The Residence Workplace has apparently rejected claims on the grounds that candidates may transfer to western areas of Ukraine or to the capital, Kyiv.
The aftermath of a Russian missile and drone assault on Kyiv (Picture: Getty)
The Residence Workplace allegedly instructed a Ukrainian household searching for asylum within the UK that their teenage daughter ought to contemplate sporting noise-cancelling headphones to deal with the sound of explosions. The household is amongst a number of who’ve been refused asylum on the idea that components of Ukraine are deemed “protected”, regardless of the battle getting into its fifth yr.
Whereas greater than 310,000 Ukrainians have come to Britain below particular visa schemes arrange after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, these schemes don’t present a path to everlasting settlement. Many households who’ve constructed lives within the UK at the moment are making use of for asylum or various visas within the hope of securing indefinite depart to stay. In accordance with letters seen by Sky Information, the Residence Workplace has rejected claims on the grounds that candidates may transfer to western areas of Ukraine or to the capital, Kyiv.
Residence Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Picture: Getty)
Officers state that situations don’t meet the edge of significant hurt below asylum regulation. Present steerage, printed in January 2025, argues that the humanitarian scenario just isn’t so extreme throughout the nation as to quantity to inhuman or degrading remedy.
Households and immigration legal professionals dispute that evaluation. They level to a November assertion from the UN Refugee Company warning: “No a part of the nation ought to be thought-about protected.” This adopted a lethal aerial strike on Ternopil.
Residence Workplace knowledge exhibits that whereas most Ukrainian asylum claims have been permitted earlier than April 2025, refusals have since risen sharply.
One mom, who fled Kyiv on the second day of the invasion along with her 5 kids, described the influence of the refusal on her teenage daughter, who developed panic assaults after the household’s escape.
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Putin ‘attacking UK in addition to Ukraine’ says Sovsun
Medical doctors within the UK had helped stabilise her situation. Nonetheless, the rejection letter acknowledged that as a result of they might be relocated to a “non-conflict zone”, her signs didn’t meet the required threshold.
The Residence Workplace advised: “Look into noise-cancelling headphones and soundproofing rooms to handle panic assaults.” Since being instructed she should return, the woman’s panic assaults have resumed.
The household was suggested they might settle in Chernivtsi, Rivne or Ternopil — the latter hit by a Russian strike in November that killed 38 folks and injured greater than 120.
The mom requested: “Why does authorities journey recommendation warn British nationals towards all however important journey to western Ukraine, but my kids are anticipated to reside there?”
One other household from Mariupol, whose house was destroyed, additionally had their declare rejected. The Residence Workplace accepted that the daddy had been tortured by Russian forces and was being sought by safety providers, acknowledging his worry of being killed or forcibly conscripted.
Nonetheless, officers concluded he wouldn’t face a “actual danger” if he relocated to western Ukraine or Kyiv.
The couple’s younger son, who’s autistic, stopped talking after their house was bombed. His mom says he has made progress in Britain however would regress if uprooted once more.
The Residence Workplace decided his situation didn’t quantity to “distinctive compassionate circumstances”.
Liberal Democrat MP John Milne has accused the Authorities of abandoning households it as soon as welcomed.
He has urged Residence Secretary Shabana Mahmood to create a transparent pathway to settlement, with John Milne arguing: “Repeated short-term extensions to visa schemes merely delay uncertainty.”
A Residence Workplace spokesperson stated: “Our Ukraine schemes stay open for these searching for sanctuary. Greater than 310,000 Ukrainians and their households have been provided or granted continued help.
“In September 2025, we introduced the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme can be prolonged for an additional 24 months following the preliminary 18‑month interval.”
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