Charities and opposition parties have urged the government to do more to help with an expected surge in refugees fleeing Ukraine after the Russian invasion, with concerns also raised about the issuing of visas now UK diplomats have left the country.
With the UN refugee agency warning that as many as 5 million Ukrainians could be forced to flee, the Liberal Democrats called for a comprehensive and fully funded refugee scheme. Mark Drakeford, the Labour Welsh first minister, said he wanted his country to be a “nation of sanctuary”.
Dozens of refugee charities have jointly called for an evacuation and resettlement plan similar to the one that housed thousands of families in the UK after the Balkans conflicts in the 1990s.
However, asked whether it planned to take any Ukrainian refugees, Downing Street said it was instead “working incredibly closely with Ukraine’s neighbours” to support them in coping with Ukrainians fleeing the country, and 350 extra UK troops were in Poland assisting.
Foreign Office teams have been sent to countries including Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova to help with immigration efforts, primarily for UK nationals, now British staff have been withdrawn from its embassy in Ukraine, but can also assist other nationalities.
In a letter to Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, and Priti Patel, the home secretary, the Lib Dems called for a full resettlement scheme, including a five-year funding package for councils that take Ukrainian nationals.
Drakeford said he had discussed the likelihood of large numbers of refugees being pushed across Europe, adding: “We have an ambition in Wales to be a nation of sanctuary.”
In contrast, the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the UK should help refugees find assistance in countries neighbouring Ukraine. She also called for efforts to ensure Ukrainians with family members in the UK could join them.
The Home Office has already said that Ukrainians in the UK on temporary visas can extend them or switch to another type of visa while still in the country.
Caroline Coombs, from the campaign group Reunite Families UK, said the package of measures did not go far enough.
She said: “The Home Office has provided emergency visas for family members of British citizens, which has at least given some British citizens and their families the chance to get out, but with the visa application centre in Kyiv and the airspace now closed we’re concerned about how this all plays out for those still left in the country and who urgently need to get across borders.”
“Under normal circumstances, the UK spouse visa rules are very harsh and a minefield for people to navigate,” Coombs added. “If they were more humane and fair in the first place, many more British citizens and their families could have safely been back in the UK already.”
Colin Yeo, an immigration lawyer, said that while the concessions were “useful”, there was more the government could do to help those fleeing the Russian attacks.
“The nationality and borders bill the government is pushing through parliament right now will criminalise any Ukrainians seeking refuge here and there are already huge backlogs in the asylum system, which have more than doubled during Priti Patel’s tenure as home secretary.”
Alex Piletska, an immigration lawyer, said that the concession “clearly does not go far enough and excludes, in particular, elderly relatives of British citizens. The Home Office should update its policy or risk stranding British citizens in a war zone.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government’s priority remains supporting British nationals and their families who want to leave Ukraine. We are working around the clock to process visa applications.”
