Ukraine

Chelmsford CVS, the local centre for voluntary action, is co-ordinating volunteering and donation opportunities to help refugees from, and people in, Ukraine.

If you want to help, you can check the CVS website, which is being constantly updated as the situation changes.

Many people in Chelmsford may want to join the thousands who have already offered accommodation to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The government has now put in place the Homes for Ukraine scheme. If you can provide accommodation, you can nominate a named person or family to support their visa application to enter the UK.

You can find more information about this on the GOV.UK website.

If you want to offer accommodation but don’t have the name and details of a particular family fleeing Ukraine

You can still apply to the national scheme and register your interest to help. The government might contact you later if they extend the scheme to those who have accommodation to offer but have no connection with a particular person or family fleeing Ukraine.

Some charities and organisations are working with refugees who are looking for accommodation. They are helping to match them with people in the UK who are able to provide accommodation.

You can look at some of their websites:

• Refugees at Home 
• Room for Refugees
• Reset 
• Welcome to Essex: packs for sponsors (Essex County Council)
• Information for sponsors welcoming a Ukrainian person or family (Essex County Council)
• Local information packs for guests available in Ukrainian and Russian languages (Essex County Council)

Other help and support to help refugees settle in the UK

There is a need to make sure suitable care and support is available to help those fleeing. Some may have young children, disabilities, experienced trauma and anxious about their future and those they have left behind.

All those resettled through the schemes will receive a package of support. This will include help to access health, social care and education.

Funding of £10,000 per individual is being provided to local authorities to meet the costs of this package of care and support. We will be working closely with Essex County Council who has responsibility for providing many of these services.

Those arriving in the UK from Ukraine can access Universal Credit and jobs support immediately. Each refugee will also receive a £200 one-off payment to cover the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and toiletries. Essex County Council are responsible for these payments.

The government is also offering an optional ‘thank you’ payment of £350 per month to people who can accommodate one or more households. There is a limit of one payment per residential address. This payment is made by Essex County Council. To claim the £350 payment, you need to apply to host a Ukrainian war arrival on GOV.UK.

If you are a sponsor, the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) scheme allows you to nominate a Ukrainian individual or family to stay in your home or other property.

The UK government will grant Ukrainian nationals a three-year visa through the scheme, if they have leave to remain. Later, they can choose to find their own accommodations while keeping their HFU visa.

Information for sponsors

If you invite Ukrainian guests to stay with you under the scheme, you will not lose your Council Tax discounts.

For example, if you get a 25% single person discount, you will still get the discount, as we will disregard Ukrainian nationals.

If your property is exempt from Council Tax, you will not lose that exemption. For example, if your property is exempt because all the residents are students, we will still apply this exemption, even if your Ukrainian guests are not students.

We will also disregard 'Thank you' payments, and won't count it as income when calculating your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.

Information for Ukrainian nationals

If you are a Ukrainian national and live in a separate property to your sponsor, you are responsible for paying Council Tax.

If everyone in your household has an HFU visa, then you will get a 50% discount. You will be responsible for paying half of the Council Tax on the property, but you may be able to claim an additional benefit called Council Tax Support to help you pay for this.

You may also be able to claim Universal Credit for helping with day to day living expenses and rent.

How to apply for a 50% HFU discount on your Council Tax

You can only apply for a Council Tax 50% discount if you have a HFU visa. You can't apply if you are here under another scheme, such as The Ukrainian Family Scheme or The Ukraine Extension Scheme.

You can apply by completing our contact form.

Apply now

You need to provide:

• your address
• the names of all adults living with you
• the date you moved in
• evidence that each resident has permission to enter or stay in the UK under the HFU scheme

Ukraine Permission Extension

Your Council Tax discount will end when your visa expires.

You may be eligible to apply for permission to continue living in the UK for up to a further 18 months. This is under the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme.

You can find more information about the UPE scheme and how to apply on the GOV.UK website.

You must give us proof of your visa extension for your discount to continue.