Some information about Ukraine and the humanitarian situation

(This has been taken from information provided by the Church of England)

The United Nations has prepared for up to seven million internally displaced persons and as many as five million refugees, which would be the largest war-related mass migration since the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. Many of these refugees will wish to remain as close as possible to Ukraine or to join with family and friends in states with which they have a connection (particularly Poland and Hungary where there are pre-existing large Ukrainian diaspora).

Nevertheless, it is anticipated that many refugees may choose to come to the UK, either due to family or personal ties, because they can speak English (which is a widely spoken second language in Ukraine), or simply because they believe it represents a safe and secure refuge.

There have been differences in the level of support required compared to other recent refugee movements to the UK. For example, while many of those who were forced to flee Afghanistan or Syria have little prospect of ever being able to return to the land of their birth and so are seeking a permanent home in the UK, it is anticipated that many of the Ukrainians leaving the current conflict will hope to return home once peace is restored. However, the vast majority of the refugees who have left Ukraine are women and children, which may pose additional safeguarding concerns.

According to the government: “Preliminary figures from the 2021 Census in England and Wales identify approximately 37,530 people who were born in Ukraine and were ‘usual residents’ in England and Wales in March 2021.”

Other estimates put the number somewhere between 20 and 50,000 Ukrainian nationals who were in the UK before the war started. Part of the reason for the variance is that many of these Ukrainians were in the UK on temporary visas, particularly on seasonal worker visas in the agricultural sector, and as students. This has obviously proved an incredibly difficult and worrying time for Ukrainians in this country and they will need continuing support.

The government have announced changes to the visa system to help those who are already here and prevent uncertainties about what might happen to them once their visa expires.

If you know or work with Ukrainians in this situation, particularly those on skilled or seasonal worker visas or student visas you can direct them to the latest government guidance here.

Most Ukrainians ought to be eligible for a free visa extension until at least the 31st December 2022, however, this is subject to meeting terms and conditions attached to the visa. People should apply early for visa extensions as becoming an ‘overstayer’ (staying beyond the terms of the visa without permission) can affect their rights and future ability to visit the UK. Please note that many Ukrainians are on visas which have no recourse to public funds, so are vulnerable to changes in their employment or personal situation.

If you are concerned that a Ukrainian is being exploited, or is in danger of being exploited, you may wish to report this. You can report this to the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or the GLAA on 0800 432 0804. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

The Church of England’s modern slavery project, the Clewer Initiative, also has resources to help identify labour exploitation and cases of modern slavery.

Immigration routes available to Ukranian refugees

The UK government has been clear that, unlike EU states, they will not be waiving visa requirements for Ukrainians. This means that it is presently difficult for Ukrainian refugees to reach the UK except via two designated visa routes that have been designed for them. It is important to note that strictly speaking neither of these schemes are granting refugee status to Ukrainians but instead are providing three years of leave to remain.

The UK government has announced two routes for Ukrainians:

  1. The Ukraine Family Scheme is open for Ukrainians who had been living in Ukraine on or immediately before 1 January 2022, and who have family legally settled in the UK. The family member in the UK must be a British national, legally settled in the UK, an EU national with pre-settled status in the UK, or a refugee or someone with humanitarian leave. It is not available to, for example, family members of those here on a seasonal worker or student visa.
    This scheme is open to a broader range of family members than usual family visa routes.

The definition of family member for this visa has been expanded to include:

  • parents
  • adult children
  • siblings
  • grandparents
  • cousins
  • other immediate family who would not usually be eligible

It is not available to, for example, family members of those here on a seasonal worker or student visa.

The full eligibility details can be found here.

  1. The Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme: In the short term this has allowed individuals and families to commit to sponsoring a Ukrainian individual or family in their home for a period of not less than six months. Ukrainians arriving on this scheme will be given leave to remain for up to three years and will have full access to the labour market, the NHS and to some benefits (not including housing benefit). Volunteers who sign up will have to commit to sponsoring for at least six months and will not be able to charge for rent but will be able to receive a thank you payment of £350 a month from the government.

This sponsorship will include what is called in policy making ‘naming’. Naming is a process whereby sponsoring citizens groups can nominate individuals that they know, for example an employee or former colleague, or a person they have identified through a congregation or charity they belong to. This is different from previous UK refugee resettlement programmes which have simply assigned families to community sponsorship programmes.

Churches and charities have worked on ways of identifying Ukrainian refugees in need who can be sponsored here. Volunteers will have to be vetted, and the Ukrainians will also need to pass security checks.

People can register their interest on the government website: https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/

Please note, this registration process was designed to gauge the interest and availability of support. It does not commit people to the full scheme.

Hosts will be required to be vetted and be registered with the Local Authority. People arriving through the scheme will have been security checked in order to get their visa.

The government has launched its own FAQ on this scheme which provides some useful details for those with further questions.