19th June 2025
Homes For Ukraine Lincolnshire e-newsletter
Welcome to the latest issue of our e-newsletter for Homes For Ukraine guests and hosts. This newsletter is sent out by Lincolnshire County Council's Migration Team. You can email the team on: homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk. Our business hours are Monday to Thursday 09:00 - 17:00 and Friday from 09:00 - 16:30. The email address is constantly monitored during these times.
You can also visit our Homes For Ukraine Lincolnshire website to find other information, and also to read this newsletter in Ukrainian or Russian. Use the 'Select Language' button at the top of the screen to switch language.
Відвідайте веб-сайт «Оселі для України в Лінкольнширі», щоб прочитати цей інформаційний бюлетень українською або російською мовами. Для перемикання мови використовуйте кнопку «Вибрати мову» у верхній частині екрана.
Посетите сайт «Homes For Ukraine Lincolnshire», чтобы прочитать этот бюллетень на украинском или русском языке. Для переключения языка используйте кнопку «Выбрать язык» в верхней части экрана.
Thank You Payments
June thank you payment date
We will be sending the £350 thank you payments to hosts on Wednesday 25 June. As usual these payments will be sent by BACS and therefore should clear into your bank account within three working days - so payments should be with all hosts by Friday 27 June. Please wait for this clearing period to pass before contacting us to chase your payments.
If you move house
Please could we remind hosts to tell us if you move house with your guests. This is because we will need to conduct a new property inspection of your new house before we can continue making your monthly thank you payments, and we do not want to interrupt your thank you payments unnecessarily.
Re-applying for thank you payments under UPE
When guests' Homes For Ukraine visas expire we need to ask hosts to reapply for thank you payments if they wish to continue receiving them while the guests are on Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) visas.
We will contact hosts when they need to reapply for their thank you payments. So there is nothing that hosts need to do until we contact you. It is a quick and simple process for us to go through with a host.
If you reapply for thank you payments but you are related to your guests we will be unable to continue making thank you payments once your guests move on to UPE visas. This is in alignment with UK Government guidance about councils no longer approving thank you payments for hosts who are closely related to their guests.
When your guest applies for a UPE visa and you reapply for thank you payments we will ask you and your guest to provide us a share code that proves they have been granted a UPE visa. We are not given this information directly by central government, which is why we need the share code to verify that a UPE visa has been granted to the guest.
Once we have a share code we will be able to continue paying your thank you payments until the UPE visa expires (assuming the guest stays with you for the duration of their UPE visa).
Guest absences
We continue to see a lot of movement of guests in and out of the UK. We need to pause thank you payments if guests are absent from their hosts for more than 28 days.
We remind hosts and guests to please let us know of any guest absences/returns so that we can pause/restart thank you payments as necessary. Failure to notify us could result in us later reclaiming payments made to you.
Guests or hosts can contact us on homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the dates the guests are intending to be away. We also understand that travel plans can change at short notice, given the fluid situation in Ukraine.
Homes For Ukraine Visa Applications
Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Lviv
If you are supporting people making new Homes For Ukraine visa applications from inside Ukraine you may find it helpful to know that a new premium VAC has opened in Lviv.
The VAC in Kyiv remains open too.
Details of both VACs can be found on the VAC website.
School Summer Holidays
Summer 2025 HAF
The Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) is a Government funded programme that provides free holiday clubs for reception to year 11 pupils in receipt of benefits-related free school meals in Lincolnshire over the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays.
This summer's HAF will run from 23 July 2025 to 03 September 2025.
Bookings open on 30 June 2025. To book a place you will need the school to provide you a HAF e-voucher.
There are full details on the Lincolnshire County Council HAF website. This site can be easily translated into other languages.
Help with childcare costs
People receiving universal credit can potentially receive help with childcare costs. There is more information on the UK Government childcare choices website.
Please note that the FAQs suggest that you should report your childcare costs as soon as possible after paying them. If you leave it for longer than 2 assessment periods, you might not get the money back.
Health
Prescription charges and dentistry costs
The National Health Service (NHS) provides most care for free, but there are some occasions when people need to pay for some of their care.
For example, some people need to pay for prescriptions of medicine. Most people will also need to pay for dentistry costs, even if they have an NHS dentist.
In particular we would like to draw guests' attention to NHS prescription charges. It can be complex to understand who pays for prescriptions and who receives prescriptions for free, in particular if the person is receiving universal credit.
If you are receiving universal credit you might be given your prescription for free or you might not - it depends on how much universal credit you are receiving.
There is an online calculator for people receiving universal credit to work out if they are eligible for free prescriptions or not. This website is also referred to on the prescription form itself.
Please could we ask guests to make sure they are eligible before claiming free prescriptions - if you are not eligible but try to claim a free prescription you may be fined by the NHS.
How to access mental health support
There are many services that can support hosts and guests with their mental health. Some of these services are run by the NHS, some are run by charity or voluntary organisations.
In Lincolnshire, adults can contact Lincolnshire Talking Therapies - this is an NHS service. There is an equivalent NHS service for children called Healthy Minds Lincolnshire. Both of these websites can be switched into Ukrainian or Russian. The NHS also run the Lincolnshire Recovery College.
But there are also charities who are running services to support people's mental health. Other organisations in Lincolnshire you could contact include:
There is further information, and links to other sources of mental health support, on our Homes For Ukraine Lincolnshire website.
University Open Days
Any Ukrainian guests who are considering university places in Lincolnshire may be interested in these upcoming 'open days' which would give you a chance to look around each university.
Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln
Open day being held on 11 July 2025 - places can be booked on the BGU website.
Lincoln University, Lincoln
Open days being held on 04 July 2025 and 05 July 2025 - places can be booked on the Lincoln University website.
Support for Carers
We know that some hosts or guests may be in situations of caring for someone else who is a host or guest. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) provides advice and support for carers - please visit the LCC website for more information.
Other Help
Ukrainian Community Groups in Lincolnshire
If you are looking to join a Ukrainian community group, visit the Ukraine support groups directory on our Homes For Ukraine Lincolnshire website.
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice is a charity that offers free support and advice. It can help with a range of issues including immigration and visa advice, claiming universal credit and other benefits. Citizens Advice can provide home visits in rural areas.
In Lincolnshire there is a dedicated helpline number and email address for Homes For Ukraine guests to use. If you would like to ask for help you can call 0344 847 6128 or email ukraine@citizensadvicesouthlincs.org.uk. Citizens Advice also have IAA level 1 qualified staff.
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact Lincolnshire County Council's Homes For Ukraine team on: homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk.