Ukrainian visa schemes in UK leave refugees in limbo

New Straits Times

9 hours ago

After fleeing Ukraine with her newborn and toddler in 2022, Lidiia rebuilt her life in Britain. But now, the 36-year-old fears she will have to return next year because there is no easy way to get the right to permanently stay in her new home.
With the Russian invasion into its third year and little sign of peace, Lidiia, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her privacy, is terrified for her children.
"Even if there's a ceasefire... I will have in my mind that in five, six years, (the Russians) are going to be back," she said. "And then my son will have to be a soldier. My daughter might be killed or raped."
Like most of the 218,000 Ukrainians who came to Britain on special visas from 2022, Lidiia is running out of time — her original visa is expiring and though she is applying for an extension, that too will run out after 18 months.
Although nearly 70 per cent of Ukrainians in Britain want to stay, based on a 2024 Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey, without legal status, many say they will have no choice but to head elsewhere or return to their war-ravaged homeland.
With Ukraine urging citizens to come back and Britain offering no permanent resettlement process, Lidiia feels trapped.
"I want to stay in the UK, 100 per cent. If the UK doesn't want us to stay, I will go back to Ukraine and just hope that we'll survive. There is no other choice," the charity worker said.
Britain has two visa schemes for Ukrainian refugees: one for those with family already in the UK — a route now closed — and the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme that allows Britons to offer accommodation to those fleeing the war.
In February, the government opened an 18-month Ukrainian Protection Extension visa to those whose initial three-year visas are due to expire this year. But none of these schemes offers permanent stays.
Ukrainian support charity Opora said Ukrainians should have the choice to resettle in Britain and could help rebuild Ukraine from afar by, for example, sending remittances.
"Ukraine will need people going back to rebuild, of course, but closing off options and thereby forcing people to go back will not build a happy cohort of returnees. So give people a choice," managing director Stan Beneš said.
In early June, the European Commission proposed extending temporary protection for around 4.26 million Ukrainian refugees in the European Union until March 2027.
It also recommended member states start transitioning those who want to stay to other legal statuses, such as offering work permits and student visas.
Settled, a charity supporting EU citizens and Ukrainians in Britain, urged London to follow suit and increase the extension visa duration to 36 months from 18, and also offer resettlement possibilities, as is the case for Afghans and Hong Kongers.
"Ukrainians should be given a path to settlement. We have children who have been born and are growing up in the UK. English is their first language," said Yuliia Ismail, an immigration adviser at Settled.
In the first quarter of this year, there were nearly 380 asylum claims by Ukrainians, compared with 570 last year and around 100 in 2023, according to official data.
"This uncertainty pushes people to the asylum system," Ismail said.
Even with an 18-month visa extension, many Ukrainians are unable to secure rental accommodation or work because of uncertainty over their status, charities say.
More than a third of Ukrainians surveyed by the ONS last year said they were looking for work, and only a third said they were working in the same sector as they did in Ukraine.
A February report by the British Red Cross said without jobs, many Ukrainians were unable to rent properties and were more than twice as likely to be homeless than the general population.
Maria, a 40-year-old single mum from Kyiv living in Scotland, said she could not find teaching work despite retraining to get local qualifications and applying for around 100 jobs.