Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine: guidance for hosts

How the Scottish super sponsor scheme works

The Scottish Government’s super sponsor scheme - which acts within the Homes for Ukraine scheme - helps displaced people from Ukraine apply for visas by removing the need for applicants to be matched to a host before being given permission to travel to the UK. For more information visit the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme: frequently asked questions page.

To use the Scottish super sponsor scheme, the applicant selects ‘The Scottish Government’ when asked for the name of their sponsor during their visa application. Once people are provided with a visa, they can travel directly to Scotland. At present, new applications naming the Scottish Government as the sponsor are paused but all existing visa holders can travel and will be supported as planned.

Upon arrival in Scotland temporary accommodation is arranged via the Welcome Hubs. These multi-agency hubs provide an initial triage service in a secure setting to address immediate wellbeing and protection concerns, as well as an initial safe place to stay.

We have worked closely with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and local authorities to put in place a matching service where the needs of arriving guests can be assessed, and they can be matched up with a longer-term housing solution.

This may be a social or private rental property or a property that has been registered by a prospective host.

Prospective hosts who have registered an expression of interest in hosting will be contacted by the Scottish Government to provide further information about themselves and the home they’re offering.

Hosts in Scotland, under both the super sponsor and Homes for Ukraine schemes, will be subject to a different level of person (disclosure) and property checks to people living in the rest of the UK. More information on these can be found in the section: checks and safeguarding.

People are matched via a public sector matching service to accommodation that local authorities have checked in advance. This removes the need for private matches to be in place before entering the country. Accommodation being offered by independent matching under the Homes for Ukraine scheme will also need to have been checked by the appropriate local authority before the arrival of guests.

We recognise that this is likely to be the first time that you have hosted someone fleeing war and this guide sets out how this will work in practice. As the situation evolves, this guidance will be regularly updated.

Eligibility

Sponsorship under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme

As of 19 February 2024, if you wish to act as a sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine scheme you must be a British or Irish Citizen or be “settled in the UK” (which means having the right to live in the UK permanently) on the date of the guest’s visa application.

If you are interested in sponsoring an individual to come to the UK from Ukraine, you should refer to the UK Government’s eligibility criteria covered in: Eligibility, safeguarding, DBS and accommodation checks: Homes for Ukraine.

All new visa applicants under the Homes for Ukraine scheme must travel to the UK within 90 days after they have provided their biometric information at a Visa Application Centre (VAC).

In the early stages of the Ukraine crisis, the UK Government issued open ended ‘permission to travel’ documentation to many Ukrainians. If you wish to host people holding a permission to travel letter, you should be aware that the UK Government announced that from 00:01 GMT on 13 February 2025, these documents will no longer be valid. From this point, permission to travel letters will cease to be valid for travel on airlines, trains or ferries to the UK, and individuals may be refused entry at the UK border and returned to their place of departure. Further information can be found on the UK Government website.

Hosting under the Scottish super sponsor scheme

It is important to note that if you wish to host guests through the Scottish super sponsor scheme there is no need for an individual sponsor as the Scottish Government will fulfil this role.

If you wish to act as a host for the Scottish super sponsor scheme you must:

• be over the age of 18
• be based in the UK
• have at least 6 months permission to be in the UK (from the date of the beneficiary’s visa application)
• confirm you can provide accommodation for a period of at least 6 months in Scotland
• make sure that all adults in the hosting household meet suitability requirements as set out in (checks and safeguarding)

You must also provide one of the following documents (it must be valid):

• UK Passport
• Irish Passport or Passport Card
• Biometric Residence Permit
• Biometric Residence Card (issued to non-EEA family members granted leave under the EU settlement scheme)
• Refugee Travel Document
• An eVisa ‘share code’
• UK-issued photo driving licence
• Irish-issued photo driving licence
• Crown Dependency-issued photo driving licence

Thank you payment for all hosts

You are able to claim an optional 'thank you' payment while you are hosting your guests. This is dependent on whether or not the accommodation you have provided is of a suitable standard and you have passed all the relevant safety checks, including where the checks are completed following the arrival of your guests.

From 1 October 2024 close family members of Homes for Ukraine visa holders will not be eligible to claim thank you payments. This applies to new arrivals and those who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member after 1 October 2024. Local authorities will determine whether a close family relationship exists between a sponsor and guest before issuing thank you payments. Local authorities have discretion in what information they use to determine this.

These payments are available to hosts for the duration of a guest’s visa permission – up to 36 months for guests on a 3 year Homes for Ukraine or Scottish super sponsor 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). For guests who have been in the UK for up to 12 months, this payment is £350 per month. For guests who have been in the UK for more than 12 months, this payment is £500 per month. This payment is limited to one monthly payment per residential address, regardless of the number of individuals hosted.

Payments will stop when hosting ends. If your guest moves out of your home for any reason, you must inform your local council as soon as possible, as you will no longer be eligible for the monthly payments.

If, after hosting ends, you take in another guest/family, you will be able to claim further thank you payments, provided that you are not in (or do not form) a close family relationship with the guest.

This is a thank you payment and does not constitute a rental or any other kind of contractual payment and it will be paid in arrears. This payment will not be released until property and personal (disclosure) checks have been completed.

This payment is tax free and does not affect your entitlement to benefits or Council Tax status. Local authorities will make these payments on behalf of the UK Government.

See full details on thank you payments.