The British Homes for Ukrainian Refugees Agency provides all the necessary information, helps Ukrainians with finding suitable hosts and mediating communication (including interpretation) and accompanies individual cases until obtaining a visa and leaving for the UK. The agency is open from Monday to Friday, 9am - 1pm.
Currently, the agency collaborates with colleagues in London. Thanks to the support of the City of Prague and its partner cities, including Bristol and Birmingham, the project is working toward expanding into other parts of the UK.
Background: In response to the Russian attack on Ukraine, the UK government has launched a visa program Homes for Ukraine to support UK hosts with housing Ukrainian refugees for a minimum of 6 months. More than 300,000 hosts signed up for the program in its first few days. Hosts must have a clean criminal record and undergo a check of the accommodation by the local authority. This ensures the credibility of the programme for Ukrainian refugees. Visas are then applied for by specific hosts for specific refugees and give refugees permission to stay in the UK, which can be extended for up to 3 years. With the visa, Ukrainian refugees can also access health insurance, free education and the labour market and are entitled to a range of social support schemes such as a one-off housing allowance, child benefit or support until employment.