The government has promised help, but the granting of visas is proving painfully slow
“I think the UK is ensuring that all the Ukrainians don’t come.” Those words, from a refugee in Warsaw, sum up a broader mood. One in four Ukrainians has now fled their home, and at least 4 million have left the country. They have found a warm welcome even in places that generally reject and denigrate refugees. But a relatively small number have reached Britain, and frustration and anger at delays and obstacles are growing.
Just 2,700 visas have been granted out of more than 28,000 applications under the “homes for Ukraine” scheme. Another 23,000 have been granted under the family scheme allowing applicants to join relatives in the UK. But in both cases, lengthy waits and what Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, described as Kafkaesque bureaucracy are leaving tens of thousands in limbo and increasingly desperate, with some still in areas under bombardment. British humanitarian workers at the Polish border said that while other nations have been helping refugees find new homes for weeks, not one of 70 visa claims they have assisted with has been approved.
