Sutton Council is grateful for all the sponsors who are supporting people from Ukraine. This page provides Sutton specific guidance for sponsors and those considering becoming a sponsor.
Register to be a sponsor
You can read the government's latest advice for sponsors on GOV.UK. You must be able to meet the accommodation requirements.
Follow GOV.UK guidance to become a sponsor.
Host a guest who is already in the UK
You can offer to host people from Ukraine who are already in the UK but are looking for a new sponsor. This is called a rematch.
You can register your interest in hosting a guest already in the UK directly with Sutton’s Ukraine Response Team. We will contact you with a suitable guest.
Guidance for sponsors in Sutton
Get support from Sutton’s Ukraine Response Team
You can email Sutton’s Ukraine Response Team on ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk.
You should contact the Ukraine Response Team to:
tell us about your guest’s arrival or a change in their travel plans
tell us if your guest decides to no longer come to the UK
tell us about any problems or concerns you have with your guest
request our advice as part of your role as a sponsor
request our support connecting your guest(s) with public information or services they may require, especially education services
The Ukraine Response Team inbox is monitored Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays).
Visas for Ukrainian guests
The UK Visas and Immigration service is responsible for visas for Ukrainian nationals. Ukrainian guests and sponsors can contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for help and advice. Translation services are available from UKVI.
Arrival of guests
You must email the Ukraine Response Team when your guest arrives or if their plans change. This helps us prioritise the checks we complete.
Guest withdrawal
If a guest wishes to withdraw and not come to the UK they need to tell the UK Visas and Immigration service. Sponsors should tell the Ukraine Response Team.
Checks for safety, wellbeing and suitable accommodation
We are responsible for checking all sponsors meet the eligibility criteria.
You will be contacted directly by the teams carrying out the checks. We will attempt to complete the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and accommodation check before your guests arrive. We will prioritise checks based on the expected arrival date of the guests.
The safety and wellbeing check will be completed at your home with your guests after their arrival. This is to check that everything is going well and that you and your guests are safe and settling in well.
Thank you payment
Sutton Council has decided to increase the Thank You payment from £350 to £500 as of January 2023.
Payments will be made after your guests arrive and all the checks have been passed and completed.
After 4 months of hosting your guests
At month 4 we encourage guests and their sponsor to talk about accommodation options for after the 6 month sponsorship period.
This includes:
continuing sponsorship
your guest finding a new sponsor (rematching)
renting private accommodation
Email ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk to let us know what you have decided, and if anything changes after this point.
Find out more about what to do when you have sponsored for 6 months on GOV.UK.
Host lodger’s agreement
At the end of the 6 months sponsorship, hosts and guests can choose to continue the sponsorship arrangement or to end it.
If the hosts and guests are happy with the living arrangements then they may choose to convert the sponsorship into a lodger’s agreement. This is a residential license that sets out the terms in which a lodger can occupy the property where the landlord lives.
Once the lodger’s agreement is drawn up, guests are able to apply for the housing element from Universal Credit. They will receive the local housing allowance contribution for the room dependent on age, or if they are working they would pay the rent from their earnings.
For more information regarding the lodger's agreement, please email ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk.
Ending the sponsorship
If you choose to end your sponsorship before the end of the first 6 months, the Sutton Council Ukraine Response team will try to re-match your guest with an available sponsor (if the guest wants to).
Email ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk if you need any assistance with ending the sponsorship.
Read more about ending your hosting arrangements and helping your guest with their next steps on GOV.UK.
Guests temporarily absent from their sponsor’s accommodation
You should tell Sutton’s Ukraine Response Team ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk if your guests:
- are planning to leave the accommodation for a long period of time
- have not returned for more than 4 weeks
Thank you payments will stop after a 4 week absence.
You can read more about guests temporarily absent from their sponsor’s accommodation on GOV.UK.
Support for sponsors
We understand that sponsoring a refugee family can be daunting as much as it can be rewarding. We continue to support our sponsors in regards to any issue arising from the hosting relationship, or to answer any question and discuss concerns.
Sutton Ukraine response team email
Our email address is ukraineresponse@sutton.gov.uk.
In person welcome event with The Salvation Army
These events are held monthly and are for sponsors, Ukrainian guests and Sutton service providers. It is an opportunity to meet other local sponsors and guests. You will receive email invitations with dates and location through our regular communication emails.