Disclaimer

This document has been developed through the trials and errors of members of the Marlow Ukraine Collective, and is not to be considered as legal or official advice. The UK Government Homes for Ukraine scheme, application forms and the process are rapidly evolving and changing day by day, and we do not guarantee this document takes account of the latest updates or changes to the form, government guidance or advice. We make no guarantees that your visa application will be successful or that there are no mistakes or errors in our understanding of the form or the process. You are free to share or reuse the content of this document, but we cannot take responsibility for the failure of any application based on this document.

Advice on completing a visa application under the UK “Homes for Ukraine” scheme

We have just completed this process and had to restart a few times due to confusion or glitches, so we thought it would be helpful to provide some notes from our experience. Note that our application has not yet been processed so we don’t know for sure if our answers will be accepted.

Information that you will need from your Ukrainians

You will need the following information for every applicant.

1. Given name

2. Family name

3. Maiden name (if applicable)

4. Marital status

5. Email (use mother’s for children)

6. Telephone number (use mother’s for children)

7. International passport number (if available)

8. Nationality

9. Country of birth

10. Date of birth

11. Place of birth

12. Most recent address in Ukraine

13. Husband’s given name (if applicable)

14. Husband’s family name (if applicable)

15. Husband’s date of birth (if applicable)

16. Husband’s nationality (if applicable)

You will need PDF copies of:

1. International passport

2. Birth certificates if international passport not available

3. Domestic passport (we used the mother’s):

The photo page and the residence stamp both showing the embossed passport number

4. Ideally, a consent letter from the father stating that the children can travel to UK.

5. Passports of the sponsors.

Instructions on the upload process, including why you may see only “Warsaw” or “Rzeszow” listed can be found at the end of this doc.

See later in this document for instructions on making and splitting PDF files.

Pre-requisites

We created a Gmail account for this process and shared the password with the Ukrainian family. We went through the questions together on Zoom.

Creating a new Gmail account can be problematic as your computer may remember an existing account. To avoid this always use a Chrome “incognito window”.

You can create a new Gmail address here:

https://www.google.com/intl/en-GB/gmail/about/

Visa Application Process

You will need to create a separate application for each family member coming to the UK. In our case, this was a mother and two children.

Each application (three in our case) must be started from the link below (which was very hard to find). Use this link even if the applicant does not have an international passport.

https://apply.visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/has-international-ukrainian-passport

You cannot open multiple applications at the same time, so if you need to move between them, always save for later, sign out, and then sign in again. We used the same shared email address and password (see above) for all three applications.

To save for later, select “Return to this application later” at the bottom of the screen. You will get a unique link, which will also be emailed to the address you provided.

Mother’s Application

Question	Answer (answers in bold, comments in italics)
Do you have a valid international Ukrainian passport?	Yes
What category are you applying for?	Ukraine sponsorship scheme (Homes for Ukraine)
What type of sponsor do you have?	I am being sponsored by an individual
Were you living in Ukraine on 31 December 2021?	Yes This is the applicant and not the sponsor.
Does your sponsor have permission to be in the UK for more than 6 months?	Yes
Which of the following describes your sponsor?	British citizen
Register an email	Recommend using the Gmail and password created above.
Your sponsor details	This is the name of the sponsor, not the applicant
Ukrainian family member details Is at least one member in your family group a Ukrainian citizen?	Yes This is on behalf of the applicant.
Sponsor Nationality and passport What is sponsor’s country of nationality, date of birth, passport number?	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant. For us (British Citizens) the issuing authority was HMPO, but that is shown as authority on the photo page of your passport.
Sponsor contact	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant.
Sponsor’s other names	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant. This page will repeatedly appear until all former names have been added. You do not see a list of former names unless you “Save and Continue” and then “view answers”.
Provide your sponsor’s residential address Provide your sponsor’s sex and relationship status Your sponsor’s other nationalities	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant.
Your address in the UK: Will you be staying at the residential address of your sponsor?	Yes
Will there be any other people living at the address where you will be staying?	You will need to fill in details for all occupants of this address over age 18, including any other adults who are applying to stay at this address under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Contacting you by email. Who does this email belong to?	You
Do you have another email address?	Yes We used this option to register the applicants normal email address. You get options to decide which email to use for which type of correspondence.
Your telephone number	This is the applicants telephone number
Your name	This is the applicants name
Your last address in Ukraine, passport, nationality, country and date of birth	These are the applicant’s details
Family members applying with you. Do you have any family members applying with you that you have not already told us about on this application?	You will need to enter details for each person who will be applying, even though they will need their own application forms. We recommend that you write this in a text file so you can copy and paste as you will be entering the information quite a few times.
For each family member, you will be asked their relationship to the sponsor.	Every time we were asked this question we said “[sponsor name] is the sponsor for [name of each person being sponsored]”
Your planned travel information	Provide an estimated date – we went for about three days after the current date. The applicant will be able to enter the UK within 90 days from this date. Use the same date on all applications.
Immigration history, Breach of UK immigration law, Convictions and other penalties, Person of good character, Your employment history	These are the applicant’s details

