UK immigration helpline for Ukrainians ‘wasn’t ready’

A Home Office helpline setup to help Ukrainian nationals with UK immigration queries ‘wasn’t ready’, according to a report published by Civil Service World. The hotline has since launched, but was hit by delays despite Home Secretary Priti Patel urging people who met UK visa criteria to call the helpline.

Having announced an expanded UK visa scheme for Ukrainian refugees seeking to join family in the UK, the Home Office said that a designated helpline had been setup to assist people. However, having encouraged people to call the hotline, it wasn’t ready to offer support, leaving thousands of people in limbo.

The helpline was set to open on Thursday, 3 March but was delayed by 24 hours. People who called the number, and met new criteria outlined by the Home Office, were told that they were unable to apply for UK family visa.

Ukrainian visa scheme

On Tuesday, 1 March Priti Patel announced that a family visa concession for Ukrainians would be extended to include parents of adult children, grandparents, children over the age of 18 and siblings of UK nationals and people settled in the UK. Plus, a new sponsorship scheme was also announced for Ukrainian nationals fleeing Russia’s invasion of their homeland.

However, UK immigration advocates and potential applicants were said to be confused by how the visa scheme was meant to work.

Lana Bilko, a Ukrainian national living in the UK, explained to Civil Service World that she was told to call the hotline and was told by staff that her elderly mother would need to apply for a UK general visitor visa in order to join her in Britain.

In a Twitter post, Ms Bilko wrote: “There [are] still no instructions for your staff in hotline how to deal with Ukrainian refugees.”

Meanwhile, several UK immigration advocates said that staff manning the helpline had been overwhelmed by thousands of calls. One advocate said: “I got off the phone with the helpline and the scheme for extended family members where the British national is in the UK is not open. There is no means to apply.”

“Helpline workers are frustrated and upset,” they added.

Guidance updated

The Home Office has since updated its guidance, and has now urged potential applicants to apply for the extended UK family visa scheme via an online application form, rather than calling the helpline.

It’s understood that the extended scheme will enable successful applicants to remain in the UK for 12 months, allowing them to work and access public funds. Meanwhile, the normal requirements – including meeting a minimum salary threshold and being able to speak English – have been waived.

The UK’s Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, expressed her relief over the government’s decision to extend the scheme to more relatives from the Ukraine to join family in Britain. However, she said: “There are still many questions and real concerns overs gaps and delays.”

“More family members are included. But it is still unclear if someone fleeing Russian attacks in Ukraine can come stay with an aunt or uncle, rather than a sister or brother. There is war in Europe; we should be helping all families reunite,” Ms Cooper added.

Cooper said that there was also confusion over whether a UK relative has to be a British citizen or whether they have been granted leave to remain. She said: “What about a young woman who has fled to Poland with her children and desperately wants to join her brother who is here on a work or study visa? She should not be turned away”

Humanitarian sponsorship scheme

The Shadow Home Secretary also called for clarity over a proposed humanitarian sponsorship scheme, which will reportedly enable sponsors, including communities, private sponsors or local authorities to bring people to the UK. Cooper urged the Home Office to disclose when the scheme would be implemented.

Under the scheme, sponsored refugees would have permission to work, while the sponsor would provide housing and support with integration.

Cooper said: “The existing community sponsorship scheme is a very good thing but is slow and small scale. How will this be different?”

The Home Office has said that details of the sponsorship scheme, including how people and organisations in the UK can apply to be sponsors, are currently being worked on and will be revealed in due course.

Meanwhile, Patel has rejected calls for a complete visa waiver for Ukrainians sparking a huge backlash. 

Petition

A petition with more than 100,000 signatures has been launched calling for Ukrainians to be able to come to the UK without visas.

However, Patel said: “The Home Office will not suspend security or biometric checks on people coming into the UK, Russian troops are seeking to infiltrate Ukrainian forces, which would pose a direct threat to the UK if we relaxed visa rules for all Ukrainians.”

“We have a collective duty to keep the British people safe and this approach is based on the strongest security advice,” Patel added.

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