Sponsor payments – common questions and answers
How are Thank You payments calculated?
Under the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme, sponsors are eligible to receive an optional monthly Thank You payment for the duration of their guest's visa permission. This can be up to 36 months for a guest on a three-year visa or up to 18 months for those on the new 18-month visa.
However, sponsors and guests who are in a close family relationship are not eligible to receive Thank You payments. (This condition came into effect on 1 October 2024.) Additionally, parents or legal guardians sponsoring their children are also not eligible for these payments. (Effective from 31 January 2025, please refer to the definition of close family member).
The payment will be made on the last working day of the month for that month. You will be eligible for the monthly payment if the guest has lived in your accommodation for at least half of the month.
For example, if the confirmed arrival date of your guest was on or before 16 May you will be entitled to the monthly payment from end of May, subject to completion of all relevant checks and verifications. You will be paid for May on the last working day of May i.e 31 May.
Payments can only be issued to a bank account held in the name of the Lead Sponsor.
Under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme, the Government has confirmed that it is extending thank you payments for sponsors for the period their guests are covered by the permission issued under the UPE scheme. After a guest UPE visa permission period ends, thank you payments will discontinue. In addition, thank you payments will only be made to the sponsor as long as the sponsor and guest are not in a close family relationship (which came into effect on 1 October 2024, see the definition of close family member) and have not rematched with a family member (sponsors who are related to their guests who are currently in receipt of thank you payments under the HFU Scheme, and whose guest transfers to the UPE scheme, will no longer be eligible for thank you payments. This is in line with the changes made for new applications for thank you payments from 1 October 2024).
The payment will continue to be made on the last working day of the month for that month. You will be eligible for the monthly payment if the guest has lived in your accommodation for at least half of the month.
How much is the Thank You payment?
Please refer to the table below for the Thank You payment amounts:
Timeframe | Thank You payment amount |
---|---|
From April 2026** to March 2027 | £350 per month |
From April 2025 to March 2026 | £500 per month |
From April 2024* to March 2025 | £500 per month |
From October 2023 to March 2024 | £700 per month |
From March 2023 to September 2023 | £500 per month |
From October 2022 to February 2023 | £550 per month (£350 plus £200 winter payment) |
From March 2022 to September 2022 | £350 per month |
* Thank you payments are available to sponsors for the duration of the guests' Ukraine visa permission – up to 36 months for sponsors of guests on a 3 year Homes for Ukraine visa, and up to 18 months for guests on the new 18 month Homes for Ukraine visa (which came into effect on 19 February 2024). Under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme (which comes into effect on 4 February 2025), thank you payments are available to sponsors of guest who extend their stay in the UK for a maximum of 18 months. After a guest's UPE via permission period ends, thank you payments will discontinue.
** On behalf of the Government, Hampshire County Council will deliver the optional single monthly thank you payment to eligible sponsors of guests under the Homes for Ukraine or Ukraine Permission Extension scheme at the current Government rate of £350 per month (which will take effect from April 2026).
Payment sponsors: Homes for Ukraine - GOV.UK
When will you receive your first payment?
The following conditions must be met before your payments can start:
Under Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme
- You and your guest are not in a close family relationship (this condition came into effect on 1 October 2024, see the definition of close family member)
- You are hosting a guest and all accommodation and safeguarding checks have been undertaken and passed (including the final confirmation visit when the guest has arrived and is in your home)
- You have provided your bank details to us and acknowledged and agree to comply with the Sponsor Obligations via the form which will be emailed to you
- We have verified your bank details (see ‘Confirmation of Bank Details’ for further information) and completed all other necessary fraud checks
If these conditions are not met ahead of the first month you are due payment, your next payment will be backdated to reflect the confirmed arrival date of your guest. You will receive a two months’ payment.
Thereafter, while you are still hosting a guest, you will receive the Thank You payment on the last working day of each month.
Under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme
The Home Office have advised that the processing time of UPE visa applications can take up to 8 weeks. Sponsors will continue to receive thank you payments during this time. It is the responsibility of you and your guest to inform Hampshire County Council as soon as the guest’s UPE visa permission has been granted. Delays in sharing this information once permission has been granted could result in your existing thank you payments being paused.
Guests who have their UPE visa application refused or rejected by UKVI will have no further recourse to public funds in the UK. Therefore, Sponsors of guests whose permission is refused or rejected will not receive thank you payments.
The following conditions must be met to enable you to continue to receive thank you payments:
- You and your guest are not in a close family relationship (This condition came into effect on 1 October 2024, see the definition of close family member)
- If rematching a guest, your guest must have previously held a Homes for Ukraine visa permission
- You have provided your guest’s 9-digit share code and date of birth to prove their immigration status and agree to comply with the UPE Sponsor Obligations
- You have re-applied and submitted a thank you payment application form which will be emailed to you.
