U.K. government offers 350 pounds per month to families that host Ukrainian refugees

The United Kingdom government will offer 350 pounds ($456) per month to people who provide spare rooms or properties to house Ukrainian refugees for at least six months, the BBC reported.

Both the hosts and the refugees will be vetted.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove told the BBC on Saturday that the U.K. could absorb tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Under the new "Homes for Ukraine" scheme, Ukrainian war refugees are allowed to enter Britain even if they do not have family there, Reuters reports.

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Gove also told BBC that around 3,000 Ukrainian refugees have already been issued visas. They can remain in the country for up to three years and will be permitted to work and access public services.

According to Reuters, the U.K. government will also provide local authorities with "just over 10,000 pounds per Ukrainian" refugee to pay for additional demands on public services.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported Saturday that nearly 2.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian invaded, a number the UNHCR says could rise to as high as four million.

Poland has absorbed more than 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees, increasing its total population by 4.4 percent since the war began on Feb. 24, according to Cato Institute scholar Alex Nowrasteh.