Ukrainian refugees arrive at visa centre to be told they must travel 170 miles to complete application

Ukrainian refugees have attended a UK visa centre in Poland to submit an application to join relatives in the UK, only to be told that they must travel 170 miles across the country in order to complete the process.

Ministers have been accused of sending refugees “from pillar to post” after it emerged that people arriving at a visa centre in Rzeszów, Poland, to apply under the UK’s family migration route are being told to go to another centre in Warsaw, a four-hour journey, to obtain their visa.

British residents who have travelled to Poland to help their elderly mothers who have fled Ukraine to apply under the Home Office’s family migration route, which opened on Friday, have told The Independent the application process is “unbearable”.

The Home Office has said that people must collect their final visas in Warsaw because they are printed there for security reasons. A spokesperson added that logistically, it was easier for people to travel to the UK from Warsaw too due to availability of flights and transport.

However flights to the UK are available from both Rzeszów and Warsaw, and Warsaw is not on route if one is driving from Rzeszów to Britain.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said it was “appalling” that the home secretary was letting this happen, adding: “People who’ve made dangerous journeys from a war zone shouldn’t be sent from pillar to post before they can join family.”

Marianne Kay, an IT manager living in the UK who arrived in Poland on Saturday morning to meet her elderly mother who has fled from Ukraine, said that after they managed to submit her application on Tuesday, they were told they must travel to Warsaw to obtain the document.

Speaking to The Independent, the 43-year-old, who said she and her mother were already confronted with “inhuman” treatment in Rzeszów as they waited for an appointment at the overcrowded and “chaotic” visa centre, said: “Do I have to drag my mum somewhere again?

“The congestion here is horrendous, there are refugees everywhere, and adding to that is just strange. Why ask people to travel backwards and forwards across Poland, when there are lots of people here who really need to be somewhere?

“It is tiring, and it seems so very unnecessary. I’ve not got to the point of calculating what the cost of this ‘free’ visa is, but it will be close to £1,000 by the time we’ve gotten out of here – with flights, accommodation and everything.”

Commenting on Britain’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, Ms Kay said: “The UK government is trying to say that they are playing their part and helping Ukrainians, but the reality is very different. It does feel like a lie. It feels like the system was designed to let as few people as possible into the country, because it’s definitely achieving that.

“It’s inhuman to have these visa centres where people are treated so poorly. It’s humiliating and it’s degrading. I think the UK has to do more.”

In another case, Kateryna Shamshuryna, who works for Thames Valley Police, was told she and her elderly mother must also travel to Warsaw after submitting her mother’s visa application.

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The pair travelled on a train to Warsaw on Tuesday night, and in their rush to catch the last bus to the hotel they had booked her mother tripped over and injured her head.

“It was already night. This was the fifth day of my mother’s journey. As we walked out of the train station, we rushed to get the last bus to the hotel. She got worried and anxious, and she was tired. She tripped over and fell on the concrete floor,” said Ms Shamshuryna.

“Blood was everywhere. The police and ambulance came. It was absolutely horrific, then we were sitting in A&E for forever and a day. The stress was taking over.”

She added: “They’ve made the process absolutely unbearable. How do they expect people to travel from Rzeszów to Warsaw, find somewhere somewhere to stay for days while we wait for the visa. They’re not making it easy for people at all. They’re creating a problem.”

In a third case, Kateryna Petrenko, a Ukrainian national living in the UK, tweeted on Wednesday: “My mum has just submitted her biometrics in Rzeszów and she was told that she has to wait for an email and after go to Warsaw to get a visa stamp in her passport. It was chaos.

“How long does she have to wait? Why go to Warsaw? There is no information anywhere!”

A government spokesperson said it was “increasing capacity to meet demand” and would “keep it under continuous review and increase further if needed”.

“We have protected appointments for Ukrainians at Rzeszow and these are available to book –  so people should book online rather than attempt a walk-in appointment,” they added.

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.