Homes for Ukraine: council guides
Guides for councils to understand what checks are needed for potential sponsors and their accommodation, how to access and use Foundry and the council's role in the scheme.
What this guidance covers and definitions
These pages contain guidance for councils. This information does not replace or contradict their statutory duties or responsibilities of councils.
This guidance only applies to councils supporting the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in England. It does not apply to councils in Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have published their own guidance for councils.
This guidance does not cover:
- displaced people already in the UK
- people transferring from visitor visas
- people who arrived via the Ukraine Family Scheme
This guidance also does not cover children under 18 from Ukraine, who are not travelling with or joining a parent or legal guardian. You can find guidance for this cohort here:
- Guidance for Councils (Children and minors applying without parents)
- Guidance for Sponsors (Children and minors applying without parents)
- Guidance for Parents and Legal Guardians (Children and minors applying without parents)
Definitions of important terms
CMS refers to the Foundry case management system, which is where councils must record and manage all sponsor and guest data relating to the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Close family relationship or close family members refers to any of the following: spouse, civil or unmarried partners, parents, parents-in-law, sons or daughters, sons or daughters-in-law, step-sons or step-daughters, siblings, grandparents, or the spouses, civil or unmarried partners of any of these people.
Guest or guests refers to an individual or household previously resident in Ukraine, prior to 1 January 2022, who has secured a visa under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which enables them to be housed by a sponsor.
Host or hosts refers to an individual, group, or organisation who provides accommodation to people from Ukraine. A host does not need to be a sponsor.
MHCLG is the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Sponsor or sponsors refers to an individual, group, or organisation that has successfully completed a visa application with a person from Ukraine under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and has been approved to accommodate them. A sponsor may not always be a host.
Background and preparing for guests
Welfare and safety responsibilities
Rematching
Public services and community integration
Payments and funding
Data and case management system (CMS)
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 October 2024 + show all updates
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Update to reflect Homes for Ukraine policy changes in effect from 1 October 2024.
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Added links to Handling suspected fraud, and Regularising a child’s immigration status.
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First published.