thread for those interested in refugee hosting/sponsorship

[EezyOozy]

I thought I would start a new thread about this as I have just heard on BBC news that they are opening up a web form tomorrow to express interest. Apparently families/households can claim £350 a month (I assume for increased expenses) and refugees will be eligible to claim or benefits and work. We have large a spare room but live rurally so whilst I will express interest I'm not sure we will be taken up on it.

I thought I would start a new thread for those who are interested and to follow the progress of the registration procedure/how this pans out in practice.

Posted here because it's the only place I know gets plenty traffic, I will probably be asking for this to be moved but don't know where to.

Meanwhile a Syrian refugee child is beaten up in a racist attack at school and it’s posted on YouTube for people to attack them again online. They then have to contend with people like Tommy Robinson calling them names and accusing them of all kinds and end up having to take him to court and relive their trauma.

This is not the fault of people who are trying to help house refugees at the moment. It's also nothing to do with the practicalities of housing a refugee under the current scheme. Which is what this thread is about.

Exactly spot on @hassletassle

I actually think this is a really great way of doing things and hope they roll out a more formal version for previous and future refugees putting people up in a network of 'foster' homes. I also think not giving them asylum is a good move, just giving them a temporary period of sanctuary and letting them work is best and should be rolled backwards, so refugees, past and future, just wait here and see what happens at home.

Question if you own or rent does it affect your house insurance.

If you rent landlord pays do you need to inform them?

If you house people with children and worse case scenario of needing to ask them to leave happens, they would be considered a priority for rehousing by your local authority. You would have to give them a note confirming you were asking them to leave and the local authority would then have to find them somewhere. For those without children, the local authority might it might not rehouse them, though there are refugee support groups in many areas and others just starting up, so I'd hope they would help them. I think over time it would start to become more like a normal lodger arrangement where you ask them to move on with a bit of notice if it's not working out and by then they're on benefits or have a job so can look around for a room to rent.

Im wondering whether there will be people who will want to be placed rurally as I understand that there’s a lot of farmland in Ukraine so there may be folk who have farming skills and prefer that to a big city.

@Marcipex

Can we say no smoking tho, as DH cannot bear it and coughs incessantly.

You can definitely put in place whatever house rules you want in your own home such as no smoking. I think it's advised to formulate your house rules and write them down and show them to your guests ideally before they come or at least at the start when they do.

When I had a lodger things I had as house rules included no smoking, washing up straight after any meal and no groups of friends round after 9pm (a partner was ok and I clarified that). My lodger had a cupboard in the kitchen and a shelf in the fridge for his use. He had use of the whole house and garden (apart from our bedrooms obviously), washing machine and WiFi.

I've known other people with lodgers have rules about the times of day that lodgers can use the kitchen or living room so as to leave times that are just for their own use.

At the start, I assume it would be more like a guest coming to stay and you might well cook for them, show them around, etc. But if it's to last longer term I think you'd need to move to something more like a lodger arrangement.

I’ve been sent this link to a free webinar by Sanctuary Foundation, looks like it could be helpful for finding out more about what it’s like to host www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukraine-humanitarian-sponsorship-information-evening-tickets-296455585637

Thanks, Jaymar, that webinar looks very useful.

[quote Jaymar]I’ve been sent this link to a free webinar by Sanctuary Foundation, looks like it could be helpful for finding out more about what it’s like to host www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukraine-humanitarian-sponsorship-information-evening-tickets-296455585637[/quote]
Thanks for that. Looks very useful. I've just signed up

You can definitely put in place whatever house rules you want in your own home such as no smoking. I think it's advised to formulate your house rules and write them down and show them to your guests ideally before they come or at least at the start when they do.

Important to make them aware of any house rules at an early stage, before anyone's committed to anything. Not helpful presenting them with the list when they arrive!
The refugees should be able to choose the accommodation (and the rules) that most suit them.

@bowlingalleyblues

Im wondering whether there will be people who will want to be placed rurally as I understand that there’s a lot of farmland in Ukraine so there may be folk who have farming skills and prefer that to a big city.

Most folk with farming skills would largely be men, and they stayed where they are.

@TeloMere

You can definitely put in place whatever house rules you want in your own home such as no smoking. I think it's advised to formulate your house rules and write them down and show them to your guests ideally before they come or at least at the start when they do.

Important to make them aware of any house rules at an early stage, before anyone's committed to anything. Not helpful presenting them with the list when they arrive!
The refugees should be able to choose the accommodation (and the rules) that most suit them.

