Temporary pause to Homes for Ukraine scheme

FOLLOWING the people of Wales’ incredibly positive response to the Welsh Government’s Super Sponsor scheme, which has resulted in over 2000 visas being issued to date, Ministers have announced a temporary operational pause on new applications during June.

The temporary pause is to ensure people who are arriving, and those already here in Wales, continue to receive an excellent level of care and support.

This temporary pause will start from Friday 10 June and the Welsh Government and its partners will use this time to focus on embedding arrangements for next stage accommodation and delivering wider wraparound services across Wales.

Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt said:

“From the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, our message has been clear – Wales is a Nation of Sanctuary and ready to welcome those fleeing war.

Launched at the end of March, we have had a very positive response to our Homes for Ukraine Super Sponsor route. We have seen visas granted well in excess of our initial commitment to welcome people.

This temporary pause will give us the opportunity to refine the arrangements we have put in place to support people on arrival and ensure all public services, in particular local authorities, can continue to deliver a high standard of support.

To be clear, this operational pause will not affect any current applications and people will continue to arrive in Wales as visas are granted and travel arrangements are confirmed.”

Praising the ‘Team Wales’ approach to the crisis, the Minister continued:

“The level of commitment to the people of Ukraine across all public services and wider society has been wonderful.

I want to pay tribute to all those contributing to the ‘Team Wales’ approach to the crisis in Ukraine. The success of this scheme is due to all those individuals, organisations, businesses, local authorities and third sector partners.

We can all be proud of the heroic effort in supporting the people of Ukraine, effectively demonstrating that Wales is truly a Nation of Sanctuary.”