We are having a similar experience to Paul Hanlon and Rebecca Shepherd regarding refugees from Ukraine (‘It doesn’t make sense’: Ukrainian teenager left in limbo by Home Office, 29 May). We’re sponsoring a 17-year-old from Kyiv whose parents are unable to travel because of the need to care for his grandmother.
He speaks good English, and his mother has supplied a letter consenting to his travelling and staying with us, yet the Home Office isn’t processing his application. Also, local children’s services won’t do any checks as he’s not eligible for a visa as an unaccompanied minor. We are getting help from a solicitor, but it shouldn’t be difficult to safeguard him and others. My partner is a magistrate and I have had a series of criminal record checks over the years for my roles working with vulnerable people. One can’t help but think it’s all part of the Tories’ hostile environment.
David Hoare
Lewes, East Sussex
• Julia, 37, is a Ukrainian refugee from Odesa with a four-month-old baby daughter, both sheltering in Spain. Her husband is serving in the Ukrainian navy. Julia has been offered a warm welcome here in Wiltshire, but five weeks after applying for visas these have still not been granted. Instead, the UK government required that her baby undergo biometric testing in Madrid, an eight-hour round trip, and now she has to wait until a hard-copy visa can be shipped to her.
Even our MP does not have access to information to sustain her hopes. Julia and her daughter do not deserve to be treated in this way. The process is utterly shameful and shows the UK in a very poor light.
Doric Bossom
Pitton, Wiltshire
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