The new sponsored humanitarian scheme will allow Ukrainians who have no family ties to the UK to come to the country. It will include a hotline and a website where individuals, charities, businesses and community groups can offer rooms to refugees.
Officials will help them arrange free accommodation with sponsors and pre-selected organizations. They will have to agree to accept refugees for a minimum period of six months, proving that they meet the relevant standards.
Also read: UN: 2.5 million refugees have left Ukraine
Refugees entering the new route are expected to be allowed to stay in the country for an initial period of 12 months, during which they will be allowed to work, but details on what benefits and public services will be provided are still under discussion.
Last night, the ministers held an interagency meeting to determine the details of the scheme, but as far as we know, some issues remain unresolved.
Yesterday, Interior Minister Priti Patel announced that from Tuesday, those trying to travel from Ukraine to the UK and have a national passport will be able to go through the entire application process online, and they will no longer have to contact the document processing center.
The statement drew criticism that Britain’s response has been painfully slow in the face of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 2.5 million people leaving Ukraine.
The British Red Cross said the quickest way to resolve the problem would be to abolish the visa requirement, while the Refugee Council said Ms Patel’s statement did not go far enough to resolve the issue.
Defending the government from criticism of its belated response to the refugee crisis, Boris Johnson said in an interview with Sky News that Britain would be generous to those fleeing Ukraine. He explained that the details of the second visa scheme – when individuals, charities, businesses and community groups will be able to offer free housing to those fleeing the conflict – will be announced next week.