After submitting the form, evidence must be uploaded. Instructions on how to upload this information can be found later in this document.

Child’s Application

For us, this was more complex. The kids don’t have international passports, just a birth certificate. Also, the father’s details are needed ideally with a letter of consent to take the kids to the UK. For us, this was not possible as you will see from the answers.

If asked for a passport number, simply enter “We do not have a passport, just a birth certificate”.

Remember, you will need to fill in a separate form for each child, but each form has all the details of both parent, the sponsor and the other children. Keep details in a text file so you can copy/paste.

Very important: At the time of writing (24th March) a visit to a visa application centre is required in this case. The list of application centres you get to choose from is based on your answer to the second question below: select a country to provide biometrics. Later in the process you will only get the option to select the application centres in that country.

Question	Answer (answers in bold, comments in italics) Significant differences to mother’s application highlighted.
Do you have a valid international Ukrainian passport?	No
Select a country to provide your biometrics	See above. The applicant will need to visit an application center, select the most convenient.
What category are you applying for?	Ukraine sponsorship scheme (Homes for Ukraine)
What type of sponsor do you have?	I am being sponsored by an individual
Were you living in Ukraine on 31 December 2021?	Yes This is the applicant and not the sponsor.
Does your sponsor have permission to be in the UK for more than 6 months?	Yes
Which of the following describes your sponsor?	British citizen
Register an email	Recommend using the Gmail and password created above.
Your sponsor details	This is the name of the sponsor, not the applicant
Ukrainian family member details Is at least one member in your family group a Ukrainian citizen?	Yes This is on behalf of the applicant.
Sponsor Nationality and passport What is sponsor’s country of nationality, date of birth, passport number?	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant. For us (British Citizens) the issuing authority was HMPO, but that is shown as authority on the photo page of your passport.
Sponsor contact	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant.
Sponsor’s other names	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant. This page will repeatedly appear until all former names have been added. You do not see a list of former names unless you “Save and Continue” and then “view answers”.
Provide your sponsor’s residential address Provide your sponsor’s sex and relationship status Your sponsor’s other nationalities	This is the details of the sponsor, not the applicant.
Your address in the UK: Will you be staying at the residential address of your sponsor?	Yes
Will there be any other people living at the address where you will be staying?	You will need to fill in details for all occupants of this address over age 18, including the mother and any other adults who are applying to stay at this address under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Contacting you by email. Who does this email belong to?	Someone else This address belongs to the mother.
Do you have another email address?	Yes We used this option to register the applicants normal email address. You get options to decide which email to use for which type of correspondence.
Your telephone number	This is the applicants telephone number
Your name	This is the applicants name
Your last address in Ukraine, nationality, country and date of birth	These are the applicant’s details
Do you have a passport?	No For our family, the kids don’t have a passport.
Do you have a valid national identity card?	No For our family, the kids don’t have an identity card.
Explain why you are unable to provide a valid form of identification.	We have birth certificates. In Ukraine you do not get a national identification until you are 14, and we had no need to apply for an international passport because we were not planning to leave Ukraine until we had to flee our home because of the war.
Your last address in Ukraine, nationality, country and date of birth	These are the applicant’s details
Give details about 2 of your parents.	You will need to provide both the mother’s and the father’s details. Typically, you will state that the mother is travelling with the applicant, but the father is not travelling with the applicant.
Family members applying with you. Do you have any family members applying with you that you have not already told us about on this application?	You will need to enter details for each person who will be applying, even though they will need their own application forms. We recommend that you write this in a text file so you can copy and paste as you will be entering the information quite a few times.
For each family member, you will be asked their relationship to the sponsor.	Every time we were asked this question we said “[sponsor name] is the sponsor for [name of each person being sponsored]”
Your planned travel information	Provide an estimated date – we went for about three days after the current date. The applicant will be able to enter the UK within 90 days from this date. Use the same date on all applications.
Parental consent. Will you be living with both your parents in the UK?	No
Can you provide consent from both your parents or legal guardians to apply?	No We had verbal consent, but if you select “yes” you don’t get a comment box to explain.
Why can you not provide consent?	My father gives consent for me to travel to United Kingdom but he is fighting in the war with Russia and cannot provide a letter of consent.

