What is Community Sponsorship? How local communities are welcoming refugees in the UK

Across the UK, ordinary people are coming together to do something extraordinary: directly welcoming and supporting refugee families into their local community.

Community sponsorship is a government-backed scheme that enables local groups (made up of neighbours, charities, faith organisations or volunteers) to directly welcome and support a refugee family as they settle into life in the UK.  

For many, it’s one of the most meaningful ways to make a difference, offering not just safety, but friendship, dignity and a fresh start.

Why community sponsorship matters right now

At a time when armed conflicts are increasing around the world, many millions of people are being forced to flee their homes in search of safety  

Community sponsorship shows the power of local groups taking action to respond to global crises. By joining together to provide a safe haven for refugees who have fled war and persecution, sponsor groups prove that when communities step forward, they can help shape a more compassionate and welcoming society. 

4-year-old Nasrin and her family came to the UK via a refugee resettlement scheme.

Photo: Elena Heatherwick

We still need more safe routes and better support for refugees

In November 2025, the Home Secretary announced a new named refugee community sponsorship route. This means that communities will be able to identify refugees who they would like to sponsor to come to the UK.  

At the IRC, we welcome and support the development of a high-quality, scalable, and coordinated sponsorship ecosystem in the UK, one that expands safe pathways for refugees while strengthening civil society capacity and community participation.

We look forward to the Government announcing further details of the new named community sponsorship scheme this year. 

How community sponsorship works

Community sponsorship enables local groups to directly welcome and support a resettled refugee family into their community. Once a community group is matched with a family, they take the lead in supporting them through their first months in the UK, helping them adjust, settle and begin to build an independent life. Working alongside local organisations, community sponsorship fosters positive outcomes for both the families and the volunteers who open their hearts and their communities.

What do sponsors actually do?

Community sponsorship is hands-on and people-focused. Sponsors support families from the moment they arrive, helping with everything from practical essentials to emotional wellbeing.  

This can include:

• Meeting the family at the airport and helping them settle in
• Providing a warm welcome and showing them around their new community
• Providing safe, suitable housing
• Registering them with a GP, schools and local services
• Supporting access to English language classes
• Helping them understand benefits, banking and everyday systems
• Encouraging independence through education and employment
• Offering friendship, reassurance and a sense of belonging

Formal support lasts for around a year, but many groups continue relationships long after that.

In reality, it often looks like helping someone learn how to use public transport, finding the nearest supermarket, practising English over a cup of tea, or celebrating important milestones together.

Borys and his granddaughter, Asia left Ukraine for the United Kingdom after the war escalated in 2022. They were helped by a sponsor via the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which is based on similar principles to Community Sponsorship schemes.

Who are the refugee families?

Refugee families are fleeing persecution and conflict, and unable to remain in their home country. This means families will be coming from a range of countries, backgrounds and situations, but all of them have experienced loss and upheaval.  

Sponsors will therefore be trained to help families who may have experienced trauma in a careful and considerate way, ensuring they don’t cause further harm. Learn more about community sponsor training provided by the IRC below.

Is it the same as the Homes for Ukraine scheme?

Homes for Ukraine is a well-known scheme based on a similar principle to community sponsorship. Under the scheme, sponsors in the UK offered their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the war and helped them with orientation and integration into life in the UK. However, the scheme differs from other community sponsor schemes in that families live with their hosts. With current community sponsorship schemes, families live in their own homes, and their sponsor groups will be responsible for helping them to find safe, suitable accommodation. 

How the IRC helps sponsors 

The IRC has been helping refugees for over 90 years as a global humanitarian and refugee charity. In the UK we have developed a wide range of resettlement, integration, education, and employability programmes nationwide, providing support to Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian clients. 

We currently offer comprehensive training to community sponsor groups, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to best support newly arrived families. This training includes a focus on safeguarding, practical information and guidance for pre- and post-arrival, as well as trauma-informed approaches to help sponsor groups to best support families fleeing war and persecution.  

Interested in becoming a sponsor? 

With the right support, any committed group can become a sponsor - and help a family start again. 

To find out more about the application process visit the UK Government’s guidance for prospective sponsors here.  

You can also reach out to the IRC with questions or support: CommunitySponsorshipUK@rescue.org