Please note that your Pre-Arrival visit date and time is not confirmed until we have sent you a confirmation email with the names of the visiting officers who will attend.
Please bear with our team as we currently have a significant number of sponsors to visit.
During our Pre-Arrival Visit we will complete a form to gather key information about the sponsor household, the property and the guests that will be arriving, including an estimated arrival date.
We will try to complete this before your guests arrive but if that is not possible it will be soon after.
If areas of improvement are required, these will be explained, and you will need to confirm these actions have been completed before the placement can go ahead.
- Smoke and carbon dioxide alarms and other key hazards including gas safety
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Space for size of household
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Access to bathrooms (that are lockable) and kitchens (including storing food)
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How they can live as independently as possible – keys, access etc
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Heating and hot water
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Provision of basics such as towels and bedding
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Internet
Anyone over the age of 16 will need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We will create an online DBS profile for each member of your household to access and complete. You will not be charged for these checks. Each adult will need to provide a separate email address in order to complete this process.
You will need to provide a copy of your ID Documents via email for us to complete ID verification or attend an in-person appointment with our team to do this. We will provide further information about how to do this via email.
If your guests include children (under 18) or vulnerable adults (age, illness or disability), each person will need an enhanced DBS check which will look at the children’s barred list. This does not apply if the child guest is a family member of the host sponsor (a standard DBS would still be required however).
Cardiff Council will undertake network checks and other checks on our systems, for example, if there are any Child Protection concerns relating to the Sponsor Household which would make a placement unsuitable.
This will confirm that there are no known concerns about the safety of the placement.
If you have not contacted us, we will call you for an update.
Your arriving family’s Support Worker will visit the property to complete a Post-Arrival visit and complete an immediate needs assessment.
They will also talk to you as the Sponsor, and your guests, about any immediate steps and any questions you may have including:
- Setting up a bank account
- Making a universal credit claim
- Registering with a GP
- School places
- Wider information and sources of help including the Cardiff-specific welcome offer
We will try to arrange this within 72 hours of arrival subject to availability.
Both the sponsor and your guest(s) will need to be present although we may speak to you all separately to maintain confidentiality. If you, as Sponsor, do not live in Cardiff, we will be able to complete this with you via video call whilst we are at the property.
Arranging payments for guest and sponsor
During this visit, the Support Worker will provide the £200 per person cash payment for each of the guests.
Your guest can also be given a letter as a proof of address that can be used to open a bank account if required.
If further support is needed, follow up visits will be arranged.
If the arriving family requires their £200 per person subsistence payment urgently, we can issue this before the Post-Arrival Visit. They will need to attend Central Library and provide an ID Document so we can verify their identity and confirm receipt for their household.
During this visit, we will also ask you, as Lead Sponsor, to provide your bank account details, so we can process your monthly 'Thank You' payments.
Once the DBS checks, property check and the Post-Arrival Visit are completed, if all arrangements are satisfactory, we will then proceed to set up your monthly ‘Thank You’ payments.
If approved, the £350 a month payment will be set up and will be paid each month in arrears into your bank account whilst the placement continues.
If the placement fails any of the checks, we will make contact with you and the guests urgently to discuss alternative arrangements.
If you or your guests are struggling and the placement is at risk of breaking down, please contact us urgently via your named Support Worker or
email us via the UkrainianSupport@cardiff.gov.uk
External link opens in a new window mailbox and we will arrange a call or visit to help you.
If you are hosting a Ukrainian national through a government sponsored programme, you will not lose your single person discount.
If you are receiving welfare benefits, including council tax support, the sponsored individual or family will not count as a non-dependent and the £350 a month ‘Thank- You’ payment will not count as income.
The £350 per month payment is also not subject to tax.