Introduction
Thank you for offering your home to guests from Ukraine under the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The Government has provided guidance to support you as a sponsor, which can be accessed from the below link;
Ukraine Permission Extension scheme
The 18-month extension scheme opened to applications on 4 February 2025. If your guest wants to extend their visa under this scheme they will need to make their application within 90 days of their visa expiring and not before that time.
It was announced in Parliament on 24 February 2026 that the UPE scheme will be extended by 24 months. Guests may apply within 90 days of their initial 18 months’ UPE period expiring.
Here is the link to the government guidance for sponsors on the UPE scheme:
Homes for Ukraine: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - guidance for sponsors - GOV.UK
When guests apply for a UPE visa, sponsors/hosts should reapply if they wish to continue to receive a monthly thank-you payment. Sponsors/hosts of those previously on Homes for Ukraine visas will be eligible for thank-you payments of £350 a month for the 18-month UPE visa.
Thank you payments will not be payable if there is a close family relationship between sponsor/host and guest. Sponsors/hosts who are related to their guests will no longer be eligible for 'thank you' payments when their guest transfers to the UPE visa. This is in line with the changes made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024.
Close family members refers to any of the following: 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 these people.