The UK government has been urged by a charity to reverse new measures that make it more difficult for Ukrainians to bring their families to Britain. Work Rights Centre, which supports migrants, criticised the “heartless” policy, which it said “tore apart” families and put people at risk. The 2022 Homes for Ukraine scheme allows UK residents to host those fleeing from the conflict. However, in 2023, the Home Office reduced eligibility, so only those with British or Irish citizenship or permanent residency in the UK can act as sponsors, meaning that Ukrainians without permanent residence in the UK can no longer act as sponsors for family members to join them.
One woman, Halyna Khovaiko, had initially come to the UK in December 2021 for work. She planned to stay for a few months, but when the Russian invasion began in February 2022 and her town was occupied, she was unable to return to Ukraine. Khovaiko said she had a “very strong bond” with her 12-year-old son, whom she left behind with his grandparents. After the town was liberated, she returned to see her child but struggled to support them both and decided to return to the UK for work. She found accommodation and applied for her son’s visa under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. However, she was later told that only British or Irish citizens or those with permanent residency could act as sponsors for such family reunions.
More than 180,000 refugees have come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme since the Russian invasion in 2022. The number of applicants has fallen since the conflict began. Ukrainians in the UK are now struggling to find British sponsors for visa applications, with fewer people willing to accommodate them than when the war began. Work Rights Centre said that many parents were still separated from their children and “fighting for a way” to bring them to the UK
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