Homes for Ukraine: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - guidance for sponsors
Guidance for sponsors of guests who hold (or previously held) Homes for Ukraine permission and have applied, or will be applying, for permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.
Applies to England
Who is this guidance for?
This guidance is aimed at sponsors of guests who hold (or previously held) Homes for Ukraine permission and have applied, or will be applying, for permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.
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 opened 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’s HFU permission expires. The eligibility criteria for payment are set out below. After this UPE period ends, thank you payments will discontinue.
There is separate guidance for councils and guidance for guests.
Guidance for sponsors/hosts
Advice on hosting arrangements for guests will remain the same as under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
To support guests still in sponsorship as they transition to living independently, the government have extended thank you payments for 18 months of the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme at a rate of £350 a month. This is in addition to the payment made for the entirety of a guest’s Homes for Ukraine visa permission, noting that all thank you payments are at the reduced rate of £350 a month from 1 April 2025.
Thank you payments will not be payable if there is a close family relationship between sponsor/host and guest. Sponsors/hosts who are related to their guests and 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. See more information on who is classified as a close family member.
When a guest’s HFU permission expires, sponsors/hosts should reapply to their council if they wish to continue to receive a monthly thank you payment. Sponsors/hosts of those previously on Homes for Ukraine visas will be eligible for thank you payments of £350 a month for the 18 months that guests are covered by the UPE visa. Some councils may pay more in some circumstances, but this is at their own discretion. Local arrangements should be set out in council guidance.
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 unneccessarily have a break in thank you payments whilst a visa application is being decided. Councils can make thank you payments for up to six months where they are satisfied that the guest has applied for their UPE permission but has not yet been granted. This also applies to late UPE applications. Sponsors who wish to continue to receive thank you payments should inform the council as soon as their guest has had a decision on their application. Sponsors/hosts whose guest has had permission refused or rejected by UKVI should not receive thank you payments.