The Russia-Ukraine war has divided the world into two camps: a pro-Russian camp and a pro-Ukrainian camp. The United Kingdom is one of the countries in the Ukrainian camp. Russia and Britain have participated in other international wars which have been less confrontational, but the Russia-Ukraine war has escalated enmity between the two countries. One of the initial consequences of this war was the displacement of millions of Ukrainians. England is one of the destinations for these refugees. At first, there were no plans in the UK to accept Ukrainian immigrants. Under pressure from the media, the British government has set up a scheme called “Homes for Ukraine”.
History of Conflict Between Britain and Russia
Relations between Russia and the United Kingdom have never been straightforward. Russian policies have been plagued by instability and unpredictability, with sudden swings from generally great to direct aggression. These days, Russo-British relations are going through challenging times. Any positive accomplishments of previous years have been significantly subverted by London’s projection of Russian disparities over Ukraine, Crimea, and Syria onto other matters. London has frozen all bilateral arrangements between the two governments to collaborate: Strategic dialogue “2+2” between the foreign and defence ministers, high-level talks on energy, the Russian-British Intergovernmental Steering Committee on Trade and Investment, and UK-Russia Joint Committee on Science and Technology.
Ukrainian Refugees
The website for UK visa applications has crashed repeatedly or slowed down. The Ukrainians are struggling to observe safe routes to reach their destinations in Europe, but making the necessary arrangements has turned into a lengthy process. The principal location to apply in Ukraine is in the western city of Lviv, close to the Polish border, which is where most refugees are escaping the country. The UK website was shut down unexpectedly throughout the end of the week. The public authority has said that it has issued visas to 500 Ukrainians up until now. Numerous other European nations have invited thousands without visas. The most significant numbers of refugees are escaping into Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. Poland has taken in more than 1.2 million people.
Ukrainian Asylum Seekers in Britain
Britain is one of the destinations for Ukrainian refugees who have urged the UK to offer more support. Labour has called for emergency visas for Ukrainians. The UK’s initial offer was to allow refugees with immediate family members settled in the UK to come for up to 12 months without first having to seek asylum.
The Home Office has said that a total of 17,700 applications have been made for the family scheme, adding that around 9,000 individuals had not yet completed their applications. Some applicants have said it was challenging to finish the applications because the website crashed halfway through.
Ukrainians trying to escape to somewhere safe in the UK have expressed great dissatisfaction at the administrative obstacles and hardships on their path to obtain a visa under the new plan. Various applicants have said that they are caught in countries neighbouring Ukraine, incapable of coming to the UK as they have to grapple with the mind-boggling application process. A few said they were experiencing issues sending essential records through the website, while others have said there were no openings available to submit their applications or that they were alarmed to be approached by an office in Wandsworth to present their supporting documents. Families settled in the UK who are attempting to assist their Ukrainian family members to come to Britain said they were befuddled by the intricacies of the visa application process.
Patel’s Remarks on the Ukrainian Refugee Chaos
Showing up before MPs, Patel said she was in the process of setting up a visa application centre (VAC) “en route” to Calais to cross the Channel to Britain. “We have staff in Calais, we have support on the ground. It is wrong to say we’re just turning people back, we’re absolutely not, we’re supporting those that have been coming to Calais,” she said.
“Homes for Ukraine” Scheme
The UK has set up a family visa scheme for Ukrainians who have family here. Starting on 21 March, 12,400 UK visas have been issued. After the UK government was reprimanded for the speed and size of its reaction, it set up the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Under this scheme, individuals in the UK can sponsor Ukrainian nationals to stay with them for at least six months. If the sponsors are not UK citizens, they must have leave to remain in the UK for at least six months.
The plan is available to Ukrainian nationals who lived in the Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022. It is additionally open to their close relatives, and other relatives of these Ukrainian residents, such as a partner, a common-law spouse, unmarried couples who have been living together for at least two years, children under-18, a parent assuming that you are under-18, or a fiancé(e). These people might be of different ethnicities.
Displaced people who come using the plan will be able to live and work in the UK for three years and access medical care, government assistance, and schools. Applications are made on the web, and both the hosts and displaced people will be checked. The hosts will receive £350 every month, and there will be no cap on the numbers ready to come to the UK. Notwithstanding, a few families who have applied to be supported have said that the framework is excessively sluggish.
Conclusion
Although Russia and Britain are now openly facing each other, they have been on different fronts prior to this. In this war, many Ukrainians left their country to find a safe haven. Ukrainian refugees have mainly arrived in Poland, Moldova, Romania, etc. England is not high on the list. Initially, the UK had no plans in place to accept the refugees, but now it has designed a Homes for Ukraine scheme. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and its new immigration programme, the UK will accept immigrants under a points-based immigration system. There is now an opportunity to bring skilled workers into the UK from Ukraine. One of the provisions of the Homes for Ukraine scheme states that Ukrainians who want to enter the UK must have a sponsor, and if they do not have a sponsor, they will be matched with people or organisations interested in the scheme. This action by Britain is not compassionate but utilitarian. As the war continues, many Ukrainians may choose Britain as their permanent home. In return, the UK is making up for many shortages of skilled and educated labour in the country.
