below).

All guests will need to book an appointment to have their photograph and fingerprints taken at a visa application centre (VAC) as part of their application.

Travelling to the UK

If a visa application is issued following the completion of security checks, guests who attended a visa application centre overseas as part of their application will receive a vignette (visa sticker) confirming their permission to travel. This will be valid for 90 days.

Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) will expire on 31 December 2024 and they will not need a BRP from 1 January 2025. You will be able to prove your immigration status online, without a BRP. More information on eVisas can be found through the Online immigration status (eVisa) page.

Guests who made their application prior to 7 December 2023 and chose not to attend a visa application centre overseas may be issued a permission to travel letter by UKVI confirming they can travel to the UK.

Permission to travel letters are only valid for travel to the UK until 12:01am UK time on 13 February 2025. If an applicant arrives after this date with a permission to travel letter, they may be refused entry to the UK and removed.

If the applicant received a permission to travel letter as part of the application process and travelled to the UK before 12:01am UK time on 13 February 2025, they will receive a stamp on arrival if border checks are approved, allowing them to stay in the UK for up to 6 months. They will need to complete an in-UK application for permission to remain and provide their biometrics to receive the remainder of 36 months permission to remain from their date of arrival.

Arriving in the UK

Upon arrival to the UK, guests will be required to show their permission to travel letter or passport with vignette to Border Force officers. Once border checks have been approved, Border Force will endorse the passports of arrivals with a permission to travel letter with a 6-month entry stamp.

There is information that people from Ukraine need to take after arriving in the UK to confirm their immigration status.

Councils will be required to undertake accommodation and safeguarding checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on sponsors andsponsors and all members of their household aged 16 and over. Local authorities should not carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on a parent or legal guardian who is sponsoring their child. The level of check is determined by the age and needs of the guests.

More information about checks is in Welfare and safeguarding responsibilities.