Once you have matched with a Ukrainian person or family that you wish to host, the following steps must be undertaken:
- Visa application(s)
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
- Household and safeguarding checks
These are not always done in the same order, but they must all be completed.
Visa applications
You or your guest must apply for a visa to enable them to travel to the UK. A separate form must be completed for everyone who wishes to be sponsored and is intending to travel.
The visa application will ask for your personal information in order to confirm your identity and eligibility to be a sponsor. As much as we wish to believe everyone is genuine, there have been reports of people exploiting the current situation to commit identity fraud or apply for more visas than agreed with their sponsor. If you are providing your personal information to your guest to enable them to apply for their visa, or if you are offering your accommodation via a community group or other organisation, please make sure you know they are legitimate.
If you have concerns about sharing personal details, you may prefer to fill out the visa application form on behalf of the individuals you are sponsoring. To do this, you will need to ask them for their information. Read more about this or apply for a visa on the Government website.
Sometimes visas will be issued before other checks are completed.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
Once you are matched with a Ukraine guest and a visa application has been submitted to the Home Office (it does not have to have been approved at this stage), your details are downloaded by Suffolk County Council. This transfer of information happens daily (Mon-Fri) via the Government's Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) portal. The Council is then required to do a DBS check of all adults over 16 in your household, even if you have an existing certificate.
The process for this is as follows:
- You will receive a call from Suffolk County Council to gather some initial information, including how many people over 16 years live in the host household. We aim to make this call within 2 working days of receiving your information.
- You will then receive an email from the Community Action Suffolk DBS Service asking you to complete an online DBS checking form.
- When your local district or borough council visit you to do the accommodation check, they will ask to see your ID documents as a verification check.
There is a range of documents that each person will need to produce to verify their identity. Visit the Devon County Council website to see a list of documents suitable for a DBS check. To save time ahead of the team making contact, please check through and get your chosen documents in one place. If all guests are adults who are not classed as vulnerable, we will undertake a standard DBS check. We will undertake an enhanced DBS + barring list check where any guests are children / aged over 65 / adults with identified disabilities/illnesses/learning difficulties.
We aim to undertake our checks before guests arrive whenever possible. If your guests have already arrived, or are arriving imminently and you have not yet had a visit for your check to be undertaken, please contact us at refugeesupport@suffolk.gov.uk and we will endeavour to prioritise your checks. The DBS check process is not a requirement for issuing a visa and the associated permission to travel, and we are working through a considerable number of applications, so whilst we are moving as quickly as we can, on occasion, checks may be completed after guests arrive.
Household and safeguarding checks
We will also check the suitability of your property. The process for this is as follows:
- You will receive a telephone call from Suffolk County Council to collect information about your household and the property in which you will be inviting guest(s) to live in.
- An in-person visit will then be undertaken by your local District & Borough Council who will ensure that your property meets the required standards and will also view the original documentation that can be used for your DBS check. Please have these documents ready to be viewed during the visit.
How we use your information
Suffolk County Council is committed to protecting your privacy and will treat an individual’s personal data in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation. Your information will not be used for other purposes or supplied to third parties except in accordance with the law. Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have a number of rights regarding any personal data held by us in relation to this project. See our Homes for Ukraine Scheme privacy notices for full details.