'Thank you' payment for the lead sponsor
Sponsors/hosts of Ukrainian guests on a Homes for Ukraine visa are currently eligible for a monthly payment from the UK government as a thank you for hosting.
Thank you payments to sponsors/hosts will only be issued where the guest and sponsor/host are not in a close family relationship. Guests who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member are classified as having left the Homes for Ukraine scheme rather than a rematch.
The definition of a close family member includes:
- a spouse, or civil or unmarried partner
- a parent
- a parent-in-law
- a son or daughter
- a son- or daughter-in-law
- a stepson or daughter
- a sibling
- a grandparent; or
- the spouse, or civil or unmarried partner of any of these people
For unaccompanied minors, this also includes an aunt or uncle of the child.
Councils should determine whether a close family relationship exists between a sponsor/host and guest before issuing thank you payments.
Councils have discretion over what information they use to determine this.
Eligible sponsors/hosts can claim thank you payments. Until 31 December 2026, thank you payments will be paid at a rate of £350 a month per household. From 1 January 2027, this rate will change to £100 a month per household. This change will apply to payments made after 1 January 2027. It will affect sponsors/hosts who are already in receipt of thank you payments as well as new claimants.
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.
In some cases, sponsors/hosts may continue to receive thank you payments while their guest is on a second UPE extension. This is because guests can apply for a further UPE extension up to 90 days before their current permission expires, while eligibility for thank you payments is determined by the date the guest first moved onto a UPE visa and is capped at 18 months.
If a guest is in a sponsorship arrangement when granted permission under UPE, their sponsor/host should reapply for thank you payments if they wish to continue to receive a monthly payment.
The payments will be tax free and should not affect the sponsor’s entitlement to benefits or council tax status.
Homes for Ukraine: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - guidance for sponsors (GOV.UK) - 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.