Homes for Ukraine: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - guidance for councils
Guidance for councils supporting guests who will be, or have, applied for permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.
Applies to England
Who is this guidance for?
This guidance is aimed at councils supporting guests who hold (or previously held) Homes for Ukraine permission and will be, or have, applied for permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.
The devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also published their own guidance.
What is Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE)?
In February 2024, the Home Office announced that Ukrainians and their eligible family members in the UK who have already been granted permission under one of the other Ukraine Schemes would be able to apply for the UPE scheme before their existing permission expires.
The UPE scheme will continue to offer temporary sanctuary to Ukrainians and their eligible family members, and will:
- provide up to 18 months permission to remain in the UK
- provide the same entitlements to work, study, rent and receive benefits
- be free to apply for
The scheme will be open for applications on 4 February 2025. Further information about eligibility and entitlements can be found in Home Office guidance: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
To ensure that Ukrainians who are still in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangements are supported as they transition to living independently, the government is extending thank you payments for 18 months to reflect the permission period granted under the UPE scheme. Sponsors/hosts will need to apply for thank you payments to continue when a guest moves on to the UPE scheme. The eligibility criteria for payment are set out below. After this UPE period ends, thank you payments will discontinue.
There is separate guidance for guests and guidance for sponsors/hosts.
Guidance for councils
The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme will open for new applications at 9am UK time on 4 February 2025. Guests will be able to apply when their current permission has 28 days or less remaining until it expires. For further information, see Ukraine Permission Extension scheme information.
We recognise that councils may receive queries from guests or sponsors/hosts about the UPE application process or for an update on progress of their application. MHCLG does not provide this information. Councils should use the guidance on ‘Payment claims and checking visa permissions’ below to direct guests and sponsors/hosts to the correct sources of information.
Thank you payments
Councils can pay thank you payments to sponsors/hosts of guests who were previously Homes for Ukraine permission holders during this 18-month UPE permission visa period, as long as all eligibility requirements are met.
Councils can claim £350 a month per residential address by way of thank you payment grant for each payment legitimately made. Councils who wish to do so may top up the £350 thank you payment from the arrival tariff or other funding sources available but this is entirely at the discretion of the council. The council’s approach should be set out in local guidance.
Sponsors/hosts who are closely related to their guests who are currently in receipt of thank you payments, and whose guest transfers to the UPE scheme, will no longer be eligible for thank you payments. This is in line with the changes we made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024: Funding for councils: Homes for Ukraine. Please note that sponsors/hosts who do not have British, Irish or settled status in the UK can receive thank you payments during UPE as long as other eligibility criteria are met. For further information please see the rematching section.
Only one thank you payment per residential address should be paid. This remains the case even if the property is occupied by an Homes for Ukraine permission holder and a UPE permission holder.
Payment claims and checking visa permissions
Sponsors/hosts must make a new payment claim when their guest’s Homes for Ukraine permission ends. This provides councils with an opportunity to make contact with the sponsor/host and confirm that the guest remains in residence and to apply the policy announced in October 2024 that close family members should no longer be entitled to thank you payments. Further information on a close family member can be found at Funding for councils: Homes for Ukraine.
Neither UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) or MHCLG are able to provide councils with permission expiry dates.
If a guest has an eVisa, councils can view their permission expiry where a guest provides them with a share code.
The guest can provide councils with a share code by following Check a tenant’s right to rent in England: use their share code. Once they have produced the 9-digit share code they can provide councils with this along with their date of birth. Confirmation of their permission, including the expiry date, can then be obtained by following Check someone’s immigration status: use their share code.
This will only show their current permission so if the guest has already been granted permission under UPE, you will not be able to see whether they previously had permission under Homes for Ukraine. If this is the case, you should consult your own records to determine what permission the guest previously had.
Councils can follow instructions at: Check a tenant’s right to rent in England: use their share code. If the guest cannot provide a share code or if councils need further information on checking options this can be found at: Landlord’s guide to right to rent checks.
In preparedness, councils may want to proactively reach out to guests where a sponsor/host is in receipt of thank you payments to confirm the Homes for Ukraine visa permission expiry date and advise that hosts will be invited to reapply. The onus is on sponsors/hosts and guests to supply councils with the information they need to administer the thank you payment.
If there seems to be an error relating to the eVisa, councils can raise this with UKVI by calling 0300 790 6268. Please do not raise a JIRA ticket.
