Introduction

The Homes for Ukraine (HFU) is a unique scheme that has been set up specifically to support those escaping the conflict in Ukraine. The UK Government designed the Homes for Ukraine scheme to allow people to offer accommodation for a minimum of six months.

Sponsors and hosts

If you are able to offer a home to people fleeing from Ukraine, and you have not already registered, you can find out more on the GOV.UK website:

You can offer a home to someone:

• applying to come to the UK
• already living in the UK.

I’ve already registered

Once you have registered, your details are shared with the council. We will contact you to:

• arrange a home visit to inspect your property
• undertake criminal record checks (DBS) on you and your family.

Guidance for sponsors and hosts is available on GOV.UK

When a guest arrives

Welcome payment

When a guest arrives, the host or sponsor should provide internet access, or help them, so they can email the council to request their £200 welcome payment.

They will need to provide the following details of their host or sponsor:

• address
• name
• contact details.

The council will then contact the host or sponsor to ask if they wish to claim their Homes for Ukraine (HFU) thank you payment of £500.

120 days free bus travel

East Riding of Yorkshire Council give all guests 120 days free bus travel on East Yorkshire buses. Hosts or sponsors should help guests to make an account on the East Yorkshire Bus app. Once registered on the app, guests need to email the council to let us know they have registered.

The council then tells East Yorkshire buses, who will add the initial 30 day block of tickets to the account.

Leisure pass

All guests are given a 1-year, free, leisure pass which will be posted to their new address.

Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme

Homes for Ukraine (HFU) visas issued before February 2024 were awarded for 36 months from the visa decision date.

Visas issued after February 2024 are awarded for 18 months from the visa decision date.

Once a guest’s HFU visa permission has ended, and they wish to remain in the UK, they can apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme. This gives them another 18 months permission to stay.

Hosts can still receive a monthly thank you payment of £350 for guests who hold a UPE visa and remain in host accommodation. After this UPE period ends, the thank you payments will discontinue. UPE thank you payments will not be paid if there is a close relationship between guest and host. A close relationship is defined as:

• spouse
• civil or unmarried partners
• parents
• parents-in-law
• sons or daughters
• sons or daughters-in-law
• step-sons or step-daughters
• siblings
• grandparents
• or the spouses, civil, or unmarried partners of any of these people.

Council tax discount

Homes for Ukraine (HfU) scheme

You may be eligible for a 50 per cent discount on your council tax bill if you are:

• a Ukrainian national (HfU visa holder)
• living in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme
• living in your own accommodation, such as a rented flat or house, that is not the main home of your sponsor.

If you sponsor and host a Ukrainian household in your home, and you were receiving single person council tax discount, this will not be affected.

Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme

If your HfU visa has expired and you are now on the UPE scheme, you no longer qualify for a council tax disregard:

• if you are no longer living in accommodation provided by a sponsor or host, whether you previously held an HfU visa or not
• if you are a UPE visa holder, regardless of whether you previously held a HfU visa.

Hosts or sponsors

You may be entitled to a single person discount on your council tax if you are:

• a single host or sponsor, and
• you are entitled to thank you payments in connection to HfU, including those available to UPE sponsors or hosts, and
• you are living with a Ukrainian who has either a HfU or a UPE visa, and
• there are no other eligible adults in the household.

Single person discount - find out more in the discounts and exemptions directory

Advice and support

For information, advice and support about the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme in East Riding of Yorkshire:

The Refugee Council

The Refugee Council support East Riding of Yorkshire guests and hosts. The Refugee Council will provide ongoing support to help Ukrainians integrate successfully into life in the East Riding.