In February 2024, the Home Office announced that Ukrainians and their eligible family members in the UK, who already have permission under another Ukraine Scheme, can apply for the UPE scheme before their current permission expires.
The UPE scheme will continue to offer temporary sanctuary to Ukrainians and their eligible family members, and will:
The scheme opened for applications on 4 February 2025. Further information about eligibility and entitlements can be found in the Home Office guidance.
The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme enables you to apply to extend your stay in the UK for a further 18 months after your Homes for Ukraine, or other valid Ukrainian visa, expires.
It is free to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, and if your application is successful, you will be able to continue to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds.
Read further guidance for guests.
You must have been already granted permission under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme (HfU), Ukraine Family Scheme, or Ukraine Extension Scheme to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. Only HfU guests are eligible for host payments if they continue to live with their host.
You may apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme no more than 28 days before your Homes for Ukraine, Family Scheme Ukraine or Ukraine Extension Scheme visa ends. You must have a UK Visas and Immigration account and access to your eVisa.
You must also be in the UK when you make your application. Your application will not be valid and may be rejected if you apply from outside the UK.
If you want to know more about different immigration options or think you may have circumstances that mean you are ineligible for a UPE visa, you are strongly advised to seek specialist immigration advice at level 3. Make sure you only obtain immigration advice from professional, qualified advisers. All immigration advisers must be registered. Find an immigration adviser.
You may also find this immigration advice session useful which was provided by an immigration lawyer. This was organised and provided by South West Councils and International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Dorset Council can
Citizens Advice can provide you with support to complete the application form where there advisors are registered at L1. It is strongly recommended to contact your local office if you need help as you will need to make an appointment and there may be delays due to capacity of the service otherwise.
Once your Ukraine Permission Extension visa has been issued, please email us a share code and include your name. If you are living with hosts, please let them know as they will need to apply for host thank you payments again.
Your guest can apply to change to a Ukrainian Permission Extension visa (UPE) up to 28 days before their visa ends. Once your guest has received their UPE visa, you may submit your new application for the payments. Host payments will be paid at £350 per calendar month for up to 18 months. Read further guidance for sponsors/hosts.
Thank you payments to hosts will only be issued where the guest and host are not in a close family relationship. If this does apply to you then please do not claim.
A close family member includes:
For unaccompanied minors, this also includes an aunt or uncle of the child. See further information about thank you payments.
When completing the form, you will also be prompted to confirm that you are able to offer the accommodation to your guests for a minimum of 6 months and that you will inform the council should this change.
Payments will be aligned with your previous HfU payment date. You will be asked for your guest’s share code to enable us to verify their Ukraine Permission Extension start date.
