SNP ministers have halted a sponsor scheme which allowed Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland to stay with families in Scotland.
The suspension, which will last at least three months, takes effect from Wednesday and will allow outstanding applications to be processed.
But opposition parties warned that halting the scheme would "put lives at risk".
The Scottish Government insisted it needed time to ensure safe accommodation could be provided to Ukrainians who have already applied.
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Scotland is currently providing sanctuary for over 7,000 people - two-thirds of whom applied under the Scottish super sponsor scheme.
Neil Gray, the SNP minister overseeing the scheme, said: "With a recent decrease in people applying for private sponsorship in England, and Wales having paused their own scheme, the number of applications naming the Scottish Government as sponsor has increased considerably in recent weeks.
"For this reason we have taken the incredibly difficult decision to follow Wales in pausing our scheme so we can continue to provide a high level of support and care to everyone who has already been granted a visa.
"We will review our position in three months, but of course if circumstances change during that time we will bring that date forward.
"In the meantime we are taking significant action to increase the capacity of our temporary accommodation and are also boosting our matching system to maximise the number of displaced people placed with volunteer hosts who have completed the necessary safeguarding checks."
Gray added: "As a nation Scotland has risen in solidarity with Ukrainians in their hour of need. I am proud that thanks in large part to our super sponsor scheme, we are now providing safe accommodation to the most Ukrainians per head of population in the UK."
Scots Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain claimed ministers had been "grandstanding instead of getting the detail right".
The party's deputy leader added: "Vladimir Putin is not going to pause his assault on Ukraine for three months while Neil Gray and co iron out the bureaucratic kinks. This decision is going to put lives at risk.
"Scottish Liberal Democrats have been warning for months that the government's efforts to secure housing and vet hosts was woefully inadequate. Local authorities have been crying out for more help.
"This is another example of the Scottish Government prioritising grandstanding over getting the detail right. The people of Scotland have shown huge generosity, now we need our government to do their part."
Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour spokeswoman for external affairs, said: "This is deeply disappointing news. The conflict is far from over, but Ukrainians are having the rug pulled out from under them.
"This scheme was a chance to lead the way and put our solidarity into practice, but right from the start there has been a gulf between the SNP’s soundbites and reality.
"They should have been using every lever available to support those fleeing the conflict but the lack of political will or imagination means much more work is needed to bring Scotland’s thousands of empty homes back to life and ensure that cash-strapped local authorities can provide the services that people urgently need."
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