Assessing new payment claims
Only guests who previously held permission under Homes for Ukraine attract thank you payments. Payments should not be made in respect of individuals who were granted permission after applying through the Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme routes. Please note that the guests eVisa will not show their previous permission once they are granted permission under UPE.
To establish whether a guest was previously a Homes for Ukraine permission holder, councils should first seek confirmation from locally held records and review any relevant historic records held on Foundry from when the guest was a Homes for Ukraine permission holder. If data is held by a different council because, for example, the guest originally arrived at a different council area, councils should reach out to the council where the guest arrived for confirmation of the guest’s previous status. Councils have discretion on the type of evidence they use to determine a guest’s previous permission status.
If, on balance, councils are satisfied that the guest applied via Homes for Ukraine, they should ask the guest and sponsor to self-certify. Councils can legitimately claim thank you payment grant in respect of these cases. Usual counter-fraud and debt collection practices apply as set out at Paying sponsors: Homes for Ukraine.
MHCLG cannot provide information on a guest’s previous permission status. Please do not raise a JIRA ticket.
Close family members
Close family members are not entitled to thank you payments where the guest holds a UPE visa. For further information on this policy see Funding for councils: Homes for Ukraine.
Late applications to UPE
Applications can be made when a guest’s current permission has 28 days or less remaining until it expires and should be made before their current permission expires. If the UPE application is made on time, then the applicant’s rights and entitlements will continue while the Home Office makes a decision about their UPE application.
If the application is late (submitted after the date of expiry of their current permission), even if the application for UPE is successful later, the applicant will lose their recourse to public funds, which includes entitlements to work, study, rent and benefits, until a decision is made. The applicant will be required to repay any benefits that are paid during this period. For further information on homelessness assistance see Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities - Chapter 7: Eligibility for assistance.
Thank you payments whilst UPE applications are being decided
Guests who have submitted a valid application to UPE before the expiry of their current permission continue to have recourse to public funds whilst their application is being decided. The Home Office aim to make a decision on applications within 8 weeks. We do not want guests whose application is submitted late, or is delayed for any reason, to be at risk of homelessness or for sponsors/hosts to unnecessarily have a break in thank you payment whilst a visa application is being decided.
Councils can make thank you payments where they are satisfied that the guest has applied for their UPE permission but has not yet been granted. If a guest has an eVisa, councils can view the status of the application using the View and Prove Service. The guest should confirm with the council that they have been granted their permission as soon as they receive it.
If councils have not received confirmation from the guest that the UPE visa has been awarded after six months after the sponsor/host claimed for UPE thank you payments, councils should cease making thank you payments and review the situation with the guest and sponsor/host. If councils establish that a guest had been denied UPE permission and you have over-paid thank you payments to a sponsor/host, you should cease making thank you payments. You do not need to seek to recover overpayments in these circumstances.
If the guest has an eVisa, councils can view the status of their application using the View and Prove Service. MHCLG is not able to provide councils with information about the status of the guest’s application. Please do not raise a JIRA ticket. Councils will not find information on UPE application or permission granted on Foundry (other than for Eligible Minors - see section Eligible minors on Foundry).
Application refusals or rejections
Guests whose UPE visa applications are refused or rejected by UKVI will have no further recourse to public funds in the UK. Sponsors/hosts of guests whose permission is refused or rejected by UKVI should not receive thank you payments. Councils can review the guest’s status by following the instructions in the ‘Payment Claims’ section earlier in this guidance.
MHCLG is not able to provide councils with information about the status of the guest’s application or permission status. Please do not raise a JIRA ticket.
If a guest requires immigration advice, they should be directed to: Find an immigration adviser: Search for an adviser.
Accommodation suitability
Councils are not required to undertake an accommodation check before issuing a sponsor/host with thank you payments under UPE, but payments should not be made where councils become aware that:
- the guest is paying rent
- the guest is working for the sponsor/host or providing services in lieu of rent
- the accommodation would not meet the minimum statutory expectation for housing as set out in the Housing Act 2004
Councils may consider any other factors that they deem relevant including those set out in Accommodation checks: Homes for Ukraine enabling flexibility at a local level to deal with individual cases on their merits. The council’s approach should be clearly set out in their local guidance.
If councils deem accommodation to be unsuitable, they should cease thank you payments and support guests to find alternative accommodation.
