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14-03-2022
LONDON/ KYIV: During a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the House of Commons on Wednesday, British politicians applauded as Zelenskyy, dressed in army khakis, invoked Winston Churchill’s wartime rhetoric and urged the UK to increase its military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
While the UK was quick to arm Ukraine, sending thousands of anti-tank missiles as early as January, and to back sweeping economic sanctions on Russia, now even targeting resident oligarch Roman Abramovich, it has not offered Ukrainian refugees the open-armed welcome they have received across the EU.
Instead, displaced Ukrainians have reported endless red tape and delays while applying for visas, sometimes requiring them to wait weeks or travel hundreds of kilometres to centres in Ukraine or neighboring countries to submit biometric data.
The UK has signaled it will not offer refugee status to Ukrainians, but has promised to speed up family reunification.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced that, from Tuesday, applicants with Ukrainian passports will be able to apply online rather than in person, but the UK scheme will still be limited to those who already have family in the country they wish to reunite with.
So far, only about 1,000 visas have been granted.
“It’s an emergency situation and EU countries have waived the visa requirements,” Colin Yeo, an immigration and asylum lawyer, told Al Jazeera. “It’s hard to see why the UK thinks it’s special in that respect.”
The UN’s refugee agency says 2.6 million Ukrainians have fled the country since it was invaded by Russia in late February. It estimates that number may reach 4 million if Russia’s military offensive, which has included widespread bombing of civilian areas, continues.
On March 3, the EU unanimously activated its Temporary Protection Directive, which grants Ukranians the right to work, housing and healthcare in EU member states for one to three years.
The UK’s relative lack of urgency in aiding Ukrainians has not gone unnoticed by its European allies, with French President Emmanuel Macron upbraiding the UK after an emergency EU summit on Friday.
“Despite all the grand statements… the British government continued to apply current rules that meant they did not welcome Ukrainian refugees who wanted to reach Britain,” Macron said.
The government’s hardline stance has also angered many domestically, where polls show a large majority of the public is in favour of admitting significant numbers of Ukrainians urgently.
The Financial Times described the UK’s refugee policy as “shameful”, while several refugee charities have slammed the government’s plans as vague and insufficient.
In a session of the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko remarked that while Britons have been able to enter Ukraine without a visa since 2005, the arrangement has never been reciprocal which has left many Ukrainians bitter.
He said his wife had “bureaucratic hassles” in getting a visa before the war. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
