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Homes for Ukraine hosting scheme

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From 1 January 2027, the monthly Thank You available to eligible Homes for Ukraine sponsors will change from £350 per month to £100 per month per household.

For more information, visit the Becoming a sponsor: Homes for Ukraine - Thank You Payments on the GOV.UK website.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme was introduced by the UK Government in 2022 to provide a safe route for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The scheme enables UK residents to offer accommodation to Ukrainian guests, with a national effort to help them rebuild their lives, access services, find employment and education opportunities, and integrate into their local communities.

How to become a sponsor and host

If you are eligible and able to offer a home to a Ukrainian guest for a minimum of 6 months, please see the GOV.UK website for more information on eligibility and to register your interest on the Homes for Ukraine: record your interest page on GOV.UK website.

You can also offer to sponsor someone applying to come to the UK via a Homes for Ukraine visa and offer to host someone already living in the UK under a Ukraine scheme visa on the Guidance for sponsors page on the GOV.UK website.

Before your guest arrives

Guests will apply for the Homes for Ukraine visa scheme and complete their biometric information through a visa application centre (VAC), pending a decision from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Sponsors/hosts submit their expression of interest on the form on Homes for Ukraine: Sponsor checks page on the GOV.UK website. After a sponsor has been matched, our team will get in touch to complete the necessary eligibility checks.

  • DBS identification check (all persons over 16 years in the host accommodation)
  • Accommodation check via our Housing Team

Sponsors/hosts can prepare themselves and their homes ready to receive their Ukraine guests by visiting advice on the Homes for Ukraine: Before they arrive page on the GOV.UK website.

After your guest arrives

Please email homesforukraine@peterborough.gov.uk to confirm your Ukraine guest's arrival date and arrange the Welcome Visit with one of our Ukraine caseworkers.

Support your guests to register for local services and integrate into the community. You can find out details on how to do this on the Meet your guests and help them settle in page on the GOV.UK website.

You can also direct your guest to access public services including housing and education through our website. 

Welcome visit and welcome payment

Ukraine caseworkers will contact sponsors and hosts to arrange a Welcome Visit to meet with your Ukraine guests in their host accommodation.

During the visit, your guests will receive information about local services, welcome leaflets to refer to for ongoing support and will be offered free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) lessons.

Following the Welcome Visit, the guest £200 welcome payment will be released for collection from a local post office.

Homes for Ukraine 2026 - welcome pack

Homes for Ukraine 2026 - welcome packhtml
Welcome to Peterborough. We are truly glad you are here. Our team is committed to helping you feel safe, supported, and settled in your new community. Please know you are not alone - we are here to guide you every step of the way.
File format: html

Thank you payments

From 1 January 2027, the monthly Thank You Payment available to eligible Homes for Ukraine sponsors/hosts will change from £350 per month to £100 per month per household.

  • You must have passed your eligibility checks (Eligibility information can be found on the GOV.UK website).
  • You must have hosted for more than 16 days in any given month.
  • Thank You payments are processed in arrears and paid on the first day of each month. (example: Thank You payment for January would be paid 1 February).

Please note:

  • If guests move out of their accommodation, it is the sponsor/host responsibility to inform us of their departure. Please email: homesforukraine@peterborough.gov.uk
  • If we are not notified, and an overpayment occurs, we will ask for the overpaid amount to be returned in full.
  • We conduct quarterly re-confirmations with all sponsors to ensure that their sponsorship arrangements remain ongoing.

Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE)

If a guest arrived in the UK under one of the original Ukraine Schemes, they can apply to the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme to continue living in the UK for a further 18-months.

90 days before their current UPE permission expires, a guest can apply for a further 24-month extension to their UPE visa.

It is free to apply. You/your guest can find information about applying on the Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme on the GOV.UK website.

Eligible sponsors/hosts of guests who have moved from a Homes for Ukraine visa to a Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) visa can claim thank you payments for up to 18 months from the date the guest first moves onto a UPE visa. After this point, thank you payments will end.

Ukraine helpline

The helpline is open 7 days a week. Alternatively, please visit Visa support for Ukrainian nationals on the GOV.UK website for more information.

Any other queries

If you cannot find the relevant information you are looking for, please contact homesforukraine@peterborough.gov.uk

Frequently asked questions

The Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme asks members of the public to offer space in their homes for those fleeing the war. This will allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the country: Here is a link which details the launch of the scheme: Homes for Ukraine (GOV.UK website.

The Ukraine Family Scheme (GOV.UK website) closed at 3pm on 19 February 2024. You can no longer apply under this scheme.

This scheme is separate to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please submit your application on the GOV.UK website.

Once the home office has approved all the visa applications that apply to your accommodation, you can then expect to be contacted by the council regarding your accommodation check and DBS check. Before this can happen, the Home Office must carry out their security checks before we can receive your details.

The Visa application process can take some time to complete, please understand that we have no means of being able to make this quicker.

Once we, have received notification of the approval of the Visa application for your guests we will work as fast as we can to complete the following steps of the process, in expectation of your guest's arrival.

Please be assured that we will be in contact with you in the near future to start the DBS and Housing Checks after you have completed the Visa application.

Yes, a DBS check is a requirement under the terms and conditions of becoming a sponsor within this scheme. This will be completed by someone from the council who will be in touch with you once we have received your information from the Home Office.

Our housing services will contact you directly in order to arrange an accommodation check with you. This is an in-person visit to check whether your property is suitable for your proposed guests. 

For the sponsors that have opted to receive the £350 thank you payment, you will receive this on the first of every month, in arrears.

For example, if your guests have arrived and been hosted for more than 16 days in a calendar month, then you will receive your £350 sponsor thank you payment on the first day of the following month, in arrears. Then on the first day of each month following while continuing to host your guests.

This will be sent into your bank account, with the details that you have provided us.

From 1 January 2027, the monthly Thank You available to eligible Homes for Ukraine sponsors will change from £350 per month to £100 per month per household.

For more information, visit the Becoming a sponsor: Homes for Ukraine - Thank You Payments on the GOV.UK website.

The Homes for Ukraine team ask politely that you notify us of your guests' arrival. This is highly important so that we are able to schedule a welcome visit, in order for your guests to receive their payment.

Once a welcome visit has been conducted, your guests will receive £200 per individual. This is sent as a Post Office voucher directly to their personal emails. In order to redeem this, you will need to take the voucher and some identification to a local post office, where you will then receive the cash sum.

Last updated: 22 October 2026
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