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Safety Tips for Matching between Hosts and Ukrainians

This document is not an official resource – it was prepared by volunteers of the Canada - Host Ukrainians group. This document does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We are a group of volunteers managing an online community that helps Ukrainians to come and settle in Canada. We are not responsible for the safety of the users of the group we manage - users remain responsible for all decisions and risks involved.

Before contact

• When looking for a host, favor families; otherwise, encourage solo hosts to form help groups to improve everyone’s safety. It also gives more hosts the opportunity to help, more Ukrainians the chance to receive help, and a better social network.
• Hosts: If you are alone, consider combining your efforts with another host, and create a help group.

First contact

• Make the first contact by chat or phone
• Mutually share your social media profiles to help validate your identities.
• Mutually share some photos
• Share photos of the accommodation offered, living environment, and neighborhood
• Hosts: make the other party comfortable by voluntarily providing information about yourself and by being open to questions.
• Ukrainians: don’t be uncomfortable asking questions. Don't be afraid of losing an opportunity. There are others out there.

Video meetings

• Organize several video meetings to get to know each other
• If there is a language barrier, find someone who can assist and translate or use  Say Hi (mobile phone app)
• Discuss the following points:

• Duration of stay (temporary or longer term)
• Other types of assistance, including financial support
• Work, studies, occupation of the persons involved
• Transportation (accessible public transportation, loan of a car, etc.)
• Health problems that can affect the daily life
• Compatibility of your lifestyles. Visualize a typical day. What is everyone going to do? Sharing of tasks, etc.
• Organization of transport from the airport to the housing location
• Motivations of each party in the context of matching

Match decision

• Mutually decide whether you want to proceed with matching and communicate your decision clearly
• Ukrainians: Wait for your visa approval

• Hosts: Ask for proof of obtaining a visa by Ukrainians
• Hosts: Please provide two references (ex.: friends, relatives living in Canada), namely their names, and phone numbers.

• Identify each other by presenting an ID with a photo. Validate and take note of:

• Your names
• Your addresses
• Your phone numbers
• Share this information with your relatives and friends
• Pay attention to the expiration date of the documents

• Hosts: find and inform your local organization (immigration, non-profit organization, church, etc.) that you will receive someone, in order to get additional support and services for you and Ukrainians
• Criminal record check

• Ukrainians: if you have any doubt about a potential host, consider asking for a criminal record check.
• Hosts : if Ukrainians get a Canadian visa, they already went through a criminal record check.

• Always make sure you have several options before deciding on your matching. Don’t ever feel forced to go with one option.

Travel to Canada

• If the host assumes the purchase of the plane ticket:

• Ask to see proof of obtaining a visa by Ukrainians before buying tickets
• Do not send money, but instead buy the ticket yourself
• You will need to get the exact name and passport number of the passengers

• Share flight numbers, arrival location and arrival times between host and Ukrainian
• Ukrainians: find additional contacts to improve your safety.

• Local contacts in your place of arrival, other than the host (search on social groups, etc.)
• Other Ukrainians living in your municipality, city, or province of arrival in Canada
• Ask the host to provide contacts of the nearest local support organization. Verify this information on the internet.
• Embassy of Ukraine in Canada: +1 613-230-8015

Upon arrival at the airport in Canada

• Ukrainians:

• Connect to the airport WiFi and immediately inform your relatives and friends of your arrival
• Buy a SIM card (prepaid) and activate it immediately, share the number with your loved ones.

• First meeting: present your identity documents again
• Keep your emergency contacts with you at all times

Upon arrival at your housing location

• Evaluate the safety of the premises and the attitude of your host.
• Call 911 or your emergency contact in Canada if you are uncomfortable or feel threatened.
• Make sure you keep your passport with you at all times and don't give it to anyone, especially your host
• Please note that hosts who offer their accommodation free of charge should not ask you to do work in exchange. If the host asks you to perform tasks (e.g. cleaning the house, cooking, childcare, or any other type of domestic work) beyond reasonable expectations for your stay as a guest (taking care of your environment, cooking your meals etc), this can be considered as work. You should make sure to clearly establish the labour conditions. These working conditions cannot be less than what is defined in the various provincial laws (e.g. offering the minimum wage, providing a pay slip to verify the calculation of the wage, etc.) (Labour Standards Act (QC), Employment Standardcontracts Act (ON), Alberta Employment Standards Rules (AB), Employment Standards - British Columbia (BC), Employment Standards - Prince Edward Island (PE), Employment Standards - Manitoba (MB), Employment Standards - New Brunswick (NB), Employment Rights - Nova Scotia (NS), Employment Standards - Saskatchewan (SK), Labour Standards - Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). These conditions can be established through employment. Both hosts and guests should use common sense to distinguish between unpaid labour and reasonable expectations for a guest's stay.