Questions 1.1 – 1.9: This section details the organisation you will be submitting your application through. All organisations applying for Community Sponsorship must be either charity registered in the relevant nation of the UK, a Community Interest Company (CIC) or a body falling within section 10(2)(a) of the Charities Act 2011. 1.10: This is…
The family you support will likely arrive in the UK with minimal knowledge of the UK’s currency, benefits, or banking systems. They will also have to wait about six to eight weeks for their first benefits payment to come through. It is your responsibility to supply them with enough money to get by until their…
Questions in section 3.6 of the application will ask you about accommodation for the resettled family, however, you do not need to secure accommodation to be approved in principle. Many Groups find applying for approval in principle makes the process faster, so that you can approach potential landlords knowing that every other thing you need to do…
Please confirm that: ESOL will be monitored andeach adult will receive English language tuition within one month of arrival This is a tick box question to check that you are aware of your sponsor obligations in regard to helping adults to access English language learning. This part of the application is for you to demonstrate…
As you prepare your application for the Home Office, you will not have an understanding of the family’s specific medical needs, but you don’t need to be a health expert to help the refugees you support navigate the healthcare system in the UK. At one point in our lives, we have all registered with a…
The resettled family you support will be required to register with the Jobcentre Plus within three working days of arrival in order to claim their benefits. In order to receive benefits, refugees must have a UK bank account. However, newly arrived refugees often lack the specific documents required to open a bank account such as proof of…
As part of your application, you will have thought through the educational support that you will be offering to a resettled family. For children and young people, this will be via the school registration process in your area and for adults, this will be via the provision of ESOL classes and informal opportunities to learn English. …
When you are supporting a refugee family to build a life in the UK, your Group will need to keep records on some of the work that you carry out to support them. It’s important to find a system that is manageable and appropriate for the task at hand. This resource suggests which records to…
Helping newly arrived refugees to access the healthcare they need will be essential once they arrive in the UK. As part of your Sponsor Agreement with the Home Office you will be agreeing that you will help refugees to register with a GP within one week of arrival, and you will have researched the registration…
For most refugees, integration and financial security are interlinked, especially when they are resettled to a relatively wealthy country like the UK. Refugees will have also heard rumours from their networks about the UK and other countries that may lead them to believe that resettlement equates to not having to worry about money. Many Groups…
As a Community Sponsorship group, you will have gone to great lengths to source suitable housing for a refugee family. You will have invited your Local Authority to view the accommodation for suitability, you may be paying housing rent top-up and you may even have renovated or purchased a property. The refugees you support will…
As part of your Community Sponsorship application, you will be doing lots of research into the services and organisations in your area that may be able to provide advice and support to the family you are supporting. As a Community Sponsorship Group, you aren’t expected to be experts on every subject, instead, you need to…
This resource will help your group support refugees to understand their housing obligations, to foster independence and empowerment as renters in the future. The family you support as a Community Sponsorship group will include adults who have lived independent lives. They’ll have been making choices for themselves and their families for a long time. When it…
Community Sponsorship groups across the UK have developed hugely creative ways to find affordable, sustainable accommodation for families arriving through Community Sponsorship. For the most part, we are seeing groups accessing property through private landlords, whether they are connected to the group or not. In this resource, we will look at the role of the landlord in…
Many Community Sponsorship Groups have established a process by which they will make an interest-free loan of funds to the family they are supporting. Having additional money to support a specific ambition or to fill a gap can be empowering to a family who have been resettled in the UK, but it’s important to think…
This resource aims to help your Community Sponsorship group think through some key issues relating to housing for when you will welcome a refugee family into the UK. It may be that you choose to apply for Approval in Principle (AiP) from the Home Office without accommodation, however, it is important to discuss your housing strategy as…
When the resettled family you support arrives there are some key conversations you’ll need to have, and some topics will arise that may feel a little awkward. Uncomfortable conversations will happen, but they don’t have to be embarrassing or catch you off guard. Be confident that it’s ok to have them as the family’s wellbeing and integration…
Once you’ve been allocated a family, and you and your Local Authority have accepted them, you will need to prepare a fact sheet that will be shared with the family your group will be welcoming. This is your opportunity to introduce yourselves, the support you are offering, and information about the area they will be living in. We’ve…
When we train Community Sponsorship groups prior to the arrival of a family, we talk to groups about the end of their support. This might feel strange, and we’re not going to tell you that your relationship with a family is purely transactional, but it is important to start planning the changing nature of your support…
As part of your Sponsor Agreement with the Home Office, you will have consented to participate in follow up calls through your first year of support of the family you welcome. These will provide an opportunity to reflect on the support you are offering and to bring up any challenges you may be having. Reset will…
When the family you support first arrives in the UK, it’s unlikely that they will speak English well enough to communicate with your Community Sponsorship Group without an interpreter present. Although working with interpreters, especially in the early days, will be key in supporting the family to access essential services and learn new things about…
