Family and Homes for Ukraine schemes come under Rules from tomorrow, new Ukraine Extension Scheme from 3 May
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules published today officially brings the visa concessions for people from Ukraine fleeing the Russian invasion into the Rules.
The 22-page statement of changes (HC 1220) can be downloaded here and the accompanying explanatory memorandum is here.
The Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, which both launched earlier this month, had previously been operating outside the Rules. The change bringing them into the Rules takes effect tomorrow, 30 March 2022.
In addition, a new Ukraine Extension Scheme was announced today that will enable Ukrainian nationals already in the UK to continue their stay in the UK. The scheme begins on 3 May 2022.
An update to the Home Office guidance on visa support for Ukrainians explains: "From 3 May 2022, you will be able to apply to the Ukraine Extension Scheme if you're a Ukrainian national who had permission to stay in the UK on or before 18 March 2022. Your partner and children can also apply if they're already in the UK as your 'dependants'. If you previously had permission to stay in the UK but it has expired since 1 January 2022, you'll also be eligible to apply."
Today's statement also introduces a new 'Appendix Relationship with a Partner' to the Immigration Rules, which will initially only apply to the Ukraine schemes. The Home Office says the new appendix will "provide greater consistency in the way applicants prove a relationship with a partner."
In a written statement to the Commons, Kevin Foster MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Safe and Legal Migration, gave the following details about today's changes:
"My Rt Hon friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules.
"The changes reflect our commitments to Ukraine and the main changes are as follows:
"We are now formally bringing the Ukraine Family Scheme, launched on 4 March 2022; the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme launched on 18 March 2022; and a new Ukraine Extension Scheme, which will launch on 3 May 2022 into the Immigration Rules.
"These new routes show the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and its citizens. The changes we have made to the visa process are making it quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here, as well as ensuring those already here can stay.
"A Ukrainian national who is an immediate or extended family member of a person in the UK who is a British citizen, settled in the UK, or who has certain types of limited leave can come to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme if they were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022. They can also bring their immediate family members to the UK.
"A person who meets these requirements who is already in the UK can also apply to stay, so long as they have permission to be in the UK (except as a visitor), or if their permission to stay has recently ended.
"Immediate and extended family members include married, civil and durable partners, fiancé(e)s or proposed civil partners, parents (of a person both under and over 18 years old), grandparents, grandchildren, children (both under and over 18 years of age), siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws, as well as their immediate family members (partner, parents and children).
"A Ukrainian national and their immediate family members can come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine (Sponsorship Scheme) if they were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022 and have an Approved sponsor in the UK who has agreed to provide them with accommodation for at least 6 months.
"A Ukrainian national and their partner and children who had permission to stay in the UK on 18 March 2022 (or which has expired since 1 January 2022) can stay in the UK under the Ukraine Extension Scheme.
"All the routes are free.
"Applicants must also meet suitability requirements and under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme the sponsor and anyone else living in the accommodation will be subject to security checks.
"People applying for entry clearance who have a valid Ukrainian passport are able to start their application overseas, and, if they appear to be eligible, they will be permitted to travel to the UK and granted permission to enter for 6 months on arrival, and they can complete their application for 3 years' permission to stay by providing biometrics in the UK.
"Successful applicants will be granted permission to stay in the UK with full access to work, study and public funds.
"Due to the importance of providing the certainty reflected in these rules, they will come into effect on 30 March 2022 for the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme; and 3 May 2022 for the Ukraine Extension Scheme."
The Home Office's latest figures on the Ukraine Family Scheme show that 22,100 visas have been issued as of yesterday afternoon. A total of 38,000 applications have so far been submitted since the scheme was launched on 4 March.
Politics Home reported today that Will Quince MP, the Minister for Children and Families, told Sky News that just over 1,000 Ukrainians had come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
"The numbers are relatively low at the moment in terms of people coming over here, but many, many are in progress," Quince was quoted as saying.
According to The Times, over 150,000 people in the UK have registered their interest in the scheme, but fewer than ten per cent of applications have so far been approved by the Government and there are fears that tens of thousands of offers of homes will end up wasted.
Lord Harrington told the House of Lords yesterday that the Homes for Ukraine scheme had received 20,000 applications.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme has been criticised for its complexity and slowness.
The Guardian reported yesterday that the heads of the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross, Save the Children and Oxfam wrote a letter to The Times with concerns that the scheme was "causing great distress to already traumatised Ukrainians."
The letter to The Times stated: "Those who want to come to the UK are having to navigate a complex web of bureaucratic paperwork to get visas, leaving them facing protracted delays without any information about the status of their application … The government must urgently review the use of visas and waive them as an immediate short-term measure, as has been done by the EU, and look to introduce a simplified emergency humanitarian visa process."
On Sunday, the Guardian reported that Positive Action in Housing said the Homes for Ukraine scheme had given people "false hope".
Robina Qureshi, the head of Positive Action in Housing, told the Guardian: "The government made a fanfare of its Homes for Ukraine community sponsorship programme. Michael Gove told parliament on 14 March that there was no limit on the numbers coming in. Yet none of the families we are supporting have yet got a visa to travel under the community sponsorship scheme and are still waiting."