Ukraine crisis: Is the UK doing enough to help refugees?

The UK government is facing calls to do more to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. There have been some changes to visa rules, but Labour and some Conservative MPs want the government to go further.

The EU is planning to allow Ukrainian refugees to settle in its member states for three years.

On 27 February, the Home Office announced "temporary visa concessions" to allow the immediate family members of British nationals who usually live in Ukraine, to come to the UK.

They can apply for a free family migration visa if their British national family member is:

But they will need to provide biometric information such as fingerprints and pass security checks. They can expect to wait up to 24 hours for their application to be processed, although Ms Patel says some are being done "in just hours".

Applications can be made in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv or at centres in nearby countries Poland, Romania, Hungary and Moldova.

There are also "temporary concessions" to allow Ukrainian nationals who are currently in the UK to extend their stay.

Currently, Ukrainians who do not have an immediate family member who is a British national cannot apply for a UK family migration visa.

Labour has called for the rules to be extended to cover wider family members. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted saying the government should also "set out a broader sanctuary route".

The Home Office has outlined other routes through which Ukrainians can enter the UK. They can make visa applications to visit, work, or study in the UK but they cannot currently do this in Ukraine.

The guidance says that "If you are able to safely travel, you can apply ...in one of the nearby countries".

On 26 February, Home Office minister Kevin Foster highlighted the government's Seasonal Worker Scheme. After widespread criticism, his tweet was deleted.

On 28 February, Home Secretary Priti Patel rejected calls for a "visa waiver" - or dropping the requirement for Ukrainians coming to the UK to have a visa.

She said: "Security and biometric checks are a fundamental part of our visa approval process worldwide and will continue.

"That is vital to keep British citizens safe, particularly as Russian troops are now infiltrating Ukraine and merging into Ukrainian forces. Intelligence sources also state the presence of extremist groups and organisations who threaten the region but also our domestic homeland."

We have asked the government how many Ukrainians have been allowed to enter the UK since the start of the Russian invasion, but have not yet been given any figures.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK track record "both with Afghans in Arap scheme...and with the Hong Kong nationals who are suffering persecution has been actually very generous".

Arap is the UK's Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, which supports those who worked with the UK government in Afghanistan.

In addition to Arap, the government launched a new scheme on 6 January 2022 - the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

The Home Office says 4,000 people have already been resettled since the scheme was launched.

In January 2021, the UK introduced a new Hong Kong visa scheme after China imposed a new security law. The British government estimates 5.4 million Hong Kong residents are eligible for it.

According to the latest government figures, by the end of September 2021, 88,000 people had applied for visas under this scheme.