Thank you payments to sponsors/hostssponsors

Sponsors/hosts of Ukrainian guests on a Homes for Ukraine visa are eligible for a monthly payment from the UK government as a thank you for hosting.

Thank you payments to sponsors/hosts will only be issued where the guest and sponsor/host are not in a close family relationship. Guests who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member are classified as having left sponsorship under the Homes for Ukraine scheme rather than a rematch.

The definition of a close family member includes:

• a spouse, or civil or unmarried partner
• a parent
• a parent-in-law
• a son or daughter
• a son- or daughter-in-law
• a stepson or daughter
• a sibling
• a grandparent; or
• the spouse, or civil or unmarried partner of any of these people

For unaccompanied minors, this also includes an aunt or uncle of the child.

Councils should determine whether a close family relationship exists between a sponsor/host and guest before issuing thank you payments.

Councils have discretion over what information they use to determine this.

Sponsors/hostsUntil 1 April 2025, sponsors/hosts are eligible to receive thank you payments of £350 a month per household during the first 12 months of a guest’s arrival in the UK, this increases to £500 a month once guests have been in the UK for 12 months.

After 1 April 2025, sponsors/hosts will be eligible to receive £350 a month per household, irrespective of how long guests have been in the UK.

If a guest is in a sponsorship arrangement when granted permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, their sponsor/host shouldwill be asked to reapply for thank you payments if they wish to continue to receive a monthly payment. Eligible sponsors/hosts of those previously on Homes for Ukraine visas will be able to claim thank you payments of £350 a month, for the 18 months that guests are covered by a UPE scheme visa. See further further guidance on the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.

The payments will be tax free and should not affect the sponsor/host’ssponsor’s entitlement to benefits or council tax status.

Councils receive £5,900 tariff funding per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests and their sponsors/hosts.sponsors. Some councils may use the tariff funding to top up the thank you payment for sponsors/hosts. This is a measure government fully supports, although is at the discretion of the council as the tariff funding is un-ringfenced.

Any increase a council chooses to make will be tax free if the payment is made to a sponsor/host hosting a guestUkrainian citizen through the Homes for Ukraine or UPE sponsorship route, and if the payments were made directly from a council in respect of that sponsorship/hosting arrangement. They will not affect benefit entitlement.

Administering payments to sponsors/hostssponsors

Councils will issueadminister these thank‘thank youyou’ payments to sponsors/hostssponsors once they are content that the sponsor/hostsponsor meets the suitability requirements of the scheme.

Central government will allocate funding for these payments but expects councils to cover administration costs from the tariff, including costs of fraud prevention.

Sponsors/hostsSponsors that have been marked as unsuitable in Sharethe Homescase formanagement Ukrainesystem (“Share”)(CMS) after central government or local council checkschecks, will not be eligible to receive the thank‘thank youyou’ payments because the sponsorship arrangement will not be recognised.

Where fraud is identified, councils should use their best endeavours to claw the money back applying their usual counter-fraud and debt collection practices. Councils must ensure that any cases of fraud or error are not included in their claim for funding, regardless of whether monies have been recovered.

How payments are made

We recognise that councils require flexibility to issue payments using the systems best suited to their local arrangements.

Therefore, councils should build in payments as part of their existing workflow processes with sponsors/hosts, however they best see fit.

However, councils must ensure that they adhere to the following conditions of payment:

• only the named lead sponsor/host is eligible for the thank you payment

• alluntil eligible1 April 2025, lead sponsors/hosts (including rematch hosts) can claim £350 for the first 12 months from the date that their guest initially arrived in the UK on a Homes for Ukraine visa, and £500 after 12 months for the duration of their guests’ Homes for Ukraine visa permission. From 1 April 2025, all sponsors/hosts can claim a flat rate of £350, regardless of how long their guest has been in the UK

• only one monthly payment will be given per residential address, regardless of the number of guests being hosted, size, or location of the property

• payments must only be issued to those lead sponsors/hosts where it is confirmed that they have passed the necessary property and safeguarding checks. All 5 set checks

  in the CMS must have been completed before the council begins the process of issuing the sponsor/host payment

• fraud checks must be conducted in line with the council’s anti-fraud processes

• lead sponsors/hosts are not eligible for the monthly payment if they are charging the guest rent

Those who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member are classified as having left sponsorship under the Homes for Ukraine scheme rather than a rematch and thank you payments should not be issued in these cases.

Whilst there is flexibility for how councils can deliver thankthese you payments, examples of how this might be conducted could include:

• confirming with the sponsor/hostsponsor that they would like to receive the monthly payments

• making sure the sponsor/hostsponsor signs a self-declaration form confirming all details are correct, that they are not charging rent, and that they agree to notify the council of any changes

• conducting all safeguarding and property checks before administering the payment

• conducting the necessary fraud checks, such as checking the sponsor/host’ssponsor’s identity, cross-referencing this information against relevant council databases to confirm the correct name and address havehas been provided, requesting a bank statement from the sponsor/host,sponsor, and seeking evidence of the guest’s visa

• paying the sponsor/hostsponsor monthly in arrears directly into their bank account ensuring that the sponsor/host and guest are not in a close family relationship (see the definition of close family member).

The onus isin on the sponsor/hostsponsor to notify the council of any changes relatedduring tothe sponsorship18-month arrangements.period following the signing of the self-declaration form. Councils should make sure that this is clearly understood by the sponsor/hostsponsor and that they understand who they should report any change of circumstances to.

We recommend councils conduct at least one in-person check at the 6-month mark, primarily from a fraud perspective to check the guest is still living in the accommodation, though this is not mandatory and is up to their discretion. Where other property or safeguarding checks are occurring, these can be combined with verifying that the guests still remain at the property.

Councils can use the advisory sponsor declaration form (ODT, 17.2 KB) to ask sponsors to confirm they understand this requirement.

Where a sponsor/hostsponsor has been deemed unsuitable, but the guest continues to reside with them, they will not be eligible for the thank‘thank youyou’ payment as they will not be recognised as a sponsor/hostsponsor under Homes for Ukraine.

Where guests move out before the endfull of12-month aperiod, calendar month, the sponsor/hostsponsor is eligible to claim the monthly payment if the guest has lived in their accommodation for at least half of the month of departure.

Payments across different council areas

The council where the guest resides is responsible for paying the monthly thank you payment to the sponsor/host.sponsor.

If the sponsor/hostsponsor is within another council area, the two councils should work together to ensure the necessary fraud checks are conducted.

The council responsible for issuing the payment will need to adhere to all the grant conditions but will likely need to rely on the sponsor/host’ssponsor’s council to cross reference the information against their records.

Check if rent is being charged

Councils should ask the sponsor/hostsponsor and guest whether rent is being charged and whether the guest is being asked to provide contributions to food or utilities.

Councils should use their discretion to assess whether these contributions are excessive and, if they constitute rent in practice, councils can decline to make the thank‘thank youyou’ payment.

Councils are responsible for the prevention of fraud relatedof to the thank‘thank youyou’ payment at a local level, and this should be conducted in line with usual fraud prevention activities. Costs of counter-fraud activity related to the operation of the scheme are covered within the tariff.

It is recommended that councils conduct a 10% sample of monitoring checks for these payments. Over time councils may wish to raise or lower this depending on the level of risk they identify. These checks can be combined with any other ongoing checks.

Should members of the public suspect fraud is taking place, they should direct their concerns to the relevant council to investigate further.