The UK's 'humiliating' Ukrainian refugee system has been accused of treating a family 'like criminals' as they fled for their lives. Mum-of-two Alina Gallacher-Gazhur, feared for her loved ones in her Ukrainian hometown as she watched the fighting unfold as the Russian invasion intensified.
All she wanted was to bring her family to safety - but she claims the UK visa system made it difficult. Alina's mum Anna, 60, niece Alexandra, nine, and her daughter-in-law Olga, 24, along with her aunt Valentina, 62, Valentina's daughter-in-law Tatiana and her daughter Sophia, three, all fled their homes in Ukraine to seek safety with Alina under the government's Ukrainian Family Scheme.
They crossed the border into Poland on March 13 and two days later travelled to Warsaw, where a centre has been set up to help people submit their applications. Alina, of Berwick, said she was shocked by how much information the UK government demanded from refugees, and at the length of the wait they faced, reports ChronicleLive.
Visas were finally approved on March 24 and all six flew to the UK with Alina a day later. Though they're now safe, Alina called for rules to be relaxed so other Ukrainian nationals could reach the UK safely and quickly.
She said: "The government says it has made it easier to apply for a visa for this country but it is not easy. My family were lucky because I could stay with them and we could pay for a hotel, but there are people sleeping outside while they wait for visas.
"People have fled their homes and left everything behind - my mum needs medication but she couldn't bring it. All she had were her documents.
"The government needs to make things easier. I just wanted my family safe and I don't understand why you have to wait for so long. I think the government doesn't care about people who have run from their homes.
"You have to send all these documents, not just passport or ID, they ask for things like birth certificates. We were lucky because our family took these documents, but many people don't, what if you've fled because your home has been destroyed?"
Even when they touched down on a flight to Glasgow, the traumatised family's bureaucratic ordeal wasn't over. Alina said immigration staff didn't seem to have been told what to do and the family were left waiting in the airport, fearing that something had gone wrong.
Alina added: "My family started to cry because of how long we were waiting. It was humiliating to sit like criminals and wait an hour for them to figure out what to do with us.
"My family understand that they are safe here, but it's very hard. My brother, cousin and uncle have all stayed in the war on the front line, every single morning we wait for messages from them.
"It's so difficult for me because I want to go and help people in Ukraine, but I stay here for my children. I love my country and now when my country needs my help I can't go."
She called on Britain to follow the example of EU countries who've waived all visa requirements for those fleeing the war-torn country. However, a UK government spokesperson responded: “We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing horrific persecution in Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine.
“We have streamlined the process so valid passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out. We continue to speed up visa processing across both schemes, with more than 21,000 issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme”
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