Guest eligibility, application process and checks: Homes for Ukraine
Who can apply to the scheme, how the application process works, and the checks that authorities must complete.
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 Citizens or settled in the UK (which means having the right to live in the UK permanently).
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 be supported.
Application process
Sponsors must be named individuals 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
- Sponsor and guest find each other and agree to a match.
- Either the sponsor or the guest fills out the single visa application form online using both parties’ details.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Once the visa is issued, the guest can then travel to the UK and should coordinate their arrival with the sponsor.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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’.
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 DLUHC and raise with the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre at www.actionfraud.police.uk.
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 also covers the biometric residence permit (BRP) and 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 and on arrival they can collect their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from the nominated collection point (which they chose as part of their visa application). They will have received a letter via email which sets out the collection point.
The BRP will expire on 31 December 2024 and they will not need a BRP from 1 January 2025. They will be able to prove their immigration status online, without a BRP. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will update their information on how to prove immigration status in early 2024.
Guests who made their application prior to 7 December 2023 and chose not to attend a VAC overseas will be issued a permission to travel letter by UKVI confirming they can travel to the UK.
Permission to travel letters are issued to those travelling under the Ukraine Family Scheme prior to February 2024 and the Homes for Ukraine scheme and will be issued electronically to the correspondence email listed in the visa application form.
If the applicant received a permission to travel letter as part of the application process they will receive a Leave to Remain Outside the Rules (LOTR) stamp on arrival in the UK. They will need to complete a ‘light touch’ application form to enable to them to provide their biometrics and receive a BRP.
Arriving in the UK
Upon arrival to the UK guests will be required to show their permission letter or passport with vignette to Border Force officers. For those with a permission to travel letter, Border Force will endorse their passport with a six-month entry stamp.
Councils will be required to undertake accommodation and safeguarding checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on sponsors and all members of their household aged 16 and over. The level of check is determined by the age and needs of the guests.
More information about about checks is in Welfare and safeguarding responsibilities.
Last updated 19 February 2024 + show all updates
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Guidance has been updated following changes to the Homes for Ukraine Immigration Rules on 19 February 2024.
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New information added outlining the steps councils should take if they suspect that a sponsor has been named on a visa application without their consent and that, if the sponsor is a Ukraine scheme visa holders, there may be delays to applications due to further checks.
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First published.