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 the UK Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Application – Stage 1
Principal Sponsors will submit the application to the Home Office having;
- fundraised a minimum of £3,000 and detail how they plan to raise the remaining £6,000
- have permission to apply from the local authorities
- provide a strategy for how they will secure housing, detailing the size of property they feel they will be able to source for the family
- provide a safeguarding and complaints policy
The Home Office will approve this part of the application and at this stage will allocate a family to the group, Lead Sponsor and local authorities – you will each review the family referred and consider whether you can accept the referral or not. If you accept the referral, then the family allocated will be ‘held’ for the group for 4 months.
Application – Stage 2
You will then have 4 months to complete Stage 2 of the application, building the support that you will offer a specific family, as well as securing housing and your funds.
In the application, you will detail how you will support this specific family. You will be able to research the local services that they may require, building specific support for their needs and requirements. Groups who have welcomed through this route have said that this level of detail has provided a ‘head start’ for their support offer ahead of the family arriving.
Training
Our Part 1 PSAP: Planning your application training is now an E-learning. It is for core group members (these are the people who lead the teams or areas of work on your application) and should be completed in the early stages of your planning, before you have applied to the Home Office.
You can complete the E-learning in your own time, at your own pace. The session focuses on the refugee resettlement process, engaging local stakeholders and navigating the application process. We have monthly Part 1 drop-in sessions to answer any follow up questions you might have from the training. You can book these drop-in sessions here.
Click the button below to access the E-learning.
Current Principal Sponsors
As of May 2022, the organisations who are able to use the PSAP process are:
- Caritas Plymouth
- Caritas Salford
- Caritas Shrewsbury
- Catholic Care
- CHARIS Refugees
- Citizens UK (Sponsor Refugees)
- Edinburgh Refugee Sponsorship Circle
- Falmouth and Penryn Welcomes Refugees
- Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre
- Hillsong
- Nugent Care
- Pickwell Foundation
- Salvation Army
- Tyneside Welcomes