Here’s how the UK’s new refugee sponsorship scheme will work
Key Points
- Under the UK's new scheme, accredited organisations - communities, universities and later employers - sponsor refugees and cover housing, integration and work, with all arrivals facing biometric, criminality and health checks.
Britain’s new refugee sponsorship scheme will let approved community groups, universities and eventually employers take direct responsibility for resettling refugees, with applications opening this Autumn and the first arrivals due in Autumn 2027.
The scheme was announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Tuesday (30 June) and will sit at the centre of the government’s new safe and legal routes.
Here’s how it will work:
Who can sponsor?
The Home Office will work with accredited “lead sponsors” to run the scheme. These must be organisations rather than individuals, and the department will retain full control over who qualifies. Three routes are planned:
- Communities: Local groups sponsor refugees to settle in their area, covering housing, integration and support into work.
- Universities: Trusted institutions sponsor refugees directly through a study route.
- Employers: A refugee work route, expected to open next year, lets businesses sponsor refugees.
Where it sits in the system
The named community sponsorship model will operate outside the existing UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and at a much higher capacity once established.
Currently, only a small number of refugees are sponsored in communities under the UKRS, with most supported by councils.
Every arrival will be subject to strict biometric, criminality and health checks. Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, which the Home Office said would ensure the routes can be launched and managed effectively.
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Applications open for sponsor organisations | Autumn 2026 |
| First arrivals under community and university routes | Autumn 2027 |
| Refugee work route (employer sponsorship) | Expected 2027 |
The Home Office said numbers would start small and scale up over time as public confidence in the immigration system is restored.
The scheme is modelled on Canada’s community sponsorship programme, running since 1979, which the Home Office said had resettled almost 400,000 refugees.
Under the Canadian system, 70% of sponsored refugees find work within a year – 30% higher than those resettled through government schemes.
It also builds on Homes for Ukraine, under which more than 270,000 Ukrainians have been welcomed since February 2022.
