Support for Ukraine

This local sponsorship scheme for Ukraine will offer a route to those who want to come to the UK who have someone here willing to provide them with a home.

The scheme matches people, charities, businesses and community groups in the UK to Ukrainians who do not have established families in the country, so they are able to come the UK.

Find out more and register your interest to help on the government's website:

Homes for Ukraine

You can also read the FAQs page on the government's website:

Homes for Ukraine FAQs

You can also read information on the role of councils in supporting the scheme. – Please note that Surrey County Council will have responsibility for some areas, including education and social care:

Role of councils in supporting the scheme 

The Government has funded a scheme that offers a matching, training and support service to sponsors and refugees:

Government funded pairing scheme

Advice and support for British nationals with family members in Ukraine, and Ukrainian nationals in Ukraine and the UK along with information on temporary visa concessions:

UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals

Barnardo’s has set up the Ukrainian Support Helpline to provide a holistic support service. The helpline is available to anyone fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

Barnardo’s free helpline (0800 148 8586) is staffed by English, Ukrainian and Russian speakers, to offer support to children and families arriving in the UK from Ukraine.

The helpline is open Monday – Friday (10:00am – 8:00pm) and Saturday (10:00am – 3:00pm). Callers will be able to get help and advice on a range of topics.

A dedicated email address ukrainiansupport@barnardos.org.uk and webpage have also been set up for those assisting with the Ukraine response.

Barnardo’s Ukrainian Support Helpline

Guidance is available to those considering sponsoring Ukrainian citizens via the scheme:

Sponsor guidance

A  factsheet for Ukrainians is now here in English, Ukrainian and Russian:

Fact sheet

The Government has also published a Welcome Pack. It is currently only available in English but a Ukrainian translation is being prepared.

Welcome Pack

An article has been written to explain how Ukrainian families can apply for a school place or childcare:

Applying for a school place or childcare 

An online form for Ukraine family sponsors to complete with their bank details if they want the thank you payment.

Ukraine Sponsor Thank You Payment Application

Charities operating in the region to provide aid are in need of money to help their work.

Donations can be made to the Disasters Emergency Committee, a coalition of 15 leading UK charities, which has launched its collective appeal to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to civilians suffering during the conflict.

Charities involved in the Disasters Emergency Committee include the British Red Cross, Oxfam, Unicef, Save the Children and World Vision among others.

Disasters Emergency Committee

Please visit the government's website for further information on what you can do to help Ukraine.

The Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office currently advises against all travel to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus. Their website has separate, updated travel advice and information for:

• Ukraine
• Russia
• Belarus

If you have a specific question regarding local support for Ukrainians please email: ukraine@waverley.gov.uk

We are currently dealing with a large number of enquiries and will respond to your email as soon as we can. Please do not email the inbox more than once, as this may cause us to duplicate our response and will slow down our processing of enquiries.