A total of 200,200 Ukrainians have come to the UK under two special visa programmes since March 2022, government figures show.
The Ukraine Family Scheme was launched on March 4, 2022, and allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. As of Feb. 13, 107,600 people applied for the visa resulting in 71,900 visas being issued, of which 56,800 arrived.
The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their family to obtain visas if they have a named sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The sponsorship programme saw a total of 222,200 applications and 180,200 visas issued, with 143,400 coming to the UK.
Refusals for both application types totalled 35,200, with the government explaining these related to applications made by “third country nationals who have applied to the Ukraine Schemes but do not qualify.”
Homes for Ukraine
In March 2022, Housing Secretary Michael Gove encouraged Britons to open their homes to refugees from the Eastern European country under the Homes for Ukraine programme, which Mr. Gove described at the time as “a lifeline to those who have been forced to flee” the invasion.
Those hosting Ukrainians are given “thank you” payments of £350 a month for the first 12 months which thereafter rises to £500 a month. The government confirmed in the Autumn Statement that these payments would be extended for a third year.
The first set of visas to be granted under the Homes for Ukraine programme will expire in March 2025.
Eleanor Paton, policy and advocacy manager for the British Red Cross, has urged the government to “provide reassurance that Ukrainians will have the protection they need,” including long-term visa extensions, support for integration, and helping people united with their families.
Ms. Paton said: “With just over a year left before the majority of the visas expire, many Ukrainians are worried about their futures.
Ukraine’s Red Cross Hopes Citizens Will Return
Ukraine’s Red Cross Director Maksym Dotsenko, however, is hoping that Ukrainians will consider returning to their country. During a visit to London this week, Mr. Dotsenko said the Ukrainian government and society are starting to talk about “how to motivate people to come back.”“For now it’s still very, very sensitive, very difficult,” he said, adding, “When you are living outside of Ukraine, you see only the negative points of life, you know, and it’s very difficult to make a decision to come back.”
The BN(O) route was introduced on Jan. 31, 2021, and gives British National (Overseas) status holders from Hong Kong and their families the ability to come to the UK to live, work, and study. The UK launched the scheme after the Chinese communist regime imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong in June 2020.
Resettlement schemes allow the transfer of refugees from other countries to the UK. This includes those resettled or relocated under the Afghan schemes, such as the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which came into effect in April 2021 and was designed to protect Afghan staff considered at risk of retaliation from the Taliban after British forces withdrew from Afghanistan.
