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.

So we have submitted the visa applications - for a mum & her 2 sons now in Kyiv.

The forms were insanely complicated.

So now we wait I guess ...

Another Groundhog Day begins.
#day31

I really really really really hope my MP’s assistant isn’t on holiday.

Well she is working today but all she could tell me was that the remaining visas are approved and we just need to wait for the email. Yes, but this was the situation 6 days ago, so no progress at all and no hope of anything else happening.

I burst into tears in the coffee shop. Waitress was nice.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

I burst into tears in the coffee shop. Waitress was nice.

to you. I know the stress of this is nowhere near what our sponsees are feeling but it is still stressful, emotional and potentially traumatic. We are getting to know these people and coming to care for them even though we have never met, we feel like we're responsible for getting their hopes up re coming to the UK and failing them.

Take some time to treat yourself today, whether that's a slice of cake, a hot bath and a good book, some trashy TV or a 90 minute run. Look after yourself.

Hi - I tried to complete visa applications yesterday for one adult and 2 children. I don't think we uploaded enough documents, and now I am unable to get back into the document self upload programme to add them. Does anyone have any advice please? I dont really want to go through the whole process again as it took a good couple of hours to do all the forms yesterday.

@Tulipomania

Hi - I tried to complete visa applications yesterday for one adult and 2 children. I don't think we uploaded enough documents, and now I am unable to get back into the document self upload programme to add them. Does anyone have any advice please? I dont really want to go through the whole process again as it took a good couple of hours to do all the forms yesterday.

You can't upload additional documents once you've pressed submit. There's an email address you can send them to where they might possibly get through but tbh, you might be better just doing the whole damn form again (it's quicker the second time through... ) What was it you forgot to attach?

Thanks Shiloh.

You nailed it with this: ‘we feel like we're responsible for getting their hopes up re coming to the UK and failing them.’

www.facebook.com/groups/661021021786989/permalink/669591190929972/

www.politicshome.com/news/article/uk-sponsors-accuse-home-office-hiding-from-ukraine-visa-criticism?fbclid=IwAR1KHhwRkNEaUN-_AkWes7iQOLrX92tZJjxIeLL1c-1H45Tm-M6EbmwFS3E

Sorry, ignore the last one, this is the link to the actual article

#day24 here.

My sponsee tells me they had an email as long ago as 28 March asking them to attend a VAC but their passport is an international biometric so they don't need to. May this be holding matters up? I hope not. I cant get through on the helpline. My MP is trying to help but getting nowhere. I have emailed [email protected] and gotten no response. I have emailed Lord Harrington and no response.

Any ideas anyone. Please @ me in any answer.

Thanks

@SeasonFinale I am afraid I do think that could definitely be holding it up, based on my own experience of our applications being put on hold twice due to their supposedly being missing documents that they actually had.
And I can’t suggest anything useful as your MP is already helping. If you do manage to get through to the helpline they might offer to escalate it for you and having said they would they then possibly might.

@SeasonFinale that could well be it. I think you might have to make the tough choice on whether you just resubmit your applications, which could put you to the back of a queue you may or may not be near the front of. On that note however, there are so many people posting on FB now saying they've got their visas through after just 7 days or so, so you might find you get yours dealt with very quickly.

There's a cynical but realistic part of me that strongly suspects this new trend shows the government are choosing to deal with newer applications quickly so they can point to improved statistics re turnaround times, and those of us waiting for 3-4+ weeks now, will be a very tiny minority that they will deal with eventually.

Fireyflies I forgot the proof of residence in Ukraine on 1st January, or whatever the date is, also the kids' birth certificates and the sponsor's passport copy (i.e. mine) plus my husband and son's as apparently it seems they want copies of all of them even though we have provided the passport numbers already.

All the Ukrainians have international passports, which I did send copies of, so I hope that's not a problem, plus a copy of permission from the dad who is staying behind.

@Tulipomania

Fireyflies I forgot the proof of residence in Ukraine on 1st January, or whatever the date is, also the kids' birth certificates and the sponsor's passport copy (i.e. mine) plus my husband and son's as apparently it seems they want copies of all of them even though we have provided the passport numbers already.

All the Ukrainians have international passports, which I did send copies of, so I hope that's not a problem, plus a copy of permission from the dad who is staying behind.

I that case I think you probably do need to redo it . Those are essential documents that it's likely to get rejected without. If you only did it yesterday you're not losing too much time by redoing it. You can call the helpline and ask them to cancel your first effort (though they also told me that if they had two applications for the same person they would automatically cancel the earlier one) If you don't redo it and then don't hear anything for weeks, you'll be left unsure whether it's because of your missing documents or not which will be very frustrating

More emails sent (hub, UKVI and MP).

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

More emails sent (hub, UKVI and MP).

Your Ukrainians are lucky to have you fighting so hard for them.

Thanks Fireyflies.
This process makes me feel like such a failure it’s nice to be told that.
I have just emailed the local paper, might try the Yorkshire Post as well.
And then I will make up beds in the children’s room so if the papers bite they can take a photo of me standing staring sadly at the empty room.

Two more of our 5 visas through. Just waiting for the baby now.
Obviously she is a very great security risk and also may steal British jobs if we’re not careful 😂

Just jumping on this thread- have signed up and also been on contact with the lady running the process in my small city.

Our final visa has come through. What an incredible weight lifted. I am looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning without the slowly dawning realisation of another day of visa stress.

That is brilliant news. Very pleased for you and your sponsee family!

Has anyone signed up to host a family through Facebook groups? Just wondering what that process is like. I'm registering with a local charity but they said it could take them a while to find a suitable match- a single mum with a young child. How do you make sure they are legitimately fleeing the war?

Well, they won’t get their visa through unless they can prove they’re Ukrainian.
I haven’t heard of fake refugees in this scheme- the safeguarding issues are mainly on the other side, since they’re the ones in the vulnerable position of dependence in a foreign country , many of them traumatised and not speaking English. However it goes without saying that you should be alert and if anything at all makes you concerned you should not proceed. I think unfortunately it is abundantly clear in most cases that these are people who are going through something very difficult, even if they are also being brave and determined and optimistic about things.