‘Mean-spirited’ UK under growing pressure to waive visas for Ukrainian refugees

The Ukrainian ambassador has urged the British government to temporarily lift all visa requirements for those fleeing his country, with pressure increasing on ministers to act over a system that has been heavily criticised.

Around 850 people have so far been issued a visa under the Home Office’s family migration scheme, announced on Friday – despite tens of thousands with family links to the UK applying.

Vadym Prystaiko said that if bureaucratic procedures were “simplified” it would “definitely resolve all the issues”. He told the Home Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday: “I don’t expect many of them to come. I don’t want to see these pictures of people banging at the doors in Calais and scratching the doors which are quite sealed.”

Campaigners have accused the UK of “lagging behind” other European countries over its response to the Ukraine refugee crisis by welcoming a “pitiful” number of refugees in the first two weeks of the war. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman called for “immediate action” to enable refugees to get their cases dealt with swiftly by removing “unnecessary delays and bureaucracy” in the visa application process.

The Independent has set up a petition calling on the UK government to be at the forefront of the international community offering aid and support to those in Ukraine. To sign the petition click here.

Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: “It is vital the Home Office acts to correct failings in its handling of visa applications, especially failings we have previously reported and which we are seeing repeated here.

“In this horrendous situation swift action is needed to make sure the process of getting a visa is simple, accessible and quick. Lives depend on it.”

Hundreds of Ukrainians have arrived in the French port town of Calais since the Russian invasion began in the hope of reaching their loved ones in Britain, but have not been allowed to apply to the scheme from there.

Confusion arose on Wednesday after the Home Office announced that a temporary visa centre in Lille – some 70 miles away – which was initially thought to be a facility where Ukrainian refugees could travel to submit their visa applications, would only work on a referral basis.

The department was also accused of telling “outright lies” after The Independent revealed that a Home Office official had wrongly claimed that Ukrainian refugees in Calais could obtain free Eurostar tickets to travel to a UK visa centre in Lille – when in fact this route does not exist.

Meanwhile, thousands of refugees grappled with the “unbearable” UK visa application process in other European countries, which has seen many forced to wait for hours in the cold and travel for miles.

Refugees who attended a UK visa centre in Poland to submit applications to join relatives in the UK were told that they must travel 170 miles across the country in order to complete the process, prompting those going through the process to describe it as “unbearable”.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, described the government’s approach to helping Ukrainian people as “mean spirited” and accused Britain of “lagging behind our European neighbours” in its response.

“The government’s family visa scheme is extremely limited and restricted, with visas granted to hundreds of people – a pitiful number, and a fraction of the need and application numbers,” he said.

“The government needs to urgently waive visa requirements to enable Ukrainians to travel to the UK more easily and then grant them refugee protection as quickly as possible after arrival.”

Sonya Sceats, chief executive at Freedom from Torture, echoed his remarks, saying: “This government’s pitiful response to the plight of Ukrainian refugees shames Britain.

“Not only are these failing visa-based schemes causing intolerable heartbreak for Ukrainians blocked from reaching safety here by all the red tape. It is time for the prime minister to listen to the British people and abandon his insistence on visas for Ukrainian refugees.”

The government’s approach to the crisis came under further criticism after it emerged that home secretary Priti Patel told the Irish government she was concerned that the country’s welcoming policy towards Ukrainian refugees would allow them to reach the UK by the back door.

An anonymous briefing from a UK government source on Tuesday suggested that Ukrainian criminals or drug dealers could take advantage of the Anglo-Irish common travel area to gain access to mainland Britain – a suggestion was labelled as “disgraceful” and “absolutely terrible” by members of the Irish parliament.

It comes after the government faced a barrage of criticism from Tory MPs over its response, with ministers accused by its own backbenchers of showing “too little compassion” and urged to “get a grip”.

David Cameron suggested on Wednesday that the UK should be more generous towards Ukrainian refugees, telling LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr: “I hope [refugees minister Richard Harrington] is allowed if we want to go for shorter visas, or it’s just Ukrainian passports, and perhaps something else, let’s find a way to get it done."

Mike Adamson, chief executive at British Red Cross, said: “Right now, as countries across Europe have done, the UK government must waive visa requirements for those fleeing Ukraine. Security checks can still be carried out when people travel or arrive in the UK.”

A government spokesperson said: “The UK stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Ukraine and we have taken urgent action to process visas at speed for all those eligible to the Ukraine family scheme, while carrying out vital security checks.

“We have protected appointments at all of our visa application centres to ensure there is sufficient capacity and deployed extra staff to help people through the process as quickly as possible.”

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.