A couple who arrived in the UK after fleeing Ukraine are set to return to the war-torn country because of the ongoing cost of living crisis in Britain. Joe Place, 29, and his wife, 34-year-old Irina, were forced to leave their home in Kyiv after Russia launched its invasion in February, the Mirror reports.
The couple then travelled to Joe's hometown of Sheffield, Yorkshire, but were met with "terrible" housing and skyrocketing living costs. Irina, who received a Ukraine Family Scheme visa, and her husband tried for seven months to make life in the UK work, but have now decided to return to Ukraine - despite the country still being at war.
Joe, a PhD student and content writer, said: "This comes to the problem that everyone in the UK seems to be facing with finding (a rental). We doubled our budget and more … we had a very strict list of requirements and we just kept going, 'OK, well, compromise on this, compromise on this, compromise on this'.
"Anything we came even remotely close to getting was just terrible."
The couple had travelled back to Western Ukraine to visit family in September, but decided not to return to the UK due to housing issues. Joe added: "We realised we actually quite like it back here, and we're OK. We wouldn't want to live back in Kyiv right now because it's not safe, but where we are it is very safe, mostly anyway."
He added that because Russian forces have been targeting Ukrainian infrastructure in missile strikes, they know they might face electricity and heating outages. He added: "They're trying to get people to get prepared that you might lose the electricity and heating for a bit. That is something that is going to affect all of us, and that's going to be difficult"
The couple, who first met while they were both teaching English in Ukraine three years ago, will go "back and forth" to the UK to visit loved ones and for Joe's work – but he is able to work remotely from Ukraine most of the time
In the UK, Joe said they were facing costs of £1,500 a month to rent, compared to just £500 in Ukraine. Landlords and housing agencies also wanted the couple to provide a previous year's tax statement or six months of income in a UK bank account, which neither of them have.
Joe said funds he and his wife both had in their Ukrainian bank accounts were not accepted by landlords and their housing applications were constantly refused. Joe continued: "(£500 is) kind of expensive here (in Ukraine). The west of Ukraine, where it's safer, the house prices have gone up quite a lot and the rent has gone up – a lot of the locals struggle.
"But obviously for us coming from the UK … this is still really affordable."
Irina was able to stay in the UK on a Ukraine Family Scheme visa, but claims she was not given the same level of support from government as refugees on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Joe said: "It's been incredible (the Homes for Ukraine scheme)… I hope we continue this approach for other crises.
"But I do think there was a bit more support for that scheme. With the family scheme there is a presumption that you will just stay with a spouse or child or people already settled here. No, we've just uprooted our entire lives to come to the UK, we could also do with some help."
Joe added that there is a "possibility" he and his wife will return to the UK next spring, but were apprehensive to plan too far ahead because of the ongoing war. "For now we are quite happy being here," he said.
A government spokesperson said: "Taken together, our generous Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family schemes are one of the fastest and biggest visa programmes in UK history, with over 196,000 visas issued and more expected to come through these uncapped routes.
"We expect Ukrainians entering the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme to be primarily supported by family members, but they are also entitled to three years' leave to remain and full access to work, study and benefits — including Universal Credit. Local authorities have a duty to provide support to people on the family scheme, including homelessness where required."
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