Part of your Sponsor Requirements in supporting a resettled family is to provide interpretation support for the language spoken by the family for their first year in the UK. Community Sponsorship groups use professional in-person interpreters, telephone interpreters, volunteers or even bilingual group members to meet this requirement. However, many groups have found that after…
Stage of the process: We are preparing for a family to arrive
Welcome Pack
As part of your application form, you will be asked to prepare a Welcome Pack for the family. Below is a list of suggested documents you could include. You may wish to add, remove or amend the title of any of these documents – it’s really about what you as a group would like to…
Welcome to the UK booklet
Groups have found it useful to refer to this booklet and the information it contains to remind the family they are supporting about life in the UK. This is provided to refugees before they arrive in the UK, and should be provided in hard copy to your group. The booklet was created in 2018/9 by the Home…
Addressing misinformation about life in the UK
Moving to a new country without speaking the language, knowing the house you’ll move to and having only a vague idea of the support you’ll receive can be a terrifying prospect. It is not surprising that many refugees decide to seek information on what to expect in the UK wherever they can. Those who can,…
Changes to BRPs
The Biometric Residency Permit is the ID card that will be issued to each family member once they have arrived in the UK. It is the size of a bank card, which can be used as proof of identity, and to confirm the right to work or study in the UK and the right to access…
Common Arabic words and phrases
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…
In country cultural training
All refugees arriving through the Community Sponsorship programme will receive preparation training in their country of asylum prior to arriving in the UK. This training is run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), takes place across 3 days and is delivered through a variety of methods. You will find it useful to understand what the family…
Opening a bank account
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…
Record keeping
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…
Supporting individuals to stop smoking
When you receive a referral of a family from the Home Office, the Resettlement Registration Form you receive may indicate that a member or members of the family are smokers, or you may discover that they smoke after arrival. Whilst it’s their choice whether they smoke or not, you will need to make the smoker…
Supporting non-Arabic speaking refugees
The start of UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) means that we will see refugees resettled from a broader range of countries and nationalities and will likely speak languages other than Arabic. In this resource we look at what this means for Groups who are writing their applications now and we will…
Understanding refugee children’s healthcare needs
As part of your sponsor requirements, you will be helping a refugee family to register all family members with the GP, this includes all children in the family. It’s really important to remember that your role in the Group does not replace the role that a parent or guardian play in their children’s healthcare. You may…