Potential merits of extending the Homes for Ukraine scheme

Background

A Westminster Hall debate on the potential merits of extending the Homes for Ukraine scheme is scheduled for 6 February 2024 at 2.30pm. The debate will be led by Pauline Latham MP (Conservative).

The Homes for Ukraine scheme (sometimes known as the Ukraine Sponsorship scheme) is one of three visa routes introduced by the Government for people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. It allows eligible individuals in the UK to sponsor a named Ukrainian national or family to come to live in the UK with them, provided they have suitable accommodation to offer. Under the scheme, launched in March 2022, UK-based sponsors commit to providing accommodation for at least six months after the arrival of their Ukrainian guests.

The scheme has enabled 142,600 Ukrainians to arrive in the UK, as of 1 February 2024.

Sponsors can claim ‘thank you’ payments of £350 per month for the first 12 months, and then £500 for the next 24 months. These are administered by the relevant local authority. As at the end of September 2023, the Government had provided £100 million to sponsors as ‘thank you’ payments, according to the National Audit Office.

The local authority where the sponsor is based receives a one-off payment of £5,900 per arrival (previously £10,500 for all arrivals before 31 December 2022). The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities had provided £1.1 billion in tariff funding to local authorities by the end of March 2023.

The special Ukraine visa schemes offer a maximum stay of three years in the UK. They cannot be extended beyond three years, nor provide a pathway to permanent residency.

The Government hasn’t yet confirmed whether or not it intends to extend immigration permission for people who have already arrived and been granted three years’ permission to stay under the schemes. The visas belonging to the first arrivals under the schemes will begin to expire in February/March 2025.

Government position on extending the scheme

Broadly, the Government’s position has been that it is keeping the question of extending the visa schemes under “consistent review”, in consultation with the Ukrainian Government and other countries giving sanctuary to Ukrainians. It has not given a date by which any decision on extending the schemes will be announced.

The most recent Government statement about the future of the various Ukraine visa schemes (the Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Extension Scheme and Homes for Ukraine) was given on 2 February 2024:

We are mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead. We are keeping the need for a possible extension of permission to remain for those who are here on our Ukraine schemes under consistent review in line with the ongoing war.