Information and support for hosts / sponsors

The Homes for Ukraine programme enables UK residents to volunteer accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. If you want to offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine, you can become a ‘sponsor’ as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

To apply to be a sponsor you must be able to offer accommodation in a spare room or separate self-contained accommodation for a minimum of six months.

• Register your interest to become a sponsor

We will complete property and safeguarding checks on sponsors who have successfully sponsored a Ukrainian after their visa application has been made.

If you do not know a named Ukrainian you will only be able to record your interest in becoming a sponsor. The government will try to match you to a Ukrainian via charities and other organisations.

You can also contact charities directly who may be able to match you to an individual or family. Some charities that are doing this include:

• Refugees at Home
• Room for Refugees
• Reset UK

Further guidance for sponsors:

• The government has produced an information guide for sponsors including their responsibilities and how best to support their guests.
• The charity RESET has produced a toolkit developed to help you make an informed decision about becoming a sponsor.

If you already know a Ukrainian national (or immediate family member) who you want to sponsor, you can help them apply for a visa under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.

• We will provide a school places for children of school age and we will be given extra funding so that it does not impact the school places of children currently in Bedford Borough.
• We will provide advice and referrals to public health services where appropriate, such as mental health services, adult social care, and children’s services.
• We will provide an interim support payment of £200 to your guest.
• We will administer optional ‘thank you’ payments of £350 per month to sponsors.

You can email ukrainesupport@bedford.gov.uk or phone 01234 718008 for more information.

From April 2025 all sponsors / hosts will receive £350 per month. In addition, Bedford Borough Council is adding a discretionary, temporary increase to the 'thank you' payment of £50, to sponsors / hosts with guests on Homes for Ukraine (HfU) visas and subsequently, UPE visas. This additional funding comes from a special grant to help the Homes for Ukraine scheme and it takes the total thank you payment to £400 per host / sponsor household. 

Thank you payments are available to sponsors for the duration of a guest’s Homes for Ukraine visa permission. This is  up to 36 months for sponsors of guests on a three year Homes for Ukraine visa, and up to 18 months for guests on the new 18 month Homes for Ukraine visa (which came into effect on 19 February 2024). This is intended to support existing hosts, and to help new hosts to offer support to Ukrainians in the UK who may need a new place to stay, and to give guests who may need it more time to get ready to move into independent accommodation.

The 'thank you' payment will be issued one month in arrears after your guests have arrived and following checks being carried out by the Council, which will include a visit to your home.

The top-up payments are tax-free and should not affect entitlement to benefits or Council Tax status.

Changes to eligibility for the 'Thank you' payments from 1 October 2024

From 1 October 2024, sponsors/hosts of new arrivals are not eligible to receive thank you payments for hosting a close family member who moves into their home in the UK.  This change applies to payment claims taking place from this date, irrespective of visa application dates.

Close family members include:

• a spouse, or civil or unmarried partner
• a parent
• a parent-in-law
• a son or daughter
• a son or daughter-in-law
• a step-son or step-daughter
• a sibling
• a grandparent
• or the spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner of any of these people

Apply for the 'Thank you' payment

You can apply for the 'thank you' payment using the online form below.

By submitting the form, you agree to how we process your personal data.

Use the button to apply as a guest:

Apply for the 350 'Thank you' payment.

Alternatively, login to / register for a Council Services account to apply for the 'thank you' payment.

See Paying sponsors: Homes for Ukraine for more information on 'thank you' payments.

The UPE offers eligible Ukrainian nationals and their family members an opportunity to extend their stay in the UK for up to 18 months.

Your guest can apply to change to a Ukrainian Permission Extension visa (UPE) up to 28 days before their visa ends. Eligible sponsors / hosts of those previously on Homes for Ukraine visas will be able to claim thank you payments of £350 a month, for the 18 months that guests are covered by a UPE scheme visa. 

Bedford Borough Council is also adding a discretionary temporary increase to the 'thank you' payment of £50 to sponsors / hosts with guests on HfU, and subsequently UPE visas. The additional funding comes from a special grant to help with the Homes for Ukraine scheme, taking the total up to £400 per household.

You can read more about the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme on GOV.UK. 

If you wish to continue to receive the monthly thank you payments, please submit a new application, using the form below, once your guest has applied for the UPE scheme. 

About the UPE scheme 'Thank you' payment

The payment is limited to one monthly payment, paid in arrears, per residential address, regardless of the number of individuals sponsored and regardless of size or location of the property. Payments will stop when the sponsorship ends or at the end of the 18-month visa permission period.

This payment will be tax free and should not affect the sponsor’s entitlement to benefits or Council Tax status.

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 Government changes that were made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024.

Guests who have submitted a valid application to the UPE scheme before the expiry of their current visa permission will continue to have recourse to public funds whilst their application is being decided. 

Thank you payments can be made to the sponsor/host where the Council are satisfied that the guest has applied for their UPE permission.

We will contact your guest to request a share code to confirm their visa permission and expiry. 

Your guest will be required to contact Bedford Borough Council via email on HFUdata@bedford.gov.uk to confirm that their UPE visa has been granted. If we have not received confirmation from the guest that the UPE visa has been awarded, your claim for UPE thank you payments may cease.

Apply for the UPE scheme 'Thank you' payment

By submitting the form you agree that you have read and accepted how we process your personal data. 

Use the button to apply as a guest:

Apply for the UPE scheme 'Thank you' payment

Alternatively, login to / register for a Council Services account to apply for the UPE scheme 'thank you' payment.

We are working with The Harpur Trust and PBIC to coordinate care and support for guests from Ukraine arriving in Bedford Borough. 

Visit PBIC to find out about how to access its support services as a Ukrainian guest or becoming a Ukrainian guest support volunteer or email them at UGV@pbic.org.uk. 

Ukrainian to English language support - including translations of key documents needed for visa applications - is available from Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI).

You can donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.