Government Faces Criticism Over New Policy Blocking Ukrainian Families from Reuniting in the UK.
The UK government is under pressure to reverse recent changes that have made it more difficult for Ukrainians to bring their family members to the UK. A charity supporting migrants has described the policy as “heartless,” claiming it has “torn apart” families and left individuals in dangerous situations.
A Mother’s Struggle
Halyna Khovaiko, who came to the UK for work in December 2021, never intended to stay long. After losing her job at a factory in eastern Ukraine, she secured a seasonal position on a UK farm, leaving her then 12-year-old son Ihnat with his grandparents in Vovchansk.
However, in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Vovchansk, located just 5km from the Russian border, was quickly occupied, making it impossible for Halyna to return home.
“I have a very strong bond with my son,” Halyna says through a translator. “Of course I miss him. It feels like you are more dead than alive. Just going to work and that’s it. You exist but you don’t live.”
A Brief Reunion
When the Ukrainian army liberated Vovchansk in autumn 2022, Halyna, a single mother, was finally able to see her son again. But with financial difficulties mounting, she decided to return to the UK for work. Her plan was to rent a flat and bring her son to join her.
In January 2023, Halyna found a place to live in Weston-super-Mare and began applying for a visa for her son under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which allows UK residents to host Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Policy Change Without Warning
In February 2023, without prior notice, the government restricted the eligibility criteria for the scheme. Now, only British or Irish citizens, or those with permanent residency in the UK, can act as sponsors. This change means that Ukrainians like Halyna, who do not have permanent residency, can no longer sponsor their family members to join them in the UK. Additionally, the Ukraine Family Scheme, which allowed Ukrainians to join family members with permanent residency, was also closed.
Meanwhile, in Vovchansk, Russian attacks intensified, destroying the town with relentless shelling. Halyna’s son, now 14, fled with his grandparents to Kharkiv, 70km away.
Knowing her son is in danger has been almost unbearable for Halyna. “There are explosions [where he is] every day,” she says. “You go to sleep and you don’t know if you’re going to wake up in the morning.”
Charity Condemns the Policy
The Work Rights Centre, a charity supporting migrants, has heard from nearly 200 Ukrainians separated from their families, desperate to bring them to the UK. The charity’s chief executive, Dr. Dora-Olivia Vicol, criticized the current policy as “heartless,” saying it has “torn apart” families. “We have seen parents spend months fighting for a way to bring their child to the UK,” she says. “Others have tragically endured the death of a family member in Ukraine while they were searching for a sponsor to bring them to the UK.”
The charity is urging the new government to reverse the changes, allowing Ukrainians without permanent residency in the UK to act as sponsors and reunite with their families.
Impact on Ukrainians in the UK
The Home Office says the schemes are kept “under continual review.” But for many Ukrainians, the changes have been devastating. Nadiia Yashan, an immigration advisor for the Work Rights Centre and a Ukrainian herself, was shocked by the policy shift. Some of her clients were in the middle of applications or about to sign leases on flats when the changes were announced.
Nadiia, who came to the UK on a student visa and had her stay extended due to the war, no longer has the right to sponsor her own mother. “I feel guilty because maybe I should have [applied for her to come to the UK] sooner,” she says. “I’m very, very concerned, and I’m thinking every day, what if it gets worse, and I need her to be here immediately and I can’t do anything?”
Since the Russian invasion, more than 180,000 people have come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. While the number of applications has decreased since the war’s outbreak, the Work Rights Centre says there is still substantial demand. It is common for one parent to come to the UK first to secure a job and housing before bringing the rest of the family.
A Struggle for Sponsorship
However, many Ukrainians in the UK are now struggling to find British sponsors for visa applications. The initial wave of support from the UK public has waned, and fewer people are willing to host Ukrainians than at the beginning of the war.
When the previous government announced the changes, they argued it was to ensure that people had appropriate accommodation and support in the UK, as the suitability of homes is checked under the scheme. However, the charity points out that the current situation creates a bizarre scenario: a stranger could theoretically sponsor a Ukrainian child to come to the UK, but the child’s own parent could not.
A Difficult Decision
For Halyna, who speaks limited English, finding a British sponsor for her child has been extremely difficult. People often struggle to understand why she needs a sponsor when she already has the right to live in the UK herself.
Despite having settled into the UK with a job and home, Halyna is now considering moving to a different country where it would be easier for her son to join her. “This is not a life because my child is there, and I’m here,” she says. “I just want to be together with my child.”