Welcome to Edinburgh Refugee Sponsorship Circle
Organising safe pathways for families fleeing conflict zones and welcoming them into our community.
What is Community Sponsorship?
The Community Sponsorship is a UK government scheme allowing community groups to resettle a refugee family in their local area. Crucially it gives families fleeing persecution and war a safe and legal route to the UK as well as immediate access to support and a community.
We're a group of friends who live in Edinburgh, and are participating in the scheme. In September 2020 we were able to welcome a family of 6. We were only the second successful Community Sponsorship group in Scotland but our network of peers has grown steadily.
Energised by our positive experience with the scheme we welcomed a second family in February 2023 and recently an individual in March 2025.
We are now set to welcome another person on September 2025 and are planning to resettle a family in 2026. We are supporting a new Community Sponsorship group in Glasgow as a Lead Sponsor and are exploring purchasing property to offer long term, safe housing for refugee families.
Learn how you can get involved, here.
A Family's Testimony
"I am from one of the families that came to Scotland through the efforts of the Edinburgh Refugee Sponsorship Circle.
Their reception was very wonderful. Since our arrival we felt very safe. Even though there was an outbreak of Corona, we were quarantined for ten days. But we never felt lonely. They were always by our side to meet our daily needs and they provided teachers who supported us with English lessons for the whole family in their free time.
On our special holidays, they celebrate with us and we throw some wonderful parties together.
With the care of the community on our side we were able to forget that we live in a country different from the customs and traditions of our country, and we have hope to achieve what we wish for. As a popular proverb says, it is not one big step that achieves happiness and success, but rather many small steps.
We stood side by side with small steps to achieve a life that shines in lights full of hope."