- We have verified your eligibility and confirmed your guest’s UPE immigration permission status and completed all other necessary fraud checks.
While you are still hosting a guest under the UPE Scheme for a maximum of 18 months, you will receive the Thank You payment on the last working day of each month. After a guest’s UPE visa permission period ends, thank you payments will discontinue.
You were expecting to be paid at the end of this month. Why have you not received your first payment?
The following conditions must be met under the Homes for Ukraine scheme before your payments can commence:
- You are hosting a guest and all accommodation and safeguarding checks have been undertaken and passed (including the final confirmation visit when the guest has arrived and is in your home)
- You have provided your bank details to us and acknowledged and agree to comply with the Sponsor Obligations via the bank details form which will be emailed to you
- We have verified your bank details (see below) and completed all other necessary fraud checks
When you receive the bank details form, please ensure you return this to us as quickly as possible, checking the information you provide for accuracy. If we are unable to verify your details, we may need you to provide further evidence (see ‘Confirmation of Bank Details’). This could cause delays in your first payment.
When completing the bank details form, you must provide bank account and address details for the Lead Sponsor. We are unable to make payments to a bank account registered to any other individual. If you have submitted details for a different name, you will not receive payment, and will need to resubmit the bank details form with details from the Lead Sponsor.
Once all conditions have been met, your first month’s payment will be backdated to reflect the confirmed arrival date of your guest.
You have been paid more or less than you were expecting – how was the amount calculated?
You will be eligible for the monthly payment if the guest has lived in your accommodation for at least half of the month. For example, if the confirmed arrival date of your guest was on or before 16 May you will be entitled to the monthly payment from end of May, subject to completion of all relevant checks and verifications. If the guest has lived in your accommodation for less than half of the month, you will not be eligible for the monthly payment.
How do you provide us with your bank details for payment?
You will receive an email from [email protected] which will include a secure form for you to complete to provide your bank details.
Hampshire County Council will never ‘cold call’ you, by telephone or in person, asking you for your bank details or any other financial information.
Please check any communications you receive carefully to ensure they have been sent from us and if in doubt contact us at [email protected] to confirm. We will never ask you to enter your card details or any bank security information (e.g. PIN or passwords for online banking).
We will be contacting Sponsors in batches, based on when guests arrive.
Why do we need to verify your bank details?
Making sure we can verify your bank details allows us to uphold our responsibility to protect public funds against fraud and is a requirement of the Government guidance.
What will we do to verify your bank details?
We use third-party credit check agencies to verify your payment details – however this is not a credit check and will not impact your credit score or rating.
In some cases, we are unable to verify bank details through this method. This can be due to:
- The bank account, address or Sponsor name details provided being inaccurate
- The third-party credit check agency database not holding your account details
When this occurs, we will need to contact you for further evidence, including a copy of your bank statement. This will be requested from [email protected].
Hampshire County Council will never ‘cold call’ you, by telephone or in person, asking you for your bank details or any other financial information.
Please check any communications you receive carefully to ensure they have been sent from us and if in doubt contact us at [email protected] to confirm. We will only ask for your bank account details – we will never ask you to enter your card details or to provide any additional bank security information (e.g. PIN or passwords for online banking).
Can you arrange for the payments to be made into someone else’s bank account?
No, we are only able to make payments into a bank account registered in the Lead Sponsor’s name.
If you have submitted details for a different name, you will not receive payment, and will need to resubmit the bank details form with details from the Lead Sponsor.
What do you need to do if your guests are temporarily absent?
It is your responsibility to inform the County Council if your guests are absent for more than 4 weeks. Your payments will then be paused until you inform us that the guests have returned.
Email: [email protected] as soon as possible to inform us of any temporary absences or guest returns.
What do you need to do if your guests leave?
It is your responsibility to inform the County Council when your sponsorship arrangement has ended, or if circumstances of you or your guest change.
Email: [email protected] as soon as possible.
If your guest has lived in your accommodation for at least half a month you will receive a full month payment on the last working day of the month.
If your guest has lived in your accommodation for less than half a month you will receive no payment.
If you have been overpaid, we will notify you of the amount to be repaid and arrange an invoice for you to pay.
Can you charge rent?
No, Sponsors must not charge guests rent for the duration of either the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) or Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme and should not request monetary contributions towards utilities, food etc. which would be deemed excessive and constitute rent in practise.
Can Sponsor payments be made by cheque?
Payments can only be made directly into a bank account registered to the Lead Sponsor.
Can you be sent a remittance notice for the payment you receive?
Yes. A remittance notice will be automatically issued to the email address you provided when you submitted your payment details.
When are payments made?
All payments are made one month in arrears on the last working day of the month once all relevant conditions have been met (see ‘When will you receive your first payment?’ for more information).
Do the payments constitute taxable income?
The payments are tax free and does not affect your entitlement to benefits or council tax status.
Are the payments means tested?
The Sponsor Thank You payments are not means tested.