Charities can apply from today, 29 October 2026, to become lead sponsors under the UK's new safe and legal refugee routes, the Home Office has announced. The move is a step towards the first arrivals through the Named Community Sponsorship and Refugee Study routes next autumn.

What lead sponsors will do

Lead sponsors, accredited and overseen by the Home Office, will support local groups such as community groups, churches and universities to welcome refugees. They will help set up and support sponsor groups, verify sponsorship arrangements and provide ongoing oversight, giving refugees help with accommodation, education, employment and local services. To qualify, an organisation must be a registered UK charity or non-profit with a good reputation and the right safeguards and resources in place.

Capped routes modelled on Canada

The routes are modelled on Canada's long-running private sponsorship programme and have been welcomed by charities and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. A separate refugee work route will open for sponsor applications in spring 2027. Arrivals will be capped and controlled, with numbers based on community capacity: initially in the hundreds across the new routes and the existing UK Resettlement Scheme, rising to the low thousands as levels of illegal migration fall.

What happens next

Border Security and Asylum Minister Anna Turley said communities across the country would now be able to welcome refugees fleeing war and persecution and help them put down roots and rebuild their lives. Ministers plan to meet charities and non-profit organisations in the coming weeks to hear views on making the schemes work. The Home Secretary pledged last November to open new refugee pathways. Details for organisations are in the GOV.UK announcement and the House of Commons Library briefing; this story is about sponsor applications by organisations, not individual applications.