Argyll and Bute Council will offer a new home to at least 20 Syrian refugee families, though some councillors voiced a wish to welcome even more.
The refugees, who could number up to 100, will be housed in properties on Bute and in Campbeltown and are expected to arrive within the next six months.
The housing will be provided by social landlords Argyll Community Housing Association and Fyne Homes.
Executive director of community services Cleland Sneddon said: “This is about a specific group of individuals who are in camps and have been for a long period of time around the Syrian border.
“We have acted very quickly around this, it is a significant undertaking, we need to get it right and get all preparations in place.
“You can imagine the trauma and difficulties some of these refugees we will be resettling will have experienced over the last three years, so there is a significant amount of preparation over this.”
Mr Sneddon said family groups would be fairly large and 20 families could mean between 80 and 100 individuals.
Councillor Michael Breslin, Dunoon, moved a motion that the council take as many families as the area has empty homes for, thought to number between 300 and 400 units.
He said: “I don’t think what’s being offered goes far enough. It doesn’t reflect our capacity to take more.”
Council leader Dick Walsh said: “There is a clear structure behind all of this. It is not something that has just been pulled out of the air because there has been a fair bit of interest in it. We have confirmed that we will be resettling more families in the future.”
He moved an amendment to endorse the chief executive’s decision and also to progress the council’s desire to accommodate greater numbers in the future. This was carried by 29 votes to three.