Disclosure and Barring Service check
There is no expiry date on Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record checks. It is up to those using the check for safeguarding purposes, to decide if they will accept an existing certificate. If it has been 3 years or more since a DBS check was carried out by the council on the sponsor/host and members of the sponsor/host’s household, councils can apply for a new DBS certificate if they choose to. This might be appropriate where there is a child or vulnerable adult guest living with a sponsor/host. Councils should consider which type of check based on guidance set out by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
If you have a safeguarding concern about an individual who might seek to sponsor/host again, you should record this on Foundry.
Safeguarding concerns identified during the application process
The Home Office have a duty, under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to have a regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK when discharging their immigration functions.
As is the case for all in country immigration applications for children, if, on receipt of a UPE application, the Home Office have reason to be concerned about a child, they will make a referral to the council where the child’s residence is located. This could be because they suspect a child is in a private fostering arrangement, they are concerned that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm, or they want to provide information about a child with additional or complex needs.
On occasion, the Home Office will refer children that the council (and multi-agency partners) may need to be aware of, for councils to consider whether the child needs early help or a longer-term intervention. This referral will usually be sent by email to the council’s multi-agency safeguarding hub, or equivalent. On receipt, councils should consider their duties under Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance in England, and equivalent guidance in other areas in the UK, as they would with any other referral made to them by the Home Office regardless of immigration route.
Issuance of UPE permission is not contingent on council checks. Therefore, councils do not need to raise safeguarding concerns with MHCLG or UKVI. Statutory safeguarding and housing duties and procedures apply.
Rematching
Where councils have sponsors/hosts available, rematches can be offered to UPE permission holders as long as they were Homes for Ukraine permission holders before applying to the UPE scheme and where councils assess there is a material risk that the council would otherwise have to accept a homelessness duty.
Thank you payments are payable unless there is a close family relationship between sponsor/host and guest. New rematch hosts can receive thank you payments even if they are not British or Irish citizens or have settled status (except for those who are also close family members). Thank you payments can be made in respect of self-rematches during UPE, but only if the council is satisfied that a homelessness duty would otherwise have arisen and was prevented by the rematch.
If councils agree a rematch, they should carry out the same package of checks and processes as if the guest had permission under Homes for Ukraine including creating a sponsor profile on Foundry. This includes undertaking enhanced DBS with barred list checks where there the guest is a child or vulnerable adult. These expectations are set out at Rematching and the council’s role: Homes for Ukraine.
Leaving sponsorship during UPE
If a guest leaves sponsorship during UPE, you should record the reason on Foundry in the same way as you would during Homes for Ukraine.
Eligible minors
This section explains how eligible minors can extend their stay by applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE), and the role of the council in continuing to support them.
In this guidance, an eligible minor is defined as a child or young person who has travelled to the UK without a parent or legal guardian and had their permission granted under the Homes for Ukraine eligible minors’ scheme. It also includes minors who were identified as being in the UK without a parent or legal guardian after arrival and have been reclassified as a minor after arrival whilst they held Homes for Ukraine scheme permission.
The devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also published their own guidance.
UPE and eligible minors
Children in the UK with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes will be eligible to apply to UPE. This includes eligible minors with Homes for Ukraine permission who are still living in sponsorship arrangements.
When to apply
The scheme will open for applications at 9am UK time on 4 February 2025. Children including eligible minors will be able to apply when their current permission has 28 days or less remaining until it expires. It is important that the child knows the date when their current permission will expire so that they can apply to UPE on time.
For eligible minors, councils may wish to remind the adult with day-to-day caring responsibility that they should help the child to apply on time. Applicants must have their own UKVI account. Where a child under the age of 18 is unable to create and manage their own account, a guardian can do this for them instead – for example, the adult with day-to-day caring responsibility, or the council if the child is in your care. Councils can read more about creating a UKVI account for a child.
How to apply
Information about how to apply including requirements for children living with another adult who is not a parent, legal guardian or close relative can be found at Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
Late applications
If the UPE application is made on time, then the child’s rights and entitlements will continue while the Home Office make a decision about their UPE application. If the application is late (submitted after the date of expiry of the child’s current permission), even if the application for UPE is successful later, the child will lose their current entitlements (including the right to study and benefits) from the expiry of their existing permission until a decision is made on the late application. The guest may be required to repay any public funds (for example, certain benefits) that are paid to them during this period.
