- Register to Support Homes for Ukraine – Organisations
I met with DCMS yesterday and, as yet, there is no scheme to support Ukrainian refugees entering the tourism and hospitality sector. However, registration opened yesterday for the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme which has both a private and organisational registration process.
The Organisation route enables charities, community groups and businesses to volunteer accommodation for Ukrainians and their family. The requirement is that the accommodation should be available to at least 6 months and Ukrainians using the scheme will be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years. During their stay they will be able undertake employment as well as access healthcare, benefits, education, and English language tuition and sponsors will be offering an optional ‘thank you’ payment of £350 per month for taking in Ukrainian refugees.
The scheme will open on Friday 18 March for visa applications from Ukrainians and immediate family members who already have named people willing to sponsor them. The date for the second phase, which will be for non-family members, has yet to be announced and further guidance on this phase will be published shortly. However, businesses can register an interest in being involved and kept up-to-date as the guidance is developed through the following link. It is important to note that businesses can register to accommodate single people as well as families and that registering an interest is not a commitment to provide accommodation at this stage.
- Removal Of Travel Restrictions
The Government has announced that from 4am on 18th March 18 March, regardless of their vaccination status, people travelling into England will not have to:
- take any COVID-19 tests – before you travel or after you arrive
- fill in a UK passenger locator form before you travel
The Government noted that it will maintain a range of contingency measures to counter any new harmful variants of COVID-19 entering the UK – although their approach will be to use the least stringent measures to minimise the impact on travel and that the contingency measures will only be implemented in extreme circumstances.