After submitting the form, evidence must be uploaded. Instructions on uploading evidence can be found later in this document.

Uploading Evidence

All evidence must be in PDF format. If you have photos you can insert them into a Word document and save as PDF, or you can print, and select “save as PDF” as the printer.

Ideally you will have separate PDF files for each item of evidence.

If you have a big PDF file with lots of documents in the same file, you can split these up by “printing” individual pages or page ranges to a PDF file. See below for an example.

The evidence you require is:

We recommend that the sponsor prepares a cover letter and uploads this with the other evidence. See below.
International passport if available.
Birth certificate if the international passport is not available.
Evidence that the applicant was resident in Ukraine before 1st Jan 2022, for us we will rely on the mother’s domestic passport stamp. You will need both the residence stamp and the photo page both showing the embossed passport number.
Sponsor’s passport.
Letter of consent from the father, if available.

Feel free to reuse our cover letter:

Address

Date

Phone number

To whom it may concern,

I, <sponsor’s name> (date of birth <dob>, passport number <passport>), am acting as sponsor for the following family under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. I will be offering this family accommodation in my home. My spouse, <name> (date of birth <dob>, passport number <passport>) also lives in my home.

<applicant’s name>: Mother, adult
<applicant’s name>: Daughter, child
<applicant’s name>: Son, child

Their father is fighting in the war with Russia and is not travelling to the UK.

Please feel free to call me with any questions.

Your sincerely,

<Sponsor’s name>

Accessing the Upload Portal

If you just carry on with the application, you will get an option to upload the files at the end of the application process. This will transfer you to the UK government’s commercial partner “TLS” to provide the documents.

However, if you step away to collect the docs, it is a little tricky to find your way back in. The easiest way is to use the confirmation email which you should have received when you completed the application form.

From the email confirmation click on the blue 'your application' link.
login to the application using your password
Click on provide documents
Click continue
Accept terms and conditions
And continue

Applicants with an International Passport

After consenting etc, you will need to select a TLS office who will process your application.

For applicants with an international passport, only Warsaw and Rzeszow are listed. You cannot progress without selecting one of these, but it doesn’t matter because if you have an international passport no visit is necessary.

You will then simply be provided with a browser window where you can drag and drop each evidence file. Note that once you submit, you cannot add extra evidence or edit existing evidence.

You may find an option to download a checklist. It appears to be an irrelevant hangover from a previous version of the system and asks for things like proof of income. We ignored it and have seen countless forum posts stating this is ok.

Applicants without an International Passport

Unfortunately, you will need to book an appointment at the TLS office to provide the documents. You can select a local office, which for us was pre-populated based on earlier info provided.

After consenting etc, you will need to select a TLS office where the applicants will visit for a (free) appointment. For us, appointments were only available on Mon-Wed, and they were only available if you selected the standard self-service scheme.

Once you proceed past the payment page (the charge is zero) you will get the option to upload the evidence as above.