- The UK government has granted only 760 visas to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
- A new visa center has been opened in Lille, Northern France, for Ukrainian refugees to seek access to the UK.
- MPs have called the government's response "incompetent" and a "disgrace."
The British Government has changed policy to streamline the process for Ukrainian refugees to apply for visas to the UK after widespread criticism for "traumatizing" Ukrainian refugees with bureaucratic restrictions.
More than two million refugees have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Boris Johnson's government has granted just 760 visas to Ukrainian refugees so.
The leader of the Scottish National Party, Ian Blackford, called it a "disgrace."
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Blackford said, "760 visa approvals in two weeks is disgraceful. In that time, Poland has taken over 1.2 million refugees. Hungary has taken 190,000 refugees. Germany has taken over 50,000 refugees. Italy over 17,000 refugees. Ireland, a country of just over five million people, has given sanctuary to three times as many refugees as the United Kingdom."
—Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) March 9, 2022
Multiple reports in the British media described exhausted Ukrainian refugees left exasperated by the UK government's treatment of their asylum claims. Talking to The Guardian, The Voloshcuck family — whose father, Yakiv, has British citizenship — said they were "traumatized" by a week-long fight to enter British soil.
They explained how they struggled to access medication, faced immigration detention, and made eleven visits to UK sites in France to be processed for arrival to the UK.
Voloshcuk told the newspaper that "the French were so lovely. I can't understand why the British could do nothing to help us."
France's President Emmanual Macron was highly critical of the UK's response on Friday. He said it had failed to live up to its "grand statements."
"I would hope that the Ukrainian men and women who have lived through horror and crossed Europe to reach their families on UK territory will be better treated," he said.
On Friday, the European Union said it would "offer temporary protection to all war refugees from Ukraine." The UK is almost alone in Europe, insisting that even those with relatives in Britain must apply for visas, reported The Guardian.
As a result of pressure from politicians from all sides and NGOs and campaign groups, the Home Office has announced that they are streamlining visa applications for Ukrainian refugees and opening a processing center in Lille, Northern France.
Labour MP Chris Bryant told Insider that "it's all still terribly slow. They've known about a possible invasion and the likely humanitarian crisis for at least six months but only now do they get round to doing anything. I can't decide whether it's callousness or incompetence."
Even supporters of the Conservative government have condemned its lackluster response. The respected right-leaning Spectator magazine called the poor treatment of Ukrainian refugees a "Border Farce."
—The Spectator (@spectator) March 9, 2022
The government said on Friday that the details of the new scheme would be announced within days — despite it being announced initially on March 1 — allowing British citizens to house asylum-seekers from Ukraine.
However, when asked by Insider, a Department for Leveling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUCH) spokesperson said that they could not yet confirm if this meant the need for a visa would be waived, or if visa conditions would ease.
A DLUHC spokesperson told Insider: "The Secretary of State for Levelling Up will set out a route by which the British people can offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine. We will be sharing further details on this over the course of the next few days.
Andy Hewett, Head of Advocacy at the Refugee Council, said: "Rather than continuing with a system that requires Ukrainian refugees to apply for a visa, the Government urgently needs to temporarily waive visa requirements so that all Ukrainian families fleeing war and bloodshed can easily reach the UK," he said.