Information for Leicestershire sponsors

For registered Homes for Ukraine sponsors and hosts in Leicestershire, who are or will be hosting guests from Ukraine fleeing war.

  • Sponsor - someone who has assisted with the entry Visa application process for some Ukrainian guests, and who may also then host them when they arrive in the UK.
  • Host - someone who is solely a host to Ukrainian guests. A host may be matched with guests due to arrive in the UK, or may be "re-matched" with guests already in the UK.

You can report a safeguarding issue to us online.

Government guidance for sponsors and hosts

Sponsor and Host thank-you payments

Thank you for your kindness in hosting a Ukrainian guest in your home.

All individuals hosting guests from Ukraine can request a thank-you payment. The thank-you payment is £350 per month for the first 12 months a guest is in the country and £500 per month for the following 12 months a guest is in the country.

  • The thank-you payment is per accommodation address and all payments are conditional upon successful checks of the property, and DBS and safeguarding checks for all residents over 16.
  • Thank-you payments are paid a month in arrears, by the middle of the following month. All payments will be backdated to the date your first Ukrainian guest arrived. You may receive a partial payment where the guest has been with you for less than half a month. 
  • To receive thank-you payments you must inform us of the dates that guests arrive and when they leave your property. This is done using the Guest Arrival form through the council's Self Account system - see below for more details on this.
  • You must notify us of dates when your guest leaves to prevent overpayment, which you will be liable to return. 

Leicestershire County Council is using the Government 'Homes for Ukraine' grant it receives to increase the payment it gives to host families from £350 to £500 for the months of November 2022 to March 2023, in recognition of additional energy costs at this time.

Guest arrival form

Sponsor payments are triggered upon completion of the guest arrival status form, which is emailed to you, which tells us about your guest arrivals and requires the registered sponsor's bank details. This form also triggers the welcome payments for your guests.

You will be emailed a link to the guest arrival form when you have been matched with a guest either through their visa application on when re-matching has been confirmed with us.

Please check junk and spam mail folders, and retain the email for future reference.

 

Complete the guest arrival status form as soon as possible after your first guest arrives at the property.

If other guests haven't arrived yet, provide an estimated date of arrival in form.

You will be able to update it again later when something changes, like another guest arrives or if any leave the property.

The form requires registration for a Leicestershire County Council 'Self' account (if you don't already have one):

If you already have a Self account:

  • Click the link in the email
  • Log in to your Self account as prompted
  • The form will load, then you can complete it

If you are registering for a Self account:

  • Click the link in the email - follow the prompts to "Sign up". You can also sign up for a Self account here
  • You'll be sent a verification email - click the link to verify, then fill in basic information on the Profile form
  • Click the email link to the guest arrival status form

When you've submited the form you'll be emailed a confirmation with a link to update the form if anything changes. You can also do this from the My Requests area of your Self account.

We'll send an email reminder every few weeks, so you don't have to worry about losing the form link.

 

You must update the guest arrival form IF:

  • Another guest arrives
  • A guest leaves
  • All guests have left

You don't have to update the form if nothing has changed.

Support or advice hosting your guests

A welfare visit will be arranged for guests and hosts within the first six months of guest arrival. We are currently working to clear a backlog of welfare visits.

We will contact hosts and guests of new arrivals from February 2023 to arrange a welcome welfare visit within 4 weeks of arrival. 

If you would like some specific support or advice to help you with hosting your guests, please contact us.

Guests leaving your property

When any of your guests leave the hosting arrangement with you, please update your guest arrival form to tell us the date they left - you'll find a link in our reminder emails, or you can access it directly from your Self account My Requests area.

If guests leave temporarily for a trip of up to 4 weeks you do not need to update the guest arrival form.

If all your guests have left, you must tell us as soon as possible.

If you require your current guests to leave

If you require your current guests to leave due to some kind of issue, we will need to start making alternative arrangements for them, and for you if you wish. This can take time to arrange so please let us know as soon as possible.

Re-matching with new guests

When your original Ukrainian guests leave your property you can be re-matched with new guests if you wish, or you may choose not to continue to be a Homes for Ukraine host - you can let us know online.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I see payment for my child guest?

Guest welcome payments for children/minors will be added to the payment card of the lead guest - they can check for the payment at an ATM.

Not all of my guests are listed on the arrival form

You can report this to us - please provide all relevant information.

In the My Requests area, what does "Action Required" mean?

This just means the form you've sent is available for you to fill in again if anything changes, like another guest arrives or a guest leaves; no action is 'required' until then.

I haven’t had my thank-you payment

Thank-you payments are normally paid by the 15th of the following month. If you haven’t received an expected payment please check that the bank details you provided were correct and in the name of the registered sponsor or host before getting in touch with us.

Guest arrival form issue

What if I can't find the form link email?

Have you checked your Junk Mail/Spam folders?

Try doing a search on your inbox for: "Ukraine" or "Homes for Ukraine", "Leicestershire County Council" or "guest arrival notifications".

If you still can't find the form email, let us know below.

The form doesn't load / the link doesn't work

When you click the link in the email you will go to a Self account page that says "Before you begin". Underneath the 'Sign up now' button, click "LOG IN HERE". This will take you to a login screen - log in, then the form will load automatically.

If you have logged in to your Self account and you are on the "Self Service" page, click the link in the email again to load the form.

Have I submitted the form correctly?

If you didn't click the Submit button on the form, you haven't sent it in yet.

The Submit button may be hidden until certain key questions are answered (these trigger the payments and other procedures) - please read the instructions presented on the screen.

Do I have to update the form every time I get the reminder email?

No. Only update the form if something has changed - another guest has arrived, a guest has left, or all guests have left.