As part of our Experts by Experience platform, we interviewed Ghazala and her family who were resettled to the UK through Community Sponsorship. Watch the below video to hear them talk about their experience of resettling to the UK and the importance of Community Sponsorship. WARNING: This video contains flashing lights. Viewer discretion is advised.
Stage of the process: We are getting started
Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
On 6 January 2022, the UK Government announced that the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme had opened, having previously confirmed that Community Sponsorship groups were going to be able to resettle Afghans through the scheme and into their neighbourhoods. The UK Government will welcome up to 20,000 people from Afghanistan and the region over the coming years. This includes over…
Experts by Experience: registering as a CIC
In order to be approved by the Home Office as a Community Sponsorship group, your application must be made through a registered charity or Community Interest Company (CIC). This Charity, or CIC, is known as a Lead Sponsor. In some cases we are seeing Community Sponsorship groups looking to register themselves as a CIC, rather…
Forming a group
In order to manage your group and ensure that tasks are delegated fairly and appropriately, it will be helpful to establish roles for group members. Community Sponsorship groups have organised themselves in different ways and it is important that you find what works best for you, but we do advise against overloading one person with too many…
Media toolkit for Community Sponsorship groups
Raising awareness of your work is going to be essential in recruiting volunteers and raising funds to support your Community Sponsorship project. This guide outlines some key things to think about when starting out. If you are working with a Lead Sponsor organisation, make sure you discuss with them if there is any guidance they…
Principal Sponsor Application Process (PSAP)
Lead Sponsor Organisations who have been designated by the Home Office to be a Principal Sponsor are able to submit applications that use a different format to the traditional Community Sponsorship application. Groups will still need to research how they will support a refugee family, and will be able to welcome a family either through…
Sponsor obligations and requirements
In Community Sponsorship, you will have requirements and obligations between the organisation acting as Lead Sponsor and the Home Office, which will be outlined in your sponsor agreement. You can see a sample sponsor agreement on gov.uk, however, you should ensure that you read your sponsor agreement carefully prior to signing it, and ask your Home Office…
The Community Sponsorship process
You can access the application form and guidance notes from gov.uk. The application form is a word document which you should download and save to work on together. Once you have formed your Community Sponsorship group, decided on how you will apply (whether this is through an existing organisation or by setting one up yourself) you’ll…
Understanding the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS)
Community Sponsorship groups have welcomed families under the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) since early 2021. This new resettlement scheme replaced the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) and the Gateway programme which closed having welcomed over 20,000 people to UK. UKRS offers a broader global scope than the previous scheme, and…
Charitable status
In order to be approved by the Home Office as a Community Sponsorship group, your application must be made through a registered charity or community interest company (CIC). This organisation will be your Lead Sponsor. The charity must be registered with the Charities Commission in England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)…
Partnering with a Lead Sponsor
Your Community Sponsorship application must be made by Lead Sponsor Organisation. The organisation must be a charity, community interest company or an exempt charity registered with the appropriate body in the relevant nation of the UK. There are many experienced Lead Sponsors who have a process and a system in which your group could operate, or you may…
The refugee resettlement process
When the family you support arrive in the UK, they will be beginning a new chapter in their lives. But to get to this point, the family will have been going through a process to be resettled for years. In this page, we will give you an idea of the behind-the-scenes process that is involved…
Your Group
When you begin planning, it’s really important to spend time thinking about how your group will operate. You may find that you have a large number of people involved in your community sponsorship overall, but that you have a core group of members who are fulfilling specific roles based on their skills, availability and expertise….