After we’ve connected you with a sponsor
Once you have been matched with a sponsor, you may be unsure of what to do next. Below you will find our advice on how to establish and maintain a relationship with your sponsor before you arrive, and the importance in researching the local area.
Establishing a relationship with your sponsor
As part of the matching process through Reset Communities for Refugees, you will be provided with some information about your sponsor and other members of their family/people living in their household. We think it is important for you to get to know your sponsor a little more before you start to apply for your visa.
Arrange a Video Call
We encourage you to call your sponsor to know if they are the right fit. We know that as well as being logistically difficult to arrange, it can be daunting to talk to a stranger, especially one that you are going to live with – so we have included some ideas of what you could ask or talk about with them. We strongly recommend these first conversations take place as video calls and you can use the voice function on translation apps to have a simple conversation if you do not speak the same language.
1. Talk about yourself
On your initial call, introduce yourself and any people you may be coming with. You can tell the sponsor things like:
- What you do for a living.
- How you spend your free time.
- If you are not coming alone, introduce them to your friends/family who you will be travelling with.
- If you are planning to work in the UK, what kind of job are you ideally looking for?
- Are you hoping other members of your family can join you later on?
If you have a strong opinion, view or dislike to something (for example, you are a vegetarian and do not like being in a home where people cook meat), we recommend you tell your sponsor in this call to make sure that you are compatible with each other.
2. Ask questions!
Feel free ask your sponsor any questions you want and make sure that all your worries and concerns are addressed. Sometimes they may not be able to answer them, so keep that in mind. Here are some questions you may want to ask:
- What is the local area like? How close are they to services that you wish to access? How close are they to a big city (if located outside of a city)?
- If you are coming with children, ask them about the local schools. How close are they to the house? Is it easily accessible? You may like to ask them about local parks, and child-friendly activities in the area.
- Is the town lively or quiet? What are the transport links like?
- Do they have any house rules that you would need to know? Anything else you would like to know!
It is really important for us at Reset that any matches we make are mutually agreed. If after the initial meeting with your sponsor you do not feel comfortable or you feel that this is not going to be a good match, then let us know. We will never force you to live with someone, but rather we will offer you an alternative sponsor.
What happens after you have decided on a sponsor?
Once you have found somebody to sponsor you, you have had your first initial meeting, and you have both decided to apply for your visa together, you will need to do some research into your new area and start to understand what life is like in the UK.
When you have received an approved visa from the UK Government, you will need to start making travel arrangements to come to the UK. Have a look at our Travel Advice for Ukrainians resource to find tips and resources of how to travel, including free transport options and how to travel with pets.
If you are travelling on your own, with minors, or you are an unaccompanied minor, please have a look at the Red Cross Safety Tips for Travel and their Anti-Trafficking Advice – both are found on this page .
Keeping in touch with your sponsor
After you have made some initial contact with your sponsor and have decided to stay with them, you will need to start applying for a visa. The visa application is in English and we recommend that your sponsor is the one filling out the application. Here are some visa guidelines available in Ukrainian and Russian.
The visa process requires information from both you and your sponsor, so you will need to be talking to each other in the process of applying. We have heard of some cases where visas can take up to six weeks to process, others 24 hours, and some a week. We recommend to not make any travel plans until you have been granted a visa from the UK Government.
After you have applied and are waiting for your visa to be granted, it is a good idea to stay in touch with your sponsor. They may write to you or want to know more about how they should prepare their home in order to welcome you in the best way possible. Always try to respond to them if you can, and if you have limited access to internet or means of communication, do let them know so they do not worry if you do not respond right away.
As soon as you have received your visa, you will have up to 90 days to arrive in the UK. You can start to make travel arrangements right away and speak with your sponsor to agree and plan when you will arrive and how to get to their home. Make sure your sponsor is aware of your travel plans if you arrange this yourself. Your sponsor may offer to pick you up at a local train station or an airport, or they may provide you with information on how to reach them on public transport – you can arrange this together.
If you do not intend to come to the UK straight away, you should discuss when you plan to arrive with your sponsor as soon as possible, so they know when to expect you.
Researching your Local Area
It is a good idea to research your new local area before you arrive. Here are some ways you can do that.
Google Search
Do a quick Google search about your area to find out what activities might be available (gyms, music classes, sports clubs).
Google Maps
You can use Google Maps to find out what cities, towns and attractions are close to you, how long it takes to get to nearby places, as well as using the satellite option to have a photograph view of what your new area looks like.
Facebook Groups
If you use Facebook, see if there are already groups set up for other Ukrainians living there who may be able to give you their perspective on the area.
