Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has called on the government to lift visa requirements for refugees, as he revealed that “bureaucratic hassles” prevented even his own wife from receiving the right documents.
Vadym Prystaiko said he understood how “sensitive” immigration was for the UK, but pleaded for current barriers to be “dropped for some period of time” to allow the maximum number of people in.
His officials would then “take care” of the refugees once they arrived, the ambassador said.
Prystaiko’s pleas come as the Home Office faces intense criticism over its handling of the refugee crisis that has been sparked by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Britain is the only country to require Ukrainian refugees to obtain a visa. The EU, including Ireland, has waived visa requirements completely, but the UK government insists it cannot do this for security reasons.
Instead, Ukrainians wishing to come to the UK can only do so if they have family here. If they do not have any family connections, they must try to obtain a visa through the sponsorship route.
Home secretary Priti Patel has even reportedly faced calls to resign over the chaotic response to the crisis, with fellow Cabinet ministers rounding on her yesterday.
A Cabinet source told The Times: “Priti talked about everything the home office was doing but it quickly became clear she was just going round in circles.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps — who is reported to have made Patel “squirm” at Cabinet yesterday — defended the government’s record on providing an escape route for Ukrainians.
He told Sky News that 760 visas had been granted, with 22,000 applications “on their way through”.
He said: “No country has given more humanitarian aid to Ukraine than the UK, in the world. We have given £400 million, in addition the British people have been incredibly generous as well.
“Geographically we are, of course, spaced further to the West and President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government have told me that they do not want people to move far away, if at all possible, from the country because they want people to be able to come back.
“We are really leaning into this, at the same time respecting Ukraine’s wishes, the government’s wishes, not to pull people a long way away from Ukraine.”
But speaking to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Prystaiko said there had always been “bureaucratic hassles” in applying for UK visas, even before the conflict with Russia started.
“To process visas, there was always bureaucratic hassles,” he told MPs.
“I have to tell you that even when I was coming here as ambassador I got my visa on time, [but] although I was already approved by your government, my wife didn’t have it.
“So even simple things like that — the bureaucracy is so tough.
“And when we reached agreement for a visa-free arrangement with Europeans, which worked quite beautifully for almost 10 years, we never managed to open this particular nation.”
And he pleaded: “If you can vote for some temporary releasing of us from these rules, to allow people to get here, we will take care of [them].
“I don’t expect many of them to come.
“I don’t want to see these pictures of people banging at the doors in Calais and scratching the doors which are quite sealed.”
He said said he thought there were approximately 50,000 to 60,000 Ukrainians in Britain, meaning at least 100,000 people could seek to come to the UK to reunite with family.
It also emerged on Tuesday that a new “pop-up” visa application site for Ukrainian refugees in Calais will be set up 70 miles away in Lille.
Labour shadow Foreign Office minister Catherine West criticised the government’s efforts to offer refuge to Ukrainians, calling it a “shameful lack of humanity” and a “stain” on otherwise commendable efforts to address the crisis.