That's very true. But I fear it could be difficult when you're unable to meet them beforehand as they'll be in another country, and also they're probably quite desperate and likely to agree to anything. I guess maybe making the important ones (pets, smoking etc) clear in advance and then maybe the more day to day living stuff (washing up, use of space, etc) clear when they arrive might be the way to go.

Most folk with farming skills would largely be men, and they stayed where they are.

Actually, looking at the Facebook groups where people are trying to connect, there are a lot of refugee families that include young men that must have been able to get out early on….

@justasking111

Question if you own or rent does it affect your house insurance.

If you rent landlord pays do you need to inform them?

Yes you'd need to inform your landlord if you rent because the tenancy agreement will list who is allowed to live there. Any changes have to be declared.

You will need to inform your insurance company too because the risk will change depending on who is living there. The premium will usually be higher because the more people there, the more chance of something getting damaged, the more wear and tear on the plumbing etc which may cause a leak.

If you're a leaseholder like me, you may well be prohibited from taking in migrants anyway. My lease says the property can only be occupied by "professional people of good character" - I wouldn't know whether the refugee was of good character or not until they arrived and demonstrated it, I wouldn't necessarily know if they were a "professional person" either - chances are most of the refugees will not be in immediate employment in this country anyway.

It's different for freeholders of course, other than alerting their mortgage provider and insurance company they'll probably have the freedom to accept a refugee.

@hassletassle

Most folk with farming skills would largely be men, and they stayed where they are.

Actually, looking at the Facebook groups where people are trying to connect, there are a lot of refugee families that include young men that must have been able to get out early on….

In addition to some who left very early, men with 3 or more children can leave with them

Can anybody help me answer this woman's question re toddler not having passport ?

When I had a lodger previously I don't think I did need permission from either insurance or mortgage provider and pretty sure I did call them to check. I'm certain that neither the insurance costs or mortgage interest rate changed at all. (I had a house - agree it might be slightly more complex for leaseholders.) A lodger is treated in most respects as a member of your household, so much the same as if you had a new partner nice in with you or adult child move back home. It's quite different legally to a tenant who rents an entire home from you - that might be the case if you had a self contained flat attached to your house, but for most people considering giving refugees a spare room, they'd be legally the same as any other new member of your household.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-information-for-ukrainians-in-the-uk-british-nationals-and-their-family-members/immigration-information-for-ukrainians-in-the-uk-british-nationals-and-their-family-members

This page explains about procedures with passport/ no passport. They need to apply online then attend an appointment at their nearest visa centre.

Thanks @TraceyLacey , does that apply to children . On here it says

Travelling with children
You may be asked at the border to prove the relationship between yourself and any children travelling with you, if you do not seem to be the parent, for example if you have a different surname.
You can prove this with:
• a birth or adoption certificate showing your relationship with the child
• divorce or marriage certificates if you’re the parent but have a different surname from the child
• a letter from the child’s parent giving permission for the child to travel with you and providing contact details, if you’re not the parent

www.gov.uk/uk-border-control/before-you-leave-for-the-uk

[quote hassletassle]Thanks @TraceyLacey , does that apply to children . On here it says

Travelling with children
You may be asked at the border to prove the relationship between yourself and any children travelling with you, if you do not seem to be the parent, for example if you have a different surname.
You can prove this with:
• a birth or adoption certificate showing your relationship with the child
• divorce or marriage certificates if you’re the parent but have a different surname from the child
• a letter from the child’s parent giving permission for the child to travel with you and providing contact details, if you’re not the parent

www.gov.uk/uk-border-control/before-you-leave-for-the-uk[/quote]
I don't think that'll be used unless they have serious reason to think the children aren't the parent's. I have a different surname to my children and have never once been asked to prove they're mine by UK border force.

@Firefliess thank you. I was thinking maybe that might mean that only a birth certificate was needed, rather than a passport. For a 15 month old.

Are any of you actively looking for a family to match with or are you holding off to see what organisations put in place to help with matching in the coming weeks? I’m in Scotland so I think we’ll wait to see whether the Super Sponsor proposal is granted and what the matching process will be on the back of that.

@jaymar - we're still in the process of thinking it through and trying to find out more information tbh. Though DH has just said he'll make some enquiries through his work which has some partner organisations in Ukraine and Poland to see if any of their employees are in need of somewhere. I've signed up on the government website but that's all you can actually do so far in that. They say they'll contact you with more info, so will wait and see what systems and organisations start to form.

@Firefliess Ah that’s a good idea. We have signed up too but neither of us are on social media so we haven’t really been able to gauge whether there were loads of Facebook pages popping up.