Safeguarding arrangements for permission issuance
The Home Office have a duty, under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to have a regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK when discharging their immigration functions.
As is the case for all in country immigration applications for children, if, on receipt of a UPE application, the Home Office have reason to be concerned about a child, they will make a referral to the council where the child’s residence is located. This could be because they suspect a child is in a private fostering arrangement, they are concerned that a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm, or they want to provide information about a child with additional or complex needs.
The Home Office will refer children that the council (and multi-agency partners) may need to be aware of, for councils to consider whether the child needs early help or a longer-term intervention. This referral will usually be sent by email to the council’s multi-agency safeguarding hub, or equivalent. On receipt, councils should consider their duties under Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance in England, and equivalent guidance in other areas in the UK, as they would with any other referral made to them by the Home Office regardless of immigration route.
Eligible minors on Foundry
Where the permission relates to an eligible minor, UK Visas and Immigration will also update the eligible minor’s record with the visa status on Foundry once an application has been decided.
Further information on an eligible minor’s application for UPE permission can be viewed using the View and Prove Service. MHCLG is not able to provide councils with information about the status of the guest’s application. Please do not raise a JIRA ticket.
Ongoing council responsibilities
Eligible minors with UPE permission who remain in sponsorship will continue to require support from the council. Once the UPE permission has been issued, councils should therefore continue to visit eligible minors and their responsible adult/sponsor in line with the guidance for private fostering (i.e. at intervals of not more than 6 weeks for the first year of the private fostering arrangement, and at intervals of not more than 12 weeks in subsequent years – until the child turns 18). This includes in cases where a child is 16 or 17.
Councils may wish to consider renewing the Enhanced DBS (with checks of children’s and adults’ barred lists) for all members of the sponsor’s household aged 16 years and over, if the checks are older than 3 years.
Funding
Councils can only claim the Homes for Ukraine scheme local authority tariff payment grant during UPE if the child is an eligible minor in sponsorship. This means:
- the child entered the UK with Homes for Ukraine permission
- the child travelled to the UK without a parent or legal guardian and had their permission granted under the Homes for Ukraine eligible minor’s scheme or
- the minor was identified as being in UK without a parent or legal guardian after arrival and
- all safeguarding checks as set out at Homes for Ukraine: Guidance for councils (children and minors applying without parents or legal guardians) were successfully completed by the council and marked as such on Foundry and;
- all checks must have been completed when the child was on a Homes for Ukraine visa
This is so that MHCLG is assured that the child is in a Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangement and the required safeguarding checks have been successfully completed. A child who is not in a Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangement that fulfils the requirements set out above when they apply for the UPE is not an eligible minor.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme local authority tariff payment grant available for councils during UPE is as follows:
- £6,100 per annum for the duration of the eligible minor’s UPE permission; councils can claim for the whole year in years where a child’s visa is ending mid-year
Thank you payments
Sponsors/hosts of those previously holding Homes for Ukraine permission (including eligible minors) can apply for thank you payments of £350 a month, for the 18 months that eligible minors are covered by the UPE permission. Some councils may pay more in certain circumstances but this it at the council’s discretion. Local arrangements should be set out in council guidance.
When an eligible minor’s Homes for Ukraine permission expires, their sponsor should be invited to make a new payment claim. For more information on thank you payments, please refer to the main scheme guidance at Funding for councils: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK. Thank you payments should not be made to close family members.
Reclassifications
A child cannot be reclassified as an eligible minor during their UPE permission. Any new unaccompanied minors found to be in the UK without a parent or legal guardian should be treated in line with the council’s statutory safeguarding duties, including Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance in England.
Eligible minors funding will not be payable where a child is identified as unaccompanied when applying for permission under UPE or identified as unaccompanied after UPE permission has been granted.
If a sponsorship arrangement breaks down
Should a sponsorship arrangement break down for a child during UPE, and a parent or legal guardian cannot be reached or cannot identify another suitable sponsor for their child, or make alternative arrangements, then the council will need to take further action in line with their statutory duties which could include accommodating the child under Children Act 1989 powers or taking the child into care.
Where an eligible minor’s sponsorship arrangements break down after arrival in the UK, and the minor is placed in the care of the council, funding will be provided at a rate of £64,150 per minor per year for the duration of their stay under UPE permission, pro-rated at a weekly rate. When that child leaves care, funding will be provided at a rate of £16,850 a year, per care leaver.