Lee Kneller, Michael and Linda Holmshaw, and Anne Davies are all caught up in the bureaucratic mess of the UK’s visa schemes for people fleeing war in Ukraine
What’s gone wrong at the Home Office (‘Inhumane’ Homes for Ukraine scheme requests security scans for baby girl, 24 April)? On 22 February, we submitted an application for a visa for my wife’s 15-year-old daughter, Lisa, to come to the UK from Ukraine as the child of a parent settled in the UK. Two days later, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. On 26 February, we arranged for Lisa to travel on her own to Warsaw, where my wife, Zoriana, flew out to meet her. They submitted her biometrics in Warsaw on 28 February, and later that week I managed to get her case escalated as urgent.
Since then we’ve been advised that we should abandon our application and apply for a visa under the new Ukraine family scheme. However, the advice on the long-term implications differs depending on who you talk to.