WIREDGOV

This position paper outlines the support that we are offering to displaced people from Ukraine, including an update on the Scottish super sponsor scheme, which is to be paused from 9:00am on Wednesday 13 July 2022.

Introduction

On 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine: an unprovoked illegal assault on a peaceful, democratic and sovereign nation. Since that time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 12 million people, the majority of whom are women and children, have fled their homes.

Scotland condemns this illegal invasion in the strongest possible terms, and the Scottish Government continues to call for an immediate cessation of Russian aggression.

On 14 March, in response to the ongoing crisis, the UK Government launched its Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (also known as 'Homes for Ukraine'), encouraging private households to host displaced people from Ukraine. Under the scheme, displaced people with an eligible UK-based sponsor were able to apply to the UK Government for a visa to come to the UK.

The Scottish Government has long called for the UK Government to waive all visa requirements, and properly fund a humanitarian resettlement scheme for displaced people from Ukraine. Since under the current constitutional arrangements in the UK, immigration is fully reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government is nonetheless committed to doing all it can to work within the UK Government's sponsorship scheme to provide support to people seeking sanctuary in Scotland.

Scotland's 'super sponsor scheme'

Accordingly, on 18 March, the Scottish Government launched Scotland's own 'super sponsor scheme' for displaced people as part of its Warm Scots Welcome programme. The Welsh Government opened a similar scheme on 18 March and paused it on 10 June.

The super sponsor scheme sits alongside private sponsorship as part of the UK Government's Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, but addresses a number of areas of concern in the wider UK scheme. Crucially, it removes the need for a displaced person from Ukraine to first seek out a private sponsor, for example on social media, before being able to get a visa and travel here.

Having to match privately with a sponsor not only burdens displaced people with a source of stress, pressure and potential delay before they are able to apply for, and are granted, a UK visa, but also presents clear safeguarding concerns. While the majority of people offering to host displaced people from Ukraine are well-meaning and motivated by empathy and generosity, the private sponsor scheme leaves people at risk of arriving in the UK and being placed in homes before suitable checks have been carried out; and there have been concerning reports that people could be using the "Homes for Ukraine" scheme to prey on vulnerable people[1]. A number of expert organisations, including UNHCR[2] and Refugee Action[3], have also expressed grave concerns about this aspect of the UK scheme.

Under the Scottish Government's super sponsor scheme, people applying for a UK visa can choose the Scottish Government to sponsor their visa. Once the UK Government's Home Office has approved their application, they can then travel to Scotland. This provides a fast and safe alternative to private sponsorship, meaning people can travel immediately and be provided with temporary accommodation, meals and a range of support and advice including translation, assessing medical needs (such as trauma) and applying for benefits.

A Warm Scottish Welcome

As soon as a visa sponsored by the Scottish Government is issued by the Home Office, our national contact centre sends a 'Welcome Message' in Ukrainian and Russian. This includes details of an international free-phone advice line for help on travelling to Scotland, what to expect on arrival and to discuss any special requirements. On arrival, people are met and welcomed at a network of "Welcome Hubs", where they are triaged, offered the right level of care and support, and placed in temporary accommodation such as a hotel, where they can stay until they move into other accommodation. Some people may choose to rent privately, while others can use a government-approved matching service, which will seek to match them with an appropriately sized and located Scottish household under the super sponsor scheme. All households who are matched with a displaced person will have undergone thorough property and disclosure checks, to make sure that the displaced person or people will be safe with them during their stay.

The Scottish Government is extremely thankful for the generosity of everyone right across Scotland who has expressed an interest in hosting, or who has offered their support to people displaced by the current